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 The Ten Commandments: Rx for Our Society? By Frank Holbrook
A U.S. Representative proposes that Congress go on record to support the displaying of the Ten Commandments in the Capitol. In a circular to colleagues he writes: “The Ten Commandments are a declaration of the fundamental principles of a fair and just society.” On March 5, 1997, the House of Representatives votes a nonbinding resolution, 295-125, in favor of displaying the Ten Commandments in government offices and courtrooms.2 Why all this interest in the Ten Commandments? Because our society is fast becoming morally bankrupt. Exposes of ethical corruption at all levels—from top to bottom and in between—crowd the news. Some civil leaders evidently hope the posting of Ten Commandment plaques in the public square will improve the ethical behavior of the nation. One fundamental cause Unfortunately, the pundits of our society have long preached that no moral absolutes exist. They deem general conventions sufficient to determine what is ethical behavior and suggest the Ten Commandments are to be viewed only as relative. Even Christians have contributed to the national decline in morals. John R. W. Scott, internationally known minister and scholar, takes the evangelical community to task on this point: “One of the great weaknesses of contemporary evangelical Christianity is our comparative neglect of Christian ethics in both our teaching and our practice. . . . We are so busy preaching the gospel that we seldom teach the law. . . . ‘We are not under the law,’ we say piously, as if we were free to ignore and even disobey it.”3 But our universe must have law to exist. According to the Bible, our cosmos functions under two kinds of law: physical and moral. Indeed, the marvels accomplished in the space age rest on the foundation of an orderly and law-abiding universe. Only those who understand and obey the physical laws that govern our universe could accomplish the feats of landing men on the moon and of maintaining a space station and numerous, sophisticated satellites, and of directing probes to the frontiers of our planetary system. If these laws functioned only intermittently or ceased to operate altogether, the universe would collapse. Similarly, the Creator has given us the Ten Commandments as the stabilizing foundation of the moral universe. These commandments are as permanent and absolute in their sphere as physical law is in its sphere. The Ten Commandments aren’t some arbitrarily devised and imposed code. On the contrary, they reflect the divine character. Scripture describes God as “holy,” “just,” and “good.”4 Likewise, it calls the Ten Commandments “holy and just and good.”5 The Bible portrays Deity as a God of love.6 And it pictures the Ten Commandments as resting on the twofold principle of supreme love to God and impartial love to others.7 In other words, the Ten Commandments not only express the divine attributes but are as unchangeable as God is unchangeable. Rooted in the divine character, they express God’s personal guidelines for human happiness. The unique nature of the commandments By indicating how the Creator intends us to interact with Him and with one another, this moral law points out wrong behavior.8 But unlike civil codes that prohibit overt acts, the Ten Commandments detect wrong at its source: the mind. The precept dealing with covetousness alerts us to this truth. Jesus further illustrated this law’s spiritual nature when He observed that the cherishing of anger and lust is the root cause of murder and adultery and is therefore a violation of the sixth and seventh precepts.9 As spiritual guidelines, however, the Ten Commandments have a much wider function than simply pointing out wrong. Eight of the precepts begin with the negative, “You shall not . . . ,” but the fourth and fifth are stated positively. This tells us that each precept carries a positive as well as a prohibitive injunction. In its positive aspect, “You shall not kill” means “You shall promote life.” God wants us to contribute, as we are able, to the well-being of others. Similarly, “You shall not steal” means “You shall give to others,” you shall share with those less fortunate than yourself. As the apostle Paul taught: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”10 Such a lifestyle would turn our communities into outposts of heaven! The concern for character education occupying so much thought today touches on those precepts of this law of God that deal with human relationships. Other ethical systems center here too, but they all confront the same problem: human nature. Is human nature essentially good, needing only to be trained and developed? Or is it essentially selfish, naturally bent to wrongdoing, requiring supernatural intervention? However good its results may appear, training can achieve only a superficial morality, because the first assumption is false. The Bible supports the second: that human nature is fallen and sinful and no more capable of changing its self-centered nature than a leopard can change its spots.11 But the Bible also offers good news: God can change any repentant sinner who will accept His saving grace. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come,” declared the apostle Paul.12 Posting the Ten Commandments in public places may raise the general consciousness of morality. But only God—the Commandments’ Author—can enable us to internalize and live them out. He has promised to put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts.13 Frank Holbrook writes from Dalton, Georgia. ______________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 |
        
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