28th August 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where are our certainties?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/sup> century, His laws would transition into the Sinner\u2019s Charter<\/em>. But the real issue was with His people, the Church of the western world in the 21st<\/sup> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The job of the Church is to accept<\/em> that they have lost sight of the certainties of God\u2019s Laws. If it continues in denial, then it will sink into irrelevance, but if individual Christians wake up to the situation, then there\u2019s 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\u2019t changed, then surely they haven\u2019t changed too? <\/em>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?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a key Bible passage, mentioned earlier, that should drive our thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s will is\u2014his good, pleasing and perfect will.<\/em> (Romans 12:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n A much travelled and bookmarked verse, but with great power in its simple truth, the importance of clear, Godly thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us remind ourselves of the journey from Sinai to the Senate. We started with certainty:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And God spoke all these words: \u201cI am the <\/em>Lord<\/em> 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.<\/em> 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\u2019s house. You shall not covet your neighbor\u2019s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.\u201d<\/em> (Exodus 20:1-17)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s remind ourselves by posing questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou shall have no other gods before me.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has the Church allowed any leeway to \u201cother gods\u201d? The \u201cgods\u201d of Islam and Hinduism are most definitely \u201cother gods\u201d so any attempt at a merger<\/em> (Chrislam), a compromise<\/em> (yoga, new age practices) or even gestures<\/em> (Muslim prayers in Cathedrals) are breaking the First commandment.<\/strong> Be warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou 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 \u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/strong> This is also true if we worship money, success, even our own wife or children. Be warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our culture runs fast and loose with casual blasphemies, where the greater sin is committed if you disrespect a member of a \u201cvictim group\u201d 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<\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRemember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy \u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the most neglected of all by the Church, intentionally so. It\u2019s been a running sore throughout Church history, fuelled by anti-Semitism and a misunderstanding of Jesus\u2019 mindset, interpreting His silence on maintaining the tradition as a directive to cease one of God\u2019s 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 \u2018day of rest\u2019. For this reason, we sadly have to admit that the majority of the Church is intentionally breaking the Fourth commandment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHonor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The point to make here is that, if we are truly governed by Biblical principles, then we simply can\u2019t behave as much of the world does on the issue of caring for aged parents. Great sacrifice may be on the cards, even if \u201cour ministry\u201d is perceived to suffer by putting family first. But if we don\u2019t then we could be knowingly breaking the Fifth commandment<\/strong>, while the world watches and shrugs its shoulders and remarks, what\u2019s so different about these Christians anyway, they act just like us?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou shall not murder.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We must not conform to the pattern of this world<\/em> (Romans 12:1) and so acting in a godly manner is not always the \u2018way of peace\u2019 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 \u201cunlawful\u201d murder and \u201clawful\u201d killing. We also need to decide if society is breaking the Sixth commandment<\/strong> on issues such as abortion and euthanasia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou shall not commit adultery.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now here\u2019s an emotive and difficult subject for the Church, that can\u2019t 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\u2019s 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<\/strong>? 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou shall not steal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 <\/strong>in principle, through giving a false witness, as we see with the \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou shall not covet your neighbor\u2019s house. You shall not covet your neighbor\u2019s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our capitalist world feeds on covetousness, it\u2019s 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So a bit of honesty is probably in order. Also to remind ourselves that Jesus himself kept the Ten Commandments and promoted them too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.<\/em> Whoever says, \u201cI know him,\u201d 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.<\/em> (1 John 2:3-6)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So don\u2019t let anyone deflect you with the old that\u2019s Old Testament stuff, we\u2019ve moved on from there! <\/em>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<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.<\/em> It teaches us to say \u201cNo\u201d to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age<\/em> (Titus 2:11-12)<\/p>\n\n\n\n