by Mark A. Finley Taking a Stand for the Ten Commandments It may seem surprising, but the Ten Commandments are creating a lot of controversy these days. In November of 2003, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court defied a federal court order to remove the two-and-a-half ton monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state courthouse. When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the eleventh circuit ordered Judge Roy Moore to remove the Ten Commandments, he argued that the moral law of God was the basis for all law and, therefore, not a violation of the separation of church and state. In a statewide poll, 77 percent of the residents of Alabama agreed with the judge.
2 The controversy over the Ten Commandments in Alabama captured national attention. At a pro-commandment rally in Jackson County, outside of Denver, Colorado, Darrel Scott, the father of one of the shooting victims at Columbine High School shared his conviction that our meeting is not about the Ten Commandments. It is about our young people and our children. Mr. Scott s point was clear to the overflow audience packing the auditorium. In a society of moral relativism burgeoning with violent crime, the Ten Commandments provide a moral compass. In an immoral world, they are the basis of morality. The Ten Commandments have served as a basis for society s laws for more than three millennia. Western governments have modeled their constitutions and established their laws on the moral code of ethics given on Mount Sinai. The psalmist David reminds us of the eternal nature of God s law. He declares, All His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness (Psalm 111:7, 8, KJV). He adds in Psalm 119:151, NKJV, You are near, O Lord, and all Your Commandments are truth. The Ten Commandment law is the foundation of God s government. It defines right and wrong. Without the Ten Commandments, all morality is relative. There are no absolute standards. The apostle Paul wrote... for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20, NKJV). The law defines sin. It clearly states that some behavior is right and other behavior is wrong. Right and wrong are not matters of individual opinion. It s not a matter that s up for grabs defi ned by societal norms or personal preferences. God has already defined right and wrong. In a so- Right and wrong are not matters of individual opinion.... Any society that turns its back on the moral principles of God s law is headed for chaos.
ciety which talks about what s right for you may not be right for me and each person discovers his own right path, God s law speaks with increasing relevance. Any society which turns its back on the moral principles of God s law is headed for chaos. Yet we live in a time in American history when doing your own thing is in vogue, when it has become popular to label anyone with well-defined moral convictions as narrow-minded. What has this attitude toward God s law produced in our society? What fruits has moral relativism spawned? The prophet Hosea spoke of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind (see Hosea 8:7, NKJV). This is precisely what is happening in western society today. We have turned, every one, to his own way (Isaiah 53:6, NKJV), and we are reaping the tragic result. The United States Justice Department reports that 1.6 million violent crimes (rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and homicides) were committed in 2004. Four hundred thousand adults were arrested on drug offense charges in 1970. In a recent survey by the Barna Group, 83 percent of teens surveyed stated that for them, Moral truth depends on the circumstances. Only 6 percent said moral truth is absolute. Perhaps this is one of the major reasons why 70 percent of all teenagers have experienced premarital relations by the time they are twenty-years old. Perhaps this is why the United States has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the industrialized world with 15.3 million new cases reported each year. United States divorce rates are among the highest in the world. Among western nations the U.S. has the lowest percentage (63 percent) of children who grow up with both biological parents, according to the 2005 annual report entitled, The State of Our Unions from the National Marriage Prefect at New Jersey s Rutgers University. 3
4 With moral values crumbling all around us, maybe it is time to take another look at God s law. Maybe it s time not to debate about whether the Ten Commandments should remain in the rotunda of a courthouse in Alabama but to ask if these moral principles are written on our own hearts. Maybe it s time for a lot less arguing about the law and a lot more keeping of the law. It is somewhat contradictory and confusing for some Christian churches to argue on the one hand that the law is done away with in Christ while on the other hand, they decry lower moral standards and shout loudly about America s need to take a stand for the Ten Commandments. One thing is certain! Christ did not come to do away with the law as some Christians contend. He came to live out the principles of the law as an example to believers in every age. He has sent His Spirit to write the law in our minds and hearts. Jesus instructed us, Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17, NKJV). Jesus did not come to destroy the fifth commandment which declares Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12, NKJV). He came to reveal throughout his childhood and adult life a loving example of faithfulness. The Savior did not come to do away with the sixth commandment which declares, You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13, NKJV). He came to reveal the dignity and worth of all human life. He did not come to do away with the seventh commandment which declares, You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14, NKJV). He came to model purity. In addition to dying for us, Jesus came to teach us how to live. In His life we have a wonderful model of living in obedience to the Father. Love for Christ never leads us to disobey His law. Love always leads to obedience, never disobedience. This is why Jesus said, If you love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15, NKJV). All genuine obedience comes from the motive of love. Obe-
dience is a response to His incredible sacrifice on Calvary. We do not obey to earn our salvation. Our obedience is the response of love to His great gift of salvation. We are not saved by our works (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 3:27, 28, NKJV), but any Christian who declares that salvation by grace makes obedience unnecessary misunderstands the gospel. In concluding his discussion on salvation, the apostle Paul makes this point plain when he declares, Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary we establish the law (Romans 3:31, NKJV). The Bible defines sin as the transgression [breaking] of the law (1 John 3:4, KJV). Sin is not based on our definition, but on God s. He defines sin, we do not. The apostle Paul raises a penetrating question for Christians who would attempt to do away with God s law. What then? Shall we sin [break the law] because we are not under law but All genuine obedience comes from the motive of love. Obedience is a response to His incredible sacrifice on Calvary. under grace? Certainly not (Romans 6:15, NKJV)! While some Christian preachers loudly proclaim the law is done away with, the apostle says it certainly is not. God s grace always leads to obedience, never to disobedience. When we come to Jesus, the response of our hearts is to obey Him. According to Hebrews 8:10, NKJV, our Lord makes this marvelous promise, I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. What does it mean that God will write His law in our minds and hearts? He writes the law in our mind so that we understand it. He wants His will to be clear. The precepts of His Ten Commandments speak of our moral responsibility. They reveal plainly how to live. He writes the law in our hearts so that we love it. Obe- 5
6 dience is not some legalistic requirement because an overbearing dictator demands it. It is the response of a heart that loves God supremely. When we obey Him, we are walking a pathway that will lead to ultimate happiness. This is why Jesus said, If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them (John 13:17, KJV). Happiness comes from doing God s will. The Ten Commandment law describes how people who love God live abundant, happy lives. All of God s law can be summarized in one word, love. The Ten Commandment law is actually codified love. The first four commandments reveal how to always respond in love to God. If you love Him, you will abolish all other gods in your heart and worship Him supremely. If you love Him, you will place Him first in your life. You will demolish all idols and worship Him directly. If you love Him, you will respect and honor His name and always use it reverently. If you love Him, you will remember the Sabbath day. Most of the world has forgotten the seventhday Sabbath. Once His followers discover His truth, they joyfully keep the Sabbath as the special day he established as a symbol of His creative and redemptive power. By taking a stand for His Ten Commandment law, we take a stand for love to love God and to love our fellow man. If we genuinely love, we will honor our parents and respect each other. We shall treat each person with the utmost respect and dignity. We will respect their possessions and not steal. We will respect their reputations and not defame their name by criticism or gossip. We will honor God and accept what we have rather than laboriously seeking what someone else has. Think of how our society would be radically changed if Think of how our society would be radically changed if all of us lived by the principles of God s Ten Commandments.
all of us lived by the principles of God s Ten Commandments. Think of what your life would be like if God s love flowed out of your heart in willing obedience to His law. The last book of the Bible declares that at the endtime, God will have a group of people who reveal to a waiting world and a watching universe that God s way of life is best. Through His grace and by His power, they lovingly obey Him. Revelation 12:17, KJV describes them as the remnant who keep the commandments of God. Revelation 14:12, NKJV pictures God s last day people this way: Here is the patience of the saints; here are those which keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The Bible s last message to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people (Revelation 14:6, NKJV) is a clarion call to obedience. It is an urgent appeal to Fear [obey] God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come (Revelation 14:7, NKJV). In light of the judgment hour, God calls all of us to moral responsibility. We are accountable for our actions. We are responsible for our behavior. The final judgment sweeps away all pretense and sham. It affirms the truth that He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4, NKJV). A lot of pretense is evident in Christianity today. God s last day believers will take a stand for obedience. Believers saved by grace willingly obey His commandments. With the aged apostle John they declare, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3, NKJV). Motivated by love, Christ s true followers do not believe the law is a galling yoke around their necks. It is not a burden too heavy to carry. The passion of their lives is to please God. In obeying Him, they find their greatest joy. If obeying God is a great burden, it is only because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law 7
of God, nor indeed can be (Romans 8:7, NKJV). The carnal mind wants to do its own thing. The unconverted heart only wants to please itself. If you are struggling to obey God, it is a matter of the heart. When the heart is fully surrendered to God, obedience is a delight. The new covenant promise is I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues... I will deliver you from all your uncleanness (Ezekiel 36:26, 27, 29, NKJV). The God who calls us to live an obedient life also gives us the power to live obediently. Every command is a promise of what He will do in our lives. His grace not only pardons us from our past sins, it delivers us from the grip of sin. He is not only available when we fall, but is able to keep you from falling (Jude 24, KJV). When we take a stand for His commandments, we stand in His grace. We stand by His power. We stand through His love as a testimony to His glory that Jesus saves from the penalty and power of sin. So today in Him and by Him and through Him take a stand for His commandments. When you do, you will take a stand with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. You will take a stand with Joseph and Daniel. You will take a stand with Peter, James, and John. You will take a stand with faithful believers of all time. You will stand with Jesus Himself. Now that s something worth standing for, and He is Someone worth standing with. It s easy to learn more about the Bible alone in the quietness of your home. To request your free Discover home Bible study plan, call 888-465-7933 or write to: Discover, P.O. Box 53055, Los Angeles, CA 90053. COPYRIGHT 2006 PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSN. PRINTED IN U. S. A. 4333003642 Z xgeddday03642qzz