CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
July 18, 2004
PLEASE PRAY FOR:
Our congregation Various friends, co-workers and relatives
Our nation, military and leaders David and Leon in the Navy
The Stolte’s in Germany Yevette’s parents
The Henderson’s are traveling to North Carolina Mick and Ruby
LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING:
July 19th - SYS at Bammel
July 26th - SYS at First Colony
August 2nd - SYS at Southeast
August 9th - SYS at Clear Lake
THE TEN
“Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets” (Exodus 34:15-16).
One wonders how two tablets written over three thousands years ago can cause such controversy in this country. Not really. There is a conflict, some call it a culture war, in which at least two competing views are seeking dominance in our society. So far, those two tablets that we know as the Ten Commandments are being removed one by one across the country. How long will it be before some one offended by them will demand there removal from the buildings in Washington D.C.? Why are these words so controversial as to bring about law suits and protests? What do they say that causes such consternation in people?
Here is a little thing I read recently that might be helpful.
“Farrar has a helpful summary of the ‘two tablets’ of the Decalogue. Here’s what he says, ‘…the
first commandment means, Worship God exclusively; the second, Worship God spiritually; the
third, Reverence Him in your words; the fourth, Reverence Him on His day; the fifth, Reverence
Him in every form of sacred authority…So that the summary of this first table is that life is
worship…turning to the second table, we see that the sixth commandment is the law of kindness;
the seventh, the law of purity; the eighth, the law of honesty; the ninth, the law of truthfulness;
the tenth, the law of contentment. So that the summary of the second table is that life is love’”
(Jim McGuiggan, quoting F.W. Farrar, www.jimmcguiggan.com, Exodus).
Jesus summed it up this way: “’ The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31).
Loving one’s neighbor seems to be the goal of most, at least according to the rhetoric that is being used. Yet those who oppose the Ten Commands are on the side of everything that is wrong or evil. Should we not be kind to all? Yet many support abortion, which certainly isn’t kind to the unborn baby. They also opposed the death penalty for capital murder, ignoring the victims of such crimes and their families. Purity would seem to be a noble motive, yet we find that those who oppose the Ten support the free expression of pornography and other immoral lifestyles, sex education among elementary children without the parents knowledge and other such activities. Honesty surely is a positive need. One would think so until one finds out that lies were used to support the right to abortion, that politicians lie to get elected, and that others lie to gain money or position. Truthfulness has suffered because truth telling is seen as dangerous; people just cannot handle it. Unfortunately the church has trouble with the last two as well. Rather than being honest and truthful with ourselves and one another, we prefer to hide and deceive (the congregation just cannot handle this) than to tell the truth and face the music. In our society, contentment is something that is difficult to find. People want more and will use any means to attain it. So I can understand why these Ten cause such controversy.
We didn’t look at the first five but we know how God is viewed by the élites of this country. He and His people are mocked and ridiculed. God is a personal thing and should be talked about only in private settings or churches, not in public. Certainly lets not post anything about Him, especially in a way that might influence children and adults to change their lives. Those poor children with their skulls full of mush might be inhibited from living a “proper” life if God is in it. It’s alright for them to see “Saving Private Ryan” with all its blood and gore, but they might be psychologically damage seeing “The Passion of the Christ” because of its brutality. What many fail to see is that the philosophy behind the blood and gore of World War II was also the cause of the brutality of the crucifixion of Jesus. Sin is a four letter word today because it calls to account individual responsibility. And we just cannot have that. Other people or things are to blame and they must pay a price. So we blame America for terrorism, the government for a failure to protect us, a cop for the deaths of people in a high speed chase, the coach for the failure of a team, and on and on and on.
The Ten Commandments are a challenge to live before God and others in a way that is beneficial. When all is said and done, the secular mentality, with all its rhetoric, does not have the best interests of other in mind. Thankfully, while the secular view dominants the media, it doesn’t in society. No, we are not perfect and there are many who follow secularism. But I’m thankful for those who know right from wrong, who are willing to commit themselves to God and live that way. Soldiers who were baptized in the deserts of the Middle East, high school students who seek out ministers to counsel with, Encounter, and a generation that is beginning to challenge the meaningless of secularism seen in the willingness of young adults to commit to marriage and to reject abortion as a birth control method. For seventy years, communist Russia attempted to eliminate God from society. When the Iron Curtain fell, the churches opened and thousands flocked to them. Today, the Bible is taught in the public school system in many former Iron Curtain countries because they see the need for virtues and morality. One can attack God, ignore God, and attempt to regulate God, but He will not go away. And people are not listening to those people but are seeking out God.
That is the challenge given in scripture: seek God while He may be found. He is not far from us (see Acts 17:16-30). One can remove the Ten from buildings, symbols, and laws, but not from the heart. May we practice what they teach as we live our lives to the glory of God.
George B. Mearns