Deuteronomy 4:32-35—32 “For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? 34 Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” In the 1800s, Joseph Smith invented a “God” more to his own liking, and this “God” is worshipped by many Mormons across the globe. Temples have been built to him, universities have been built proclaiming to teach about this “God” to many unsuspecting followers. But this “God” is the invention of a man’s imagination—He doesn’t exist, He can do nothing for anyone, and the “gospel” that is offered to the followers of this “God” can save no one, as these worshippers follow a false god who does not exist, and has never existed except in the mind of a money-digging polygamist.
This “God” is one of millions of “Gods” who rule over millions of universes, and had to learn how to be a “God” himself. In what is known as the “King Follett Discourse”, Joseph Smith elaborated on what he believed and taught to be the nature and person of God, how He was once a man and progressed to godhood:
In the sermon, Joseph taught about divine nature and eternal progression. He countered the long-standing theological tradition that treated God as wholly different than humanity. He explained that “if men do not comprehend the character of God they do not comprehend themselves.” He taught that God “was once as one of us” and that “all the spirits that God ever sent into the world” were “susceptible of enlargement,” having the capacity to become like God in the eternities. Joseph also taught that a core part of each person is coeternal with God, comparing this divine core to a ring, without beginning or end. The King Follett sermon was the most direct, public explanation of these doctrines, but it was not the first time they had been introduced. The Book of Mormon and the book of Moses both contain passages that stood at odds with the theological position dominant in Joseph Smith’s day that God is “without body, parts, or passions.” Revelations received by Joseph Smith as early as 1832 taught that spirits existed “in the beginning with God” and that through the power of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, individuals could “receive their inheritance and be made equal with him,” becoming gods. Joseph Smith had elaborated on these revelations in various settings, helping others grasp the implications of his teachings.
(https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/king-follett-discourse?lang=eng)
This speech was based on the famous couplet spoken by Lorenzo Snow, “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.”
The Prophet Joseph Smith himself publicly taught the doctrine the following year, 1844, during a funeral sermon of Elder King Follett: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! … It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, pp. 345–46.)
This is nothing more than self-worship, and goes against the clear teaching of Scripture, that YYHVH alone is God, that nothing and no one can become God, and that “there is none other besides Him.” God did not have to “learn” how to become God, He has always been God. None can become God, for He alone is, was, and always will be God. This was a lesson the people of Israel would have to be reminded of many times throughout their history, and one which many humans today need to be reminded of.
In Deuteronomy 5:1-33, Moses repeats what we call the Ten Commandments, and reminds the people that these are the words of the covenant God made with them, to make them a people of God, set apart to Him, simply for His good pleasure. You will hear many today speak against the doctrine of Sovereign Election—that God chooses those whom He will save—and say that “it’s not fair!” Well, was it “fair” for God to only choose this people to receive His Law and be brought into a covenant with Him? What of the Ammonite, or the Moabite? Would it not have been “fair” for God to tell them His law and how to please Him and how to atone for their sins? Was it “fair” for God to only choose—not all the descendants to Abraham, not all the descendants of Isaac—but only the descendants of Jacob to be His people? For He did not enter into an everlasting covenant with the descendants of Ishmael; He did not enter into an everlasting covenant with the descendants of Esau; He only entered into such a covenant with the descendants of Jacob (Israel), and it was only these with whom He made a covenant that these should be His people.
And this Law that He gave—the Ten Commandments and the other 513 commands—were the rules they were to live by in order to continue to be considered His people. These commands were not burdens, they were not grievous. They were how all people should act in accordance with the holiness and righteousness of God. If someone does not want to obey these commands, they cannot be a child of God. If they want to steal; if they want to murder; if they want to defile their neighbor’s wife; if they want to commit acts of homosexuality, then they cannot be called the people of God. Because these things go against everything He is and that person will not prosper as a child of God. As it says in Deuteronomy 5:32-33—32 “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” I’ll finish with these words from Matthew Henry—
Seeing God had shown himself so tender of them, and so willing to consider their frame and gratify them in what they desired, and withal so ready to make the best of them, - seeing they themselves had desired to have Moses for their teacher, who was now teaching them, - and seeing they had promised so solemnly, and under the influence of so many good causes and considerations, that they would hear and do, he charges them to walk in all the ways that God had commanded them, assuring them that it would be highly for their advantage to do so. The only way to be happy is to be holy.
Deuteronomy 5:6-22—6 “' I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 7 You shall have no other gods before Me. 8 You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 11 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 12 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 17 You shall not murder. 18 You shall not commit adultery. 19 You shall not steal. 20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.' 22 These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.”
Here we come to the crux of this entire study—the Law and its application to our lives today. Here we have Moses repeating the Ten Words (Ten Commandments) that God gave to him atop Mt. Sinai. These were the terms and conditions of this covenant that God made with the people of Israel. But what of the other 513 commands in the Law? Were the people to keep them too, and if they didn’t, what would happen to the people? And why were these ten given apart from the other 513? And most importantly for us, what do they mean for us today? Are we supposed to keep them? All good questions, so let’s address them.
“What of the other 513 commands in the Law? Were the people to keep them too, and if they didn’t, what would happen to the people? And why were these ten given apart from the other 513?” First, let’s talk about these ten in relation to the entirety of the 613 commandments contained in the Law. The Ten Commandments were given to all the people atop Sinai as the cornerstone of the entire Law. But these Ten Commandments don’t include the commands against homosexuality, bestiality, and incest. The Ten Commandments were the first ten spoken by God to the people, and written by God onto tablets of stone. Moses then brought these tablets down to the people, who said “It is enough! You alone go up and speak with God! We will wait down here! We are frightened by the voice of God.” So Moses went back up Sinai to receive the rest of the Words spoken by God. And what we have as Exodus 20:22-Leviticus 27:34 (with the exception of a few places) was the other 513 commandments, also spoken to Moses by God within that same time frame. So really, all 613 Commandments of the Law were given to Moses upon Mt. Sinai within those 40 days and 40 nights that Moses was at the summit. And the penalties for breaking these commands, which were included with the giving of the commands, were to be carried out against the violators of the commands—whether considering the person unclean until sundown, or cutting the person off from the people, or the death of the perpetrator.
“So why does Moses only mention the Ten Commandments here?” Two reasons. First, these were the only ten that the people heard spoken at the mountain before they got scared of hearing God’s voice, so Moses received the other 513 commandments after he ascended back up the mount. Exodus 21:1—“Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them.” God continued giving His law to Moses even after the people said they did not want to hear the voice of God lest they be consumed (Exodus 20:18-21). The other reason Moses only restated the Ten Commandments was for the sake of time. Do you think it would have behooved Moses to speak the entirety of the book of Leviticus at this time? To again write all the words he wrote in that book? No, it was sufficient for him to only speak and write the words which the people heard, as they could understand the rest when he later wrote Deuteronomy.
“So what does this mean for us today? Are we supposed to keep the entire Law, or just the Ten Commandments?” This is where we need to slow down and let the Scriptures speak. These were the words of the covenant that God made with the people of Israel, the covenant which they broke (Jeremiah 31:32). Once this covenant was broken, God would make a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31). So God began preparing the way for the new and better covenant to come into being. Malachi 3:1—"Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. This is speaking of John the Baptist (see Matthew 3:3). He would announce to the people of Israel that the time of the establishment of the New Covenant was at hand, that God was going to establish a new Way for the people’s sins to be forgiven. John 1:29—“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” No longer would the people have to bring bulls and goats to the temple of God for them to be slaughtered and butchered in a particular way. God was providing His own Lamb, upon whom the sins of all the believing would be laid, and He would take those sins to God for them to be expiated. And in this new covenant, there were not 613 commandments which were to be followed to the letter, but rather only two simple commands. Matthew 22:36-40—36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Whereas the Torah observant Jews were trying to keep the covenant that their fathers had already broken, Jesus was going forth announcing a new covenant which they refused. While the old covenant was mediated by Moses (Galatians 3:19), this new covenant would be mediated by God Himself—the Second Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, 12:24). And just as at the base of Mt. Sinai the people did not want to hear the voice of God lest they be consumed, now they did not want to hear the voice of God because it spoke against them and their inability to uphold the covenant that God made with their fathers.
So Jesus spilt His blood, ushering in the New Covenant. Now, what did this New Covenant say about the Old Covenant? It says that a new and better covenant may be established, that the Old Covenant is ready to be done away with (Hebrews 8:13). Included in that Old Covenant that is being done away with are the commandments contained therein—the Old Testament Law. “So you’re saying this Law was done away with?” Yes, that is what I am saying—but only for those who believe. There are many who are afraid to say that, thinking that saying this will give people carte blanche to act however they want to according to their desires. But let’s discuss this for a minute. First, what else would the apostle Paul mean when he said in Romans 6:14, when he said For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace? His words are clear, that the Law does not hold sway over us as believers in Christ. You are not under law. Plus, when we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, leading us in the ways of righteousness, and convicting us of sin, so that if we do sin our hearts will be heavy and we will go to God and ask for forgiveness, which will be provided to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
“Yes, but in Romans 6:14, when Paul uses the word ‘you’, he is writing to believers. We believers are not under law, but what of unbelievers?” The unbeliever is still under that Law, and it will hold him accountable to God. “Explain.” I will. He writes to Timothy in 1st Timothy 1:9-10—9 Knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. The Law will judge those who continue to commit sin and whose sins are not taken away by the blood of Christ. If your sins have been paid for by Christ, they will not again be brought up before God when you die—You are not under law—the blood of Jesus has taken away those sins, and you will stand righteous and accepted by God (Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19). But if Christ’s blood has not washed away one’s sins, and one dies in those sins, how is God to judge that person for those sins? What standard is He to use? He will use His Law. The law is not made for a righteous person, but…for sinners. The sinner, in the New Testament, is one who does not have faith in Christ as His payment for sins. That is who the Law is now for—the one who stands naked and open to God, their sins still clinging to them like refuse, and that person will be judged by His Law.
Paul says in another place, What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19). God gave His Law because of sins. He did not give the Law in order to make people righteous, but rather because people are unrighteous. He gave it to the people of Israel because He chose them, out of all the people in the world. He did not give it to the Edomites. He did not give it to the Amalekites. He did not give it to the Hivites or the Perizzites or the Girgashites. He gave it to the Israelites, not because they were any better than their neighbors, but to show their neighbors how sinful those neighbors were. Moses would tell the people in Deuteronomy 9:4-6—4 “Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land'; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you…6 Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.” That must have been a blow to their pride. And this is the effect the Doctrine of Election should have on us. That God chose us, not because we were good enough or righteous enough—for we are neither, at heart—but because we are unrighteous, there being nothing in us that would commend us to God. But we are all, each and every human being, a stiff-necked people that shrink away from God every chance we get.
And it is this Law that shows us so. In our unregenerated state, we want nothing to do with God. We make for ourselves idols that we will desire against and above God. We want what we want, and we will kill and steal and covet until we have it. “But what about people that do not kill and steal?” James 2:10-11—10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. Do they believe in God? No? Then they have created for themselves a God they worship even if they don’t believe they do. They say they do not believe in any gods, but they do. If they believe that the human race is the pinnacle of everything, then they believe that the human race created itself, thus setting up the human race as their god. These are the people that the Law will condemn when they stand before God on the last day.
