I’ve had people ask me, “what does God expect me to do in this situation?” My answer is usually quick, “Love God and love your neighbor!” Sometimes they’ll roll their eyes and say, “Oh, I know that! I mean, specifically?”
God has given us more specifics: namely, the Ten Commandments. God gave them to the people so they would know what is expected. The Commandments were a generous gift meant to help! All ten help us know how to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Commandments 4-10 help us know how to love our neighbor as ourselves.
But people turned the Commandments into a means of self-righteousness not love. They became a badge of honor (“Oh, I’ve never killed anyone like that sinner over there!”) or a club to beat others up (“Adulterers will go to hell!”). As Paul writes, “You who boast in the Law, do you dishonor God by your transgression of the Law?” (Rom 2:23).
When I hear about politicians wanting to put the Ten Commandments in school rooms, I wonder if it is motivated by self-righteousness. Most students today aren’t religious and have no community of faith that values the Commandments. So, we first need Christians (like you!) inviting non-Christians to learn about Jesus and what he has done for humanity. Then, congregations and families (not public school teachers) can teach how the Commandments fit into a relationship with God.
None of us are right before God. God’s Law exposes the sins of our thoughts and deeds that we wish we could hide, “so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Rom 3:19). When Martin Luther died, they found a slip of paper in his pocket, well-worn as if he kept it there to remind him, “We are all beggars at the cross, that is true.”
When you feel like you have fallen short of God’s expectations, look to the cross: Jesus died there to take away your sins. Rejoice that you are a part of humanity that God loved so much he sent his only Son to save!
What then of the Ten Commandments? They will not save us from Sin (only Jesus does that!), but God works through them to guide us. We are still inclined towards self-righteousness and the Commandments still expose them in our souls, like an MRI shows hidden cancer.
This Lent, I invite you to daily recite the Ten Commandments and try to memorize them. There’s no righteousness in doing this, but God will work through it!
I suggest trying to memorize the key phrase for each commandment:
| no other gods |
| God's name |
| Sabbath |
| parents |
| kill |
| adultery |
| steal |
| false witness |
| covet stuff |
| covet people |
If you search the Ten Commandments online, you’ll find another commandment about “graven images” and our 9th and 10th combined. There’s a history there—ask me about it sometime!
Trusting Jesus to forgive and love,
Pastor Peter
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