What follow are my thoughts on the recent legal controversies regarding the posting of the Ten Commandments in various public places.
Galatians 4:21 NIV
Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
Galatians 3:10
All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
Galatians 3:11
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
Galatians 3:23-25
Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
This past Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether a Ten Commandments display on public property represented an unconstitutional endorsement of religion or an acceptable historical symbol of law.
Back in November of 2003, Alabama's nine-member Court of the Judiciary removed Roy Moore from his position as chief justice for his failure to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state courthouse after being ordered to do so.
Just this morning I learned that Michigan Republican State Representative Jack Hoogendyk plans to take the same granite monument of the Decalogue on a 7-city tour here in Michigan.
Why are so many Christians so enamored of the law? What is it about a body of regulations that spelled out our death that makes people want to place it in public places across the country?
I for one find the Ten Commandments offensive - and I'm a Christian. They are a constant reminder of how deeply flawed I am and they are also a reminder of how perfect God is. If the gospel of Jesus Christ is the "Good News" then the Commandments are the "Bad News". Why all the desire to parade this death around the country and post it in our public buildings?
Did Judge Roy Moore have a better opportunity to put his faith to work by serving on Alabama's Supreme Court, or was it more important to make his last stand over a piece of rock sitting in the rotunda? Judge Moore and so many evangelicals today would tell us how important it is for Christians to be engaging the culture and getting involved in politics. Didn't Judge Moore squander an excellent opportunity to do just that? I think he did. There was some talk of Judge Moore making a bid to run for President back in early 2004, and I wonder if the notoriety gained over this issue was a planned strategy for seeking such an office.
Jesus came and did what none of us could ever do - he fulfilled every aspect of the Law and then took upon himself the punishment we deserved for failing to do so. When we come to faith in Jesus, this righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. Even as Christians we will continue to violate God's ordinances after believing, but when the accuser throws up our failures in God's face, God simply points to our Advocate - Jesus Christ - and through grace the obedience of Jesus is imparted to us. Just as sin entered the race through one man, Adam, life comes to all who believe through one man, Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:13-17
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
As an American, I am against placing a document that is solely part of the Judeo-Christian tradition in public places such as courthouses. It has to be deeply offensive to people of other faiths, and simply has to have the effect of telling these people that the government closely associates itself with such principles, but can anyone honestly tell me that it still does? I'm sure no one desires separation of church and state more when it comes to American government than God himself.
I think we would all be much better off if instead of parading a monument to a dead covenant around the country, we simply took what Jesus had to say about the Law and put it to work:
Mark 12:28-31
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," Jesus answered, "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."
1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all shall die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
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