The Commandments
By the Rev. Andrew McHenry - First Congregational Church
Friday, February 13, 2009
Once in awhile the Ten Commandments make the news. There will be a display in a public setting (such as a courthouse, a city square, a public park, etc.). But then someone will file a court motion calling for their removal, alleging a breach of separation of church and state. Often the courts rule in their favor, the display is removed, and there’s a public outcry of some kind.
I have mixed feelings about these things. On the one hand, I’m certainly not a fan of the activists who launch these lawsuits. They forget that the establishment clause was put in the Constitution to protect religious practice, not to squelch it. They seem to believe in a separation of religious belief from public consequence — which is something our founding fathers never dreamed of. Also, these efforts are sometimes (but not always) driven by atheists and agnostics who are trying to force their anti-religious beliefs on society just as much as any religionist.
But even with that said, I think these battles are largely symbolic, and I would question their value — for three reasons …
Most of the people who get upset about these court cases belong to churches with no outside displays of the Ten Commandments. This raises a question: Why are religious folks asking civil authorities to do something that we don’t have an interest in doing ourselves? This makes no sense to me.
The Ten Commandments are sometimes displayed but are rarely memorized, much less lived. What matters most is not how many times or places they are posted on the streets, but how they are posted on our lives. That makes a better impact than winning a court battle.
To use the Ten Commandments as an ethical norm for our whole society is to take them out of context. They were given as a summary of commands in a covenant relationship between God and His people (Exodus 19:5-6). This carries over to the New Testament, where the Jesus emphasized them as part of a whole-life consecration in following him (Matthew 19:16-21). To place the Ten Commandments as the norm in a society of believers, non-believers, and other religionists is to use them in a way that places obedience before faith — and that never works.
What works then? It’s good to look at the progression that develops within the Ten Commandments.
The first four of them (in Exodus 20:3-11) focus on our relationship with God.
The remaining six (in Exodus 20:12-17) focus on relations between fellow human beings. And there is a movement here — from deed to word to thought. These commandments prohibit murder, adultery, and stealing (deeds), bearing false witness (words), and covetousness (thoughts).
The 10th Commandment, against covetousness, is particularly important because it teaches a central truth: God wants us to live for him with purity of heart. Jesus expands on this by telling his followers not just to pursue outward conformity to the commands, but an inner purity (Matthew 5:21-22,27-28; 23:25-26; cf. James 1:14-15).
But the 10th Commandment is also the easiest one to disobey. Which one of us hasn’t wanted things we don’t need, or (in some cases) things we shouldn’t have? This fact teaches us a couple of important truths:
We have a deep need for grace. Since we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God, only a covenant relationship with a forgiving savior can set us free. And that is why Jesus was sent. He took his place on a cross, not a throne, so that we could be forgiven. And he sets us free to live anew, with a new heart and a new life in him.
We are all a work in progress. The Holy Spirit is working in every believer every day, and he won’t be finished so long as we walk this earth. But as he works he teaches us about our identity in Christ. And the more we realize our place in God’s larger plan, the less we’ll be tempted to covet what other people have in their lives.
God bless you.
F “Sunday Sermon” is a forum for Emporia area ministers to share their sermons, thoughts and observations. This week’s sermon is from the Rev. Andrew McHenry of Emporia’s First Congregational Church.