Sabbath Keeping

August 29, 2010 – 7:05 pm


8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 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.

Exodus 20:8-11

God’s ownership of creation is not merely a statement made at the beginning of the Bible. It is a recurring theme that is repeated again and again. If you look thoughtfully upon the Biblical story of creation, it clashes dramatically with the general idea that God merely “found the earth” and all of its created matter. If we and all we see and know merely evolved, then perhaps the idea that man created God is operative. However, the complexity of creation coupled with the brilliance of it all makes it seem more rational that God is Creator. The idea of theistic evolution (the marriage of God with nature as parents) seems to stretch the point of reason.

The idea of a Sabbath rest was initiated with the Biblical accounting of creation. At the conclusion of God’s creating activity, He rested. This serves as a guideline for man’s conduct of his activities. Therefore, the idea of a Sabbath is the fourth of God’s commandments dealing with our relationship with Him. It was God’s declaration that the Hebrew culture that was to be molded by His law would differ from the secular world. God declared a day of rest following a six day work week. Continuous daily work was the order of the day for slaves and servants in the ancient world. God’s declaration of a day of rest was both for the reasons of worship and compassion.

10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Luke 13:10-17

The point with which Jesus seemed to infuriate the Pharisees frequently concerned the keeping of the Sabbath. The word Pharisee means separated. They separated themselves from society to strictly follow the law. They dressed differently, behaved differently and were zealous for the law. As with most zealots of all ages, they became focused on the letter of the law rather than the intention. For the Pharisee “no work on the Sabbath” meant just that. In the application of medical care, preventing death and maintenance of the status quo was acceptable but healing on this sacred day was prohibited. Work was defined by 39 different categories. Understand that this was not in the Hebrew Scriptures but was developed in their practice of the law and is referred to by Jesus as the “traditions of men.”

1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

3Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6he is not to ‘honor his father[c]‘ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8” ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

Matthew 15:1-9

What were some of these traditions? The wearing of a bow on the clothing of a woman on the Sabbath was considered as a violation of this day. The law says “you are not to carry a load” on this day. A simple bow was declared to be a load. A father could not lift his child.

It seems clear that God’s intention in establishing a day of rest was to celebrate and honor both the Creator and that which He had created. The Sabbath was made clearly for man and not the reverse. The intention of the law was to lighten the load of mankind but in the application of the letter and not the intent, it became an incapacitating burden.

Strict adherence to the letter was a dangerous precedent in warfare and the devout Jew would not defend himself if attacked on the Sabbath. Their enemies waited until the Sabbath to attack.

The resurrection of Jesus from the grave as verification of the trueness of His Messiahship resulted in a transformation of this commandment. Rather than a celebration of creation it was transformed to a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. The celebration day was changed from Saturday to Sunday. Overtime various restrictions have been added or removed as a portion of this special day. It is common parlance to designate this day as “The Lord’s Day.” The focus obviously switches from the original creation to a new creation (brothers and sisters of Christ.) The Sabbath and The Lord’s Day are clearly two separate days celebrating two different events.

Rather than taking guidelines from the Pharisees for the conduct of the Sabbath perhaps we should view the activities of the early church. They met to worship, pray, sing and share in corporate communion. Herein lies the true importance of the celebration of The Lord’s Day for this congregation. We meet as Saints. (The Bible’s designation of the reborn and not so called by the quality of our characters.) We share our individual talents to enhance our ability to worship (give God His worth.) The title of “Saints” is always plural and never singular in Biblical usage. By our gathering, we show the importance of honoring God and His Christ to our peers, the world, and to the generations that follow us. Such feeds our souls and moves us along on the path of sanctification. Such prepares us for the big event of being in the presence of God for eternity.

 
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It is Written in Stone

August 22, 2010 – 7:15 pm


“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Exodus 20:7

In our study of the Ten Commandments we have been informed that the True God of Creation is solitary. He is of unity and is tolerant of no rivals. It stands to reason because of God’s nature and His differing from His created, that we must be told of His nature and character. It is for these reasons that He must reveal to us who He is. Some grasp that as a result of this nature (of God), He has chosen to reveal to us who He is by Scripture. It is this scripture that gives us a biography of His Son which shows us exactly what God is like. His Son also serves not only as a revelation of God but as a Savior of mankind.

It is within these scriptures that God declares His solitary nature and His refusal to accept anyone else as an equal or subordinate. This is the first of the 10 Commands. The second is a prohibition of any attempt to symbolically represent Him in the form of an idol or graven image.

With these in place God declares that we are not to take “His name in vain.” The NIV translates this as “misuse.” At the heart of this stipulation is the knowledge that God and the discussion of God are sacred.

The vain or profane use of God’s name violates the concept of the sacredness of God and results in the dishonoring of God. To profane God is to lessen the honor due God and destroys the place of worthiness that His person not only deserves but demands as well. This warning against the use of the name of God renders profanity to be prohibitive. As a result the incorporation of the name of God in cursing or in outbursts of anger is a violation of this commandment. We all recognize it when we hear it and unfortunately profanity is common place in the modern day world.

Speech patterns are habitual. We generally talk like our parents, family, classmates, and associates. How you talk before a child in private will often be shouted from the housetops by this same child when it will be the most embarrassing.

Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:12

God views vow relationships to be sacred. That which we declare in a court of law or before a congregation at the baptismal fount or before the altar is to be kept in integrity. We are not to back up the giving of our word with the name of God unless the commitment is from your soul. Jesus speaks to this issue in Matthew 5:33-37.

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Matthew 5:33-37

God takes the issue of vows quite seriously whether or not His name is spoken as the vow is pledged. The declaration here is 2 fold. We must honor our declarations with faithfulness when dealing with God and the same trustworthiness extends to our relationships with our fellowman. A latter listed commandment deals more directly with our dealings with our neighbors.

Monthly within our worship we celebrate communion at the altar rail. The minister and the communion steward serve one another, and then all others within the congregation who declare themselves to believe on Jesus as the Christ, come forward as well. This symbolic meal is celebrated as commanded by Jesus and constitutes one of our two sacraments. We recognize that the elements are symbols of the body and life of Christ that were given for our salvation. This is a time of spiritual renewal when we once again step out to profess Jesus as Lord and recall our vow of allegiance to His person and His Kingdom. It is a sobering time in that we recall His suffering for our sins and His warning to count the cost before we declare Him Lord. But it is also a time of joy for we again grasp God’s love to gift His own Son for our salvation.

We are now five centuries or so beyond the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. We are indebted to many men and women who suffered persecution and even death at the hands of the Church and State. Their crime was to question the status quo. From this seismic upheaval of the religious and political world was the emergence of a Bible in the language of everyday people. Few knew Latin or Greek, including the priests who uttered words they had memorized but didn’t understand. The translation of ancient texts into German and ultimately English suddenly provided a text that the literate could understand. The worthiness of the Bible could no longer be hidden from searching eyes eager to learn of God and the truth of salvation. We fail to appreciate the sacrifice necessary to bring us this book that we all possess but sometimes neglect.

God gives in His directions to those who teach and preach His Word, specific instructions concerning the declaration of His Word. They are to neither add to nor take away from this work. Simply, the Bible is God’s Word and the main ideas are not subject to tampering. To do so takes God’s Word “in vain.”

The striking feature that we all must glean from the 3rd of the 10 Commandments is that God places the aspect of words in a place of prominence. Words emerge from who we are within our heart. Jesus has warned us that only the pure in heart will see God.

 
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“Mairzy doats and Dozy doats, and Liddle Lamzy divey”

August 16, 2010 – 1:23 pm

Righteousness through Faith

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26

August 1962 found me assigned to a MASH unit (mobile army surgical hospital) in the wilds of a foreign country called “South Carolina.” I was a member of an aggressor army with a non-surprising name suggesting the United Soviet Socialistic Republic. Our tents were set up in a large field and we treated the occasional soldier with an injury, stress related to heat, or some general malady. The maneuver lasted for about two weeks. During this time, the two combined armies experienced 9 deaths. 8 of these were accidental and one was judged to be murder. Even playing war is dangerous.

There were 5 physicians assigned to our unit. 2 were general medical officers, one was a general surgeon from Brooklyn, N.Y., and 2 were obstetricians. (No, we delivered no babies during the war games.) Despite being from Brooklyn, the general surgeon was understandable, but the need for instruction in southern culture was obvious.

The major keys to a successful practice of medicine are the history and physical exam. Gene, the surgeon, had never spoken “southern” before nor even heard such. So, I gave him a possible presentation in East Tennessee.  The patient said, “I was out in the field when I got swimmy headed, so I hunkered down but I creeled my ankle. It began to pone up and I was afeared that it might fester and beal, so I came on in.” Translation: “I felt faint and as I crouched I twisted my ankle and it began to swell. I feared it might get infected and drain so I sought medical advice.”  His response was “Oh.”

One of the Biblical words that we must understand is “justify”. In modern everyday usage it speaks of entitlement. If I contract to work for you, do so to our agreement, then I am justified to expect remuneration. However Paul’s use of the word in Romans has a different connotation. It means to be treated as sinless or cleansed. It is presented as a legal term defining one’s statue before God as the result of the justifying action (cleansing) by the salvific work of Jesus. We appropriate this cleansing action by faith in Jesus and not by works.


4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:4-9

The understanding of grace is a critical word to allow us to comprehend how we sinners are made perfect in the eyes of God. Our standard for comparison is not another individual for all of us are flawed by sin. Romans 3:23 indicates that “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” Our standard is the perfect Jesus and what we desperately need is the crediting of His purity to our account. This is accomplished by faith in Christ that is gifted by the Holy Spirit. So accomplished, God accepts us as being pure as is His Son Jesus. Why does God do so? It is the result of His graciousness. Grace is simply unmerited love. Love is gifted not in response to works or ritual but is given because of the nature of who God is. God loves us as His creation and accepts us as newly created humanity because of our acceptance of Jesus as our Sinbearer.

Our vocabulary progresses because we understand the language of Biblical salvation. Sinners, violators of God’s law by thought or deed; justified, treated as sinless, and cleansed by Divine action; Grace, unmerited love that pours from the heart of God because of who He is and not because of the sinners accomplishments.

Now we are confronted with the idea of mercy and the provocation of such by circumstance.

17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Exodus 33:17-20

Whereas the grace of God is without threshold and is gifted to the just and the unjust, mercy is meted out by choice. Simply , it may or may not be granted by God dependent upon His choosing. Recall that it is faith in Jesus as the Christ that saves us. This faith is gifted as a merciful act of God. What is it then that triggers God’s mercy that gives this essential aspect of faith so necessary for salvation?

The longest, most detailed sermon of Jesus which is recorded for us is the Mount Sermon contained in Matthew Chapters 5-7. This is a “believer’s sermon” and is not directed to those who do not know Him. Critical is the understanding that a proper attitude is essential for Kingdom participation and living. Underlying the proper understanding of attitude is that God is offended by pride and responds favorably to humility. At the heart of this is that we are created and not Creator. We are subject to judgment because of our disobedience. Disobedience is defined simply as sin. Sin is defined not by the law of the state or any secular power but as defined by the Bible. It is sin that separates us from God and destroys fellowship. We desire to sing “Have my own way” when the hymn directs us to “Have Thine own way, Lord.” Our response to sin determines where God gifts mercy to us or not.

Thank you for your mercy.

 
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How Do You Start?

August 1, 2010 – 3:51 pm

And God spoke all these words:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:1-3

Dave and Charlie both worked for my father in retail establishments in LaFollette many years ago. Both were fairly clever men. I’m not certain which one made the statement that I wish to relate to you, so I must give equal billing. A customer asked one of them for directions. He replied after some thought that “I will have to start you out from the Royal Pool Room.” The implication was that no one began a journey before checking in at the Pool Room. The Royal was the civic communication center for LaFollette and one could receive the most up to date and helpful information there.

As background for Exodus, Chapter 20, God had recently rescued 2 million people from Egyptian slavery. The majority were descendants from Abraham and Sarah who were pagans that lived in southern Iraq hundreds of years before. God had established a covenant arrangement with this pair that was extended to their descendants. God was now making good His promise to them. God had promised them both a land and prosperity but both depended upon their obedience to God who had called them. He had given to Moses, His chosen servant, His requirements written in stone by His own hand. We know them as the 10 Commandments.

The first of the declarations was that he and he alone was worthy of worship and there would be no toleration of other gods as equals or subordinates. The truth of mankind’s history is that he will always worship. Even the most primitive of people on analysis have been shown to worship something that they consider superior to themselves. But what is God’s claim to be the One True God?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2


Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

7 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

God in His autobiography in early Genesis does not attempt to prove that He exists but discloses that He is Creator of all that is visible and invisible and of mankind himself.

The why of mankind’s creation is revealed by the disclosure that he is created in the image of God. Man therefore can show love, procreate life and emulate the very light of God. Why would God create us knowing of our subsequent disobedience and fall from grace?  We are God’s love object and the means for fellowship and glorification of God.

Since God is our Creator, it is He who has the right of judgment over us. He therefore has the right to dictate to us that our worship must be directed to Him alone. He tolerates no rivals. At a later time, God laid out His credentials for demanding our worship of His person. In the Book of Job, Job demanded an audience with God requesting an answer to why he suffered. Beginning in Job, Chapter 38 God does not respond to the question directly but questions Job.

The LORD Speaks

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?

Brace yourself like a man;  I will question you, and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?        Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!    Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-

while the morning stars sang together  and all the angels] shouted for joy?

Job 38:1-7

The basic question relates to whether Job has the right and is qualified to question God. Job responds in silence for his knowledge is meager.

Before we step further back in time, let me mention one other critical point. Some have belittled the Old Testament as being myth and fanciful and not factual. If you have considered this possibility, let me pose a question before your mind. Can myth be God inspired? Cast your eye on

Job 38:16

“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Now, Job had not ventured there nor you and I as well. In the 2003 February edition of the National Geographic Magazine, springs on the floor of the ocean were captured by underwater photography unavailable until this modern era. Up until this time, only God knew they were there. This fact alone makes the fictional nature of this book unlikely in my understanding.

Based upon His credentials as Creator of all that is good, God demands that He alone should be the focus of mankind’s worship. He is intolerant of all rivals and acknowledges no subordinate gods. This simply decries the acceptance of more than one object or person as being worthy of worship. God tolerates no rivals.

Within Christianity, we embrace the singular nature of God but declare that He is triune. God is of three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods but God is of Three Eternal Persons who share fellowship with each other.

Recall that we are made in the image of God and consist of three parts: body, soul and spirit. God demands that we worship Him alone but contemplates our perfection so that we may be in eternal fellowship with Him by faith in Jesus as our Savior. It is God’s desire to save us from sin, Satan, and ourselves. His solitary worship is demanded.

 
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Banning the Best Seller

July 25, 2010 – 6:28 pm


1 Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2


9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Deuteronomy 9-14

Deuteronomy means ‘2nd Law’.  It is the last book of the “Torah (teaching) in the God directed call of the descendants of Abraham. The need is not for new or additional laws but for a restatement of the same laws. We all learn by repetition so that learning, forgetting learning, forgetting, learning and remembering occurs. Recall that when God called the Hebrews from out of Egypt they had been slaves for 400 years and were carbon copies of the Egyptian culture. As such, it was necessary for the entire congregation to be taught of the God who rescued them. After their God directed escape, they cowered in fear at the foot of Mount Sinai as the Presence of God descended on the mountain top and gave Moses the law that they were to follow. This law contained 613 declarations. 365 were “thou shalt nots” and 248 were “thou shalts.” The general summation and condensation of these laws comes to us centuries later as the 10 Commandments. These are general principles to be followed and are not merely “the 10 Suggestion.” Deuteronomy 4:9 defines for us and the Church of Jesus the Christ our responsibility to following generations.


9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Deuteronomy 4:9

Some of these laws are confounding to us and are a product of their own time.

19 “Bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Exodus 23:19

This is puzzling to us but was probably quite clear to the Hebrews. Perhaps the Egyptians or Canaanites used such in their pagan rituals. The importance escapes us now but was obviously worthy of Godly mention at that time. Other issues perhaps qualified then but not now as well.

Important issues are spelled out with great clarity. For example, the 18th chapter of Leviticus details the extent of sexual sin that is not to be tolerated.

Unlawful Sexual Relations

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.

6 “‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

7 ” ‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

Leviticus 18:1-7

This chapter continues on for a total of thirty verses. What is clear is that sexual intimacy is restricted to God created and blessed marital intimacy. All other classifications are forbidden.

It is these laws which form the foundation for the Judeo Christian ethic that undergirds this country. Christianity is the extension of Judaism which was founded on these laws. Early Christianity parted from Judaism basically because of the acceptance of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and its law. The acceptance of Jesus as the Promised Savior removes us from the judgment of the law but we are not free to do as we please, free of moral restraint. We pursue the idea rather than the letter of the law in obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. The motive for obedience progresses from a situation of judgment and fear to one of love for God and a quest for perfection in the eyes of God the Father.

The charge to those of Moses’ day to keep these laws before the young is as relevant now as when God first gave the personally engraved tablets to their leader. However, the opposition to these laws (10 Commandments) is intense and they have been judged to be dangerous for public view.

What are these commandments and why are they to be hidden from public view?

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 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.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Exodus 20:2-17

Hearing them read and visualizing them yourself, is there anything overtly offensive in their content?  Surely a guide to the conduct of man before God and man as a neighbor to man is not an affront. But yet in our life-time they have been purged from public view. Not only have these laws provoked ironically, legalistic ire, but the mention of God in the public square has become an offense to sensitive ears. This is in a nation that was founded on the very principles that these laws propose. How has such come about in the past 60 years?

The first argument offered is that the constitution of the United States declares that there must be a separation of “Church and State.” As you read the constitution you encounter no such statement. Previous and perhaps present Supreme Court Justices have declared that the language of the Constitution implies such. From whence comes the implication of a separation of Church and State?

On January 1, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson responded to a concern by the Danbury Baptist Association that a particular Christian denomination would be declared a national religion. In a letter of this date Jefferson declared that the American people had determined that no national religion be established thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. This wall was to separate the church from the power of the state as a protection of religious freedom. What has transpired is the modern day interpretation that the State must be protected from the Church. This clearly restricts the Church to the private arena and does not allow it to speak freely in the public affairs of the nation. Tragically, such has aligned Government with the religion of Humanism whose opinions trump all other.

Is it any wonder that our great nation is in crisis? We have barred God and His Son from all public view championing the idea that such discourse is offensive and hurtful.

So, what are we to do? I suggest that we look at these commandments and decide concerning their relevance, not for this day and time only, but for all time.

 
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