Concerning the Ten Commandments

HANGING TWO INSTEAD OF TEN

An Argument Against Arbitrarily Posting The Ten Commandments

By Mark E. McLeroy

Part 3 of 4

The writers of the New Testament, especially Paul, repeatedly reminded us of our new life and our freedom from the law of sin and death. In Col 2:13-14, Paul wrote “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Please, read chapters 3 through 8 in the book of Romans, which some call the “Heart of the Gospel”, where Paul repeatedly explains the purpose of the Commandments and the Law, and how we have been freed from the bondage they bring. Look in chapter 6, verses 2 through 7, where he explains, “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” Want more? Read chapters two and three in Galatians, where Paul chastises not only the “foolish Galatians”, but the Apostle Peter, himself, for continueing to promote the observance of the Law.

A teacher I know puts it this way: Christ gave His life for us, so He could give His life to us, so He could live His life through us! In a nutshell, God gave us the Commandments and the Book of the Law to show us what He required of us in order to live perfectly, but knowing that we could not keep them according to His standards. Why? Because people were dead spiritually, seperated from God, thanks to Adam. As He said in Jeremiah, “...they followed the stubborn inclinations of their sinful hearts.” (Surely you’ve noticed the stubborn, rebelious nature of all little children, especially when they’re told not to do something!) Then, after mankind was buried with His righteous requirements, God, who is Love, sent His Son, Jesus, to: 1) Tell us about the love in which He was most interested; 2) Show us His unconditional love by fulfilling the Commandments and taking all the punishment due for the failure of mankind to keep them; 3) Give us love, and new spiritual life, so that we could walk in the two ways of love He suggested in the Gospels. Through His Holy Spirit, the One who gave the Ten Commandments, and the One who fulfilled them, is able to put His law in our minds and write it on our hearts when we accept Jesus into our lives, thus completing His prophecy; and His Plan. In effect, the Law was established to lead us to Jesus Christ, not by what we do, but by what we cannot do without His presence in our lives.(Rom 6:20-21, Gal 3:24-25) As Paul put it: “ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!!” (Rom 7:24-25)

Surely someone is thinking, “Well, if posting the Ten Commandments will lead people to Christ, isn’t that a fine argument for supporting that idea?” It would be; if God - and Jesus - and the Bible - and teachers of grace were allowed into our schools and our public venues; and if the punishment for breaking those Commandments had enough teeth to force a showdown - and a decision! Someone else is probably saying, “Well now, Paul said the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good in Rom 7:12.” That’s true, he did; but read the rest of the chapter, where he explains the reason that he called them holy, righteous and good is because they made him realize how dead he was in his sinful nature, and how much he needed life, which is only available through Jesus Christ, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. He explains this process in Romans, chapter 8, beginning with those wonderful words of freedom: “Now there is no condemanation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life (the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit) set me free from the law of sin and death (the Book of the Law)”. Oh, by the way, since the Commandments are holy, should we be entrusting them to our Godless, unholy public school facilities?

OK, then, what about the idea of posting or displaying just the two commandments about loving God and loving our neighbor that Jesus gave us? But again, there is a problem with this idea. What would be the power behind these commands, that is, the incentive to keep them? When we read these commands in Deut 6:4-5 and Lev 19:18, we see that even in the OT there were no punishments listed for disobeying these two commands. Can you imagine the idea of punishing someone because they didn’t love God or their neighbor (or their self) like they were supposed to do? The very essence of the type of love Jesus was teaching was that of a totally devoted love (“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”[Mark 12:30]) (emphasis mine). This was a love with an unconditional nature, in that no exceptions were allowed for not obeying the commands. So then, if we attach a punishment to breaking the command, it is no longer the unconditional love Jesus had in mind. Likewise, if we add a specific award to the keeping of the commands, it would no longer be unconditional. Can you immagine a teacher telling his or her class, “ If you don’t show your love for me today, you will have detention after school!”, or “Now if you love everyone you meet today, we’ll have a pizza party tommorow!” No, God knew that this love had to come from the “heart”, or center, of a person’s being – his spirit. Therefore, the power for keeping these commands had to reside in the same place: In a person’s “heart”, or spirit. Only then would love be an outcome of who we are, instead of what we do.

Of course, that can only happen when we become “born again” (John 3:3-8), and the Lord Jesus Christ, the author and purveyor of unconditional love, comes to live in our heart, and brings new life to our spirit, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.(2 Cor 5:14-21) Here’s how the Apostle Peter put it in his second Epistle, chapter one, verses two through four: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may partcipate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”(Emphasis mine) Wow! Please, look closer at the words of this incredible scripture! Not only do we who are “born again” receive and abundance of grace and peace; but we are aslo equipped by God’s divine power with everything we need for life and godliness, including the ability to love unconditionally (wouldn’t you say that is a part of life and godliness?). AND, we are allowed to participate in the divine nature of God! AND, we are enabled to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires! Can you imagine what effect all of that would have have on our schools and our homes and the other areas of our lives, if we could get a hold of this truth, and teach it to our kids?

“Where does it say that you have to be ‘born again’ to partake in what this scripture is saying?”, you ask. Well, do you see those two similar sounding phrases which appear twice in that short scripture passage? The two phrases are, “...through the knowledge of God and Jesus, our Lord” and “...through our knowledge of him”. The words “knowledge of” are the key. Take a look at the Gospel of John, chapter 17, and Pauls first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter two, verses 10 through 14, and I think you will see what I mean.

The 17th chapter of John is what I call the “real” Lord’s prayer in that we see our Lord, Jesus, praying to his Father. In John 17:3, Jesus describes what he means by the words “eternal life” (=salvation). He says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Now, look at John 17:25-26: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and that I myself may be in them.”

To be continued...