Ten Commandments - Responding to Supreme Court Decision

We lament the continued move on the part of our country toward secularism as evidenced in the decision making process of the Supreme Court. But we need to remind ourselves that we are called by God to be witness in this world. H. B. London, from Focus on the Family, has written a good piece regarding the Christian's response to the Supreme Court ruling on the 10 Commandments. He writes in an editorial entitled, "TEN COMMANDMENTS: SEE THEM OR LIVE THEM?"

This week's somewhat cloudy decision by the Supreme Court regarding the Ten Commandments brings to my mind the real significance of God's teaching through Moses to all mankind.

It is not the display of the commandments that concerns me nearly as much as our adherence to them. Warren Wiersbe writes, "God's people have three responsibilities when it comes to His commandments: hear them, learn them, and do them. God's laws are clear and simple; man's laws are complex. Beware of a mere outward obedience to the laws of God. We must have true fear of God in our hearts as well as love for him."

Hear the word of the Lord, "Oh that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever" (Deut. 5:29).

Personally, I wish the laws of God, that have been the model for man's behavior for untold centuries, could be displayed everywhere, but my greatest concern is that, in this day of "grace," that some, even within the church, see God's commandments as mere suggestions. That just may be one of the reasons for so much chaos in the body of Christ.

Probably all of you at one time or another have preached a series of sermons on the commandments. This might just be a good time to pull them off the shelf, dust them off, and once again emphasize the word of our Lord, "Learn them and be sure to follow them" (Deut. 5:1). Perhaps you could teach these truths for the remainder of the summer.

"We know we have come to know him if we obey his commands" (1 John 2:3). God's direction for us is not restrictive, but very liberating." (from Pastor's Weekly Briefing, June 30, 2005).