Yeshua Explored
28th August 2023
Law
Where are our certainties?
When Moses came down from the mountain clutching those stone tablets, little did he know that, thousands of years later, the same etched words (albeit in English) on stone monuments were going to cause such division and consternation! But God knew, of course, He knew that, in the culture of the western world in the 21st century, His laws would transition into the Sinner’s Charter. But the real issue was with His people, the Church of the western world in the 21st century. They have simply lost sight of the certainties etched into stone by the Finger of God, bamboozled by their inability to adapt to the shifting sands of the western mindset that moved swiftly from a Christian base, to the rationality of secular humanism, then to the emotional irrationality of the post-modern Marxism that now holds sway. We now live in a culture riddled with relativism, where truths and Truth are always to be doubted and selectively chosen to fit whatever narrative we are comfortable with. Consequently, our set of ten laws are moulded to fit circumstances, as slaves rather than masters.
The job of the Church is to accept that they have lost sight of the certainties of God’s Laws. If it continues in denial, then it will sink into irrelevance, but if individual Christians wake up to the situation, then there’s still a chance before it is too late. The attitude that needs to be expressed is, if God once gave these laws to mankind then, if He hasn’t changed, then surely they haven’t changed too? Instead, the attitude that seems to be followed by most of the Church is, Yes, God gave mankind these laws, but surely mankind has changed, so should our interpretation of the laws change?
Here’s a key Bible passage, mentioned earlier, that should drive our thinking:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
A much travelled and bookmarked verse, but with great power in its simple truth, the importance of clear, Godly thinking.
Let us remind ourselves of the journey from Sinai to the Senate. We started with certainty:
And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods beforeme. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:1-17)
Although these laws formed the bedrock for national legal systems, they never sustained any kind of prominence in the Church. They have been eclipsed by creeds, dominated by issues of personal salvation, rather than standards of behaviour. The Church has a better track record for saving souls than in training souls. As a result, it has lost sight of the certainties of Laws once given by God to His people. Let’s remind ourselves by posing questions:
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Has the Church allowed any leeway to “other gods”? The “gods” of Islam and Hinduism are most definitely “other gods” so any attempt at a merger (Chrislam), a compromise (yoga, new age practices) or even gestures (Muslim prayers in Cathedrals) are breaking the First commandment. Be warned.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them …”
Is our worship 100% directed towards God, our Creator? If even a crumb of adoration falls at the feet of our worship leaders, or our pastors, or any substitute, however worthy it may seem, then we are breaking the Second commandment. This is also true if we worship money, success, even our own wife or children. Be warned.
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name”.
Our culture runs fast and loose with casual blasphemies, where the greater sin is committed if you disrespect a member of a “victim group” rather than Jesus Christ. His very name is brandished as an exclamation, rather than a statement of adoration. What of you and me? Do we regularly audit our speech patterns, even for what may seem innocuous? It may not be for Him, who holds no-one guiltless and so we may very well be breaking the Third commandment on a regular basis!
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy …”
This is the most neglected of all by the Church, intentionally so. It’s been a running sore throughout Church history, fuelled by anti-Semitism and a misunderstanding of Jesus’ mindset, interpreting His silence on maintaining the tradition as a directive to cease one of God’s Holy Commandments. The move to a Sunday has not helped the situation, as the form has not reflected the function in terms of exactly what God commanded us to do on the ‘day of rest’. For this reason, we sadly have to admit that the majority of the Church is intentionally breaking the Fourth commandment.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you”.
The point to make here is that, if we are truly governed by Biblical principles, then we simply can’t behave as much of the world does on the issue of caring for aged parents. Great sacrifice may be on the cards, even if “our ministry” is perceived to suffer by putting family first. But if we don’t then we could be knowingly breaking the Fifth commandment, while the world watches and shrugs its shoulders and remarks, what’s so different about these Christians anyway, they act just like us?
“You shall not murder.”
We must not conform to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1) and so acting in a godly manner is not always the ‘way of peace’ as others may see it. Our God has killed off many in His Name, through the Flood, or at Sodom and Gomorrah, for instance. We need His perspective on the sanctity and the taking of human life and although this issue is not going to impact most of us directly, we need to see the distinctions between “unlawful” murder and “lawful” killing. We also need to decide if society is breaking the Sixth commandment on issues such as abortion and euthanasia.
“You shall not commit adultery.”
Now here’s an emotive and difficult subject for the Church, that can’t even seem to agree these days on an acceptable definition of what marriage is. But God came up with the concept and has been very clear on this issue and its importance to Him. Perhaps those in leadership need to remind themselves of Jesus’s proclamation in Matthew 19:1-12. Also, with the level of Christian divorces running almost as high as in the secular world there needs to be serious consideration of the implications and circumstances and whether there is an issue with breaking the Seventh commandment? One thing to remember is that we are not called to judge and point fingers, as there could very well be extenuating circumstances, but God is always the ultimate judge.
“You shall not steal.”
This is not as trivial a matter as it is often made out to be. We Christians must examine ourselves and our motives and always consider that the gift of life is a gift from God, as is the gift of time allotted to us and the gift of finances that He allows to pass through our hands. Are we making the best use of these gifts because, if we are not returning the favour to Him through the way we interact with the world and His Church, then we could very well be breaking the Eighth commandment?
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.”
In a culture that positively revels in untruths and gossip, we Christians are in real danger of being sucked into this madness. We need to be people of the Truth, not just in the everyday business of avoiding lies (even white lies and minor peccadillos) but in the Eternal Truths passed to us through Scripture and revelation. Is our version of the Truth the right one? Are we reading the Bible correctly? These things need to concern us, otherwise we are not being the best witnesses for our God and could be unconsciously breaking the Ninth commandment in principle, through giving a false witness, as we see with the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Our capitalist world feeds on covetousness, it’s what makes it work. Are we being sucked in, also? So we need to examine ourselves and consider whether we have joined the world in breaking the Tenth commandment.
So a bit of honesty is probably in order. Also to remind ourselves that Jesus himself kept the Ten Commandments and promoted them too:
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:3-6)
So don’t let anyone deflect you with the old that’s Old Testament stuff, we’ve moved on from there! The Ten Commandments applied to Jesus in his earthly life and they apply to us now too. The only difference between us and Old Testament Jews is that we have the law written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-35) and our hearts have been renewed by grace. This plain fact has sadly been overlooked or ignored by many in the Church, that law and grace are not at odds with each other, but, instead must work together.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-12)
The rest is up to us. We need to reclaim these Ten Commandments as relevant to our generation, even to a Church that seems to trivialise the need for conduct based on given Laws. We need to keep them and then teach them to others. Then, perhaps, the World will sit up and notice us a people of hope and certainty.
This is an extract from the book, Sinner’s Charter: Are the ten commandments for today?, available for £10 at https://www.sppublishing.com/the-sinners-charter-260-p.asp
