Ten Commandments (20) - Conclusion

So what do we have in the Ten Commandments? Well quite a lot actually.

We have ten standards that all people will have to give an account against when they stand before God on judgment day. These standards are also useful those preaching the gospel, when a description of sin is required. Those who claim to have never sinned and want a definition of sin will find the Ten Commandment quite challenging.

We also have ten principles for life. Resting one day a week and not coveting may not make you holy, but you will avoid ulcers and anxiety.

We have one principle for judicial processes.

We have two sins that are also crimes. Murder and theft are crimes that should be enforced by civil authorities.

Ten Commandments (19) - Why Bother?

No doubt some readers are wondering why I bother with the Ten Commandments. Why do I spend so much effort digging around in the Old Testament. Why not just focus on the gospels? Why not just get on with life.

The answer is that I want to understand God's will for civil government. I am after a biblical approach to political issues. When I go to the scriptures to look for answers on these issues, it quickly becomes clear that there is not a lot on them in the New Testament. There are some hints in Romans 13 and Matthew 22, but I cannot create a political theology just from the New Testament.

If I go back to the prophets and the historys of the Old Testament, I find a little bit more about civil government and politics. However, the prophets put most of their efforts into describing what is wrong. They do not describe a godly system of government.

So to find a complete political theology, I have to go back to Exodus and Deuteronomy. That is where I find most of the biblical teaching on the role of civil government. The reason that these issues are not covered in the New Testament is not that God does not care, but that they are already covered in the Torah, so they do not need to be dealt with again. The New Testament just modifies, where appropriate, what has already been given in the Old Testament. It does not repeat all the good stuff again.

The problem with looking for political theology in the Old Testament law is that a lot of stuff is mixed up together. Universal laws are mixed up with rules peculiar to the nation of Israel. Stuff that is still relevant is mixed up with stuff that was fulfilled by Jesus and is no longer relevant. My aim in digging through this stuff is to develop a political theology that is relevant for today. That is part of what I have been trying to do in this series of posts.

Ten Commandments (18) - False Testimony

Woops!! This is a re-write of post 16, because I have just realised that I got this commandment wrong.

The ninth commandment has an application in modern society, but it is not a law to be enforced across the entire community. The command is only relevant to the judicial process. It applies to judicial procedure and is not a general law.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour (Ex 20:16).

Honesty and truth are essential for the working of the judicial system. Witnesses much not give false testimony, whether to protect themselves or to protect someone else. Judges must always follow the truth, no matter where it leads.

The Bible applies a reverse golden rule to those who give false evidence: having done to yourself what you were doing to others (Deut 19:16-19). The liar receives the penalty that they person they were lying about might have received.
So that actually leaves just two of the ten commandments as general laws to be enforced by the civil authorities in the modern world. I have corrected post 13 to reflect this change.

Ten Commandments (17) - Political Power

A benefit of the Ten Commandments in the modern world is that they significantly limit state power. If my analysis is correct, only two of the Ten Commandments should be enforced by civic authorities. This severely limits their authority to pass laws.

These two commandments are comprehensive, because they provide protection for life and property. That is about all that law can do. Laws can influence external behaviour, but they cannot change hearts. They cannot make people be good. The most that the law can do is provide limited protection against theft and violence. Law cannot produce good people or eliminate evil. Only the Holy Spirit can work miracles.

Ten Commandments (16) - False Witness

False witness is the third commandment that has an application in modern society. Honesty is essential for the working of the law and business. The Bible gives several examples of what is meant by false witness.

1. Giving false evidence to a court is the most serious form of false witness (Deut 19:16-19).
2. False witness can lead to disputes about ownership of property (Ex 22:9).
   Slander is another form of false witness.

False witness is a form of theft, because it robs a person of their reputation.

Ten Commandments (15) - Theft

Stealing something that belongs to someone else is a sin that should be deal with by civil authorities. The Bible gives a number of examples that assist with the definition of theft.

1. Stealing another person’s property is theft. (Ex 22:1).
2. Distorting the records of property ownership is a form of theft. (Deut 25:1).
3. Assault is a form of theft as it robs a person of their freedom and ability to earn.
4. Breach of contract that has been freely agreed is also theft. (Ex 22:7,8).

Ten Commandments (14) - Murder

Murder is a crime that should be dealt with by civic authorities. Murder is unlawful killing of another person. The law gives examples that enable the boundaries around murder to be defined.

1. Killing a person in self defence is not murder (Ex 22:2).
2. Killing a soldier during a war is not murder (Deut 20:12,13). This rule does not apply to all wars, but only where a community is being defended.
3. Intent is important. Murder occurs, if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately (Ex 21:12). A person cannot be held accountable for something that was beyond their control. An accidental death is not murder (Ex 21:12).
4. Allowing a dangerous animal or machine to wander without restraint could become murder if someone is killed (Ex 21:29).
5. Murder is an extreme form of assault, so all assault is covered by this command.

Ten Commandments (13) - What is Left Behind

So far in this discussion I have knocked out eight commandments. They are still relevant for those who choose to please God, because they tell us something about what pleases him. However, they are not to be enforced by the civil authorities. This leaves just two of the Ten Commandments that are relevant to civil order in the modern world. The two that are relevant are murder and theft. These two laws should be enforced by the civic authorities. There would not be much controversy because murder and theft are accepted as crimes by everyone everywhere.

Ten Commandments (12) - Adultery

The seventh commandment prohibits adultery. However, this command was not enforced, even in Israel.

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning (Matt 19:8).

Moses did not enforce the law against adultery, because the people’s hearts were hard. There were so many people committing adultery that applying biblical sanctions would have been unacceptable. God does not want his law to be enforced on a society that is opposed to it.

If a law is constantly being disobeyed, the authority of the entire law will be undermined. If adultery were widespread, a law against it would become a joke. Far better, to put the law against adultery on hold until society changed. God has changed his mind; rather he is realistic about what can be achieved by the Law.

A law that is being widely ignored cannot be enforced. This is what Moses understood. Instead of undermining respect for the law by trying to enforce adultery laws that the people did not want, he chose not to enforce them. If Moses showed mercy, we should too. In modern society, adultery is so widespread that enforcing a law against it would be impractical. Adultery laws must be taken off line in our time, due to “hardness of heart”.

This hardness of heart principle means the adultery command cannot be enforced in a society where the majority of people are not Christian and once the majority have been converted adultery laws should be unnecessary.

Ten Commandments (11) - Coveting

The tenth commandment forbids the sin of coveting things that belong to other people (Ex 20:17).

A sin becomes a crime when there is a civil penalty attached to it. No punishment is ever specified for coveting, even for the children of Israel, so coveting is not a crime. The obvious reason for this is that it is impossible for civil authorities to prove that a person is coveting. No one can testify that another person is coveting, because we cannot see into another person’s heart. Civil authorities can only deal with coveting, when the coveter acts on his thoughts and translates them into theft or adultery.

Every sin is not a crime. This commandment is a good example of a sin that is not a crime. Even in Israel, coveting was outside the scope of the civil authortities.

Coveting is still a sin, and should be avoided by God's people. The best protection against coveting is a new heart and a renewed mind.

Ten Commandments (10) - The First Table

The first five commandments belong to God. He reserves the right to judge the first five commandments himself.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. 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. 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, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.……. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

All except the first have a statement that God will deal with offences against them. God will punish and he will bless. He will work out the consequence of breaking these five commands in history, or on the day of judgement. He does not need the state to deal with these sins for him.

Ten Commandments (9) - Honouring Parents

The fifth commandment requires everyone to honour their parents. There were civil penalties for children who insulted their parents (Exodus 20:15,17). These penalties are no longer mandatory, because they were part of the system specifically given to Israel, to distinguish them from the surrounding nations.

You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid (Deut 21:21).

Christians should still honour their parents, but this should now be voluntary rather than mandatory. Civil penalties are no longer required now that the Holy Spirit is able to change our hearts and attitudes.

Ten Commandments (8) - Sabbath

God gave the Sabbath to Israel as a gift to mark them off from the surrounding nations. Resting from work was a way of expressing their trust in God as their provider.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God (Ex 20:8-10).

The civil authorities in Israel rigorously enforced the sabbath (Num 15:32-36).

Since the coming of Jesus, love for each other is the distinctive that marks Christians off from the world (John 13:34,35). Jesus fulfilled the new commandment by washing his disciples feet.

We achieve our rest through faith in Jesus. According to Hebrews 4, we have a better rest through believing in Jesus.

Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said (Heb 4:3).

This means that the Sabbath laws have been fulfilled in Jesus and that they no longer need to be enforced. Christians have often succumbed to the temptation to use the power of the state to enforce a Sunday rest. This has done a great deal of harm to the gospel.

The concept of a weekly rest remains a principle of life. Having a day of rest each week is good for human health. We should all try to have a day of rest each week and employers should allow their staff to rest at least one day a week. It does not matter which day people rest, but having a break from work is good for their physical and mental health.

Ten Commandments (6) - No Other Gods

The first and second commandments are hard to separate.

You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything (Ex 20:3,4).

The requirements of these commandments still apply to Christians. Part of the act of becoming a Christian is a declaration that Jesus is Lord; that there is not other god that can match him. The warning about the dangers of idols and images is really important in a culture where image is everything.

However, these sins are no longer crimes punishable by civil authorities. In Israel, the death penalty was required for those who chose to worship other gods. As Israel had chosen God to be their King, following another God was a form of treason and the normal penalty for treason and sedition was death (Deut 13:12-16). Under the new covenant people freely choose the Lord as their God. His greatest gifts to us is freedom, so he will never force sinners to love him, if they are unwilling. God wants people to obey him, because they love him, not because they have to. The most that he will do to make them love him is the Holy Spirit’s stirring in their hearts. Following God’s example, we should never use political power to force people to believe in God.

Ten Commandments (5) - Basis for Civil Law

The Ten Commandments are often described as the basis for Civil Law.
Every legal system needs a moral basis for law making. In a society where most citizens are Christians, basing the law on the Ten Commandments seems like a good idea. In the following posts, I will focus on this third use of the law.

The first thing to understand is that the Ten Commandments cannot be translated directly into civil law, because they were designed for the old covenant. They need to be fed through the lense of the new covenant before they can be used as a guide for civil law. I plan to examine the Ten Commandments in detail and identify those that are still relevant after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Ten Commandments (4) - Modern Use

The Ten Commandments have three uses that are relevant to Christian life in the modern world. Here are the first two.

1. Sharing the Gospel
The Ten Commandments are a useful tool when sharing the gospel. They provide a good summary of the sins that can separate the unbeliever from God (Rom 7:7-12). This was the method Jesus used with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-21)

2. Guidance for Christian Living
Although we are not saved through obeying the law, we express our love for Jesus by living holy lives. The Ten Commandments provide a little guidance about how Christians should live. A new Christian should stop stealing and cursing God. However, these commandments do not take us very far. A new believer can stop stealing, killing and cursing God, but that does not take them far as a Christian. Learning how to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit is far more important for growing as a Christian.

Ten Commandments (3) - New Covenant

We no longer live under to old covenant. The basis of the new covenant is that Jesus fulfilled the conditions of the old covenant. He perfectly obeyed each of the Ten Commandments throughout his life. We receive salvation through trusting in everything that Jesus accomplished; including his perfect life and perfect death. The benefits of the new covenant are received through faith in Jesus, not through obeying the Ten Commandments. So those who believe that we live under grace and not law are correct.

Does this mean that the Ten Commandments are no longer relevant to the Christian life? The answer is No and Yes. The most important point is that they are no longer relevant as a basis of salvation. We have a much better way of salvation through Jesus. However, the Ten Commandment have three other uses that are still relevant to the Christian life. I will deal with these in the next few posts.

Ten Commandments (2) - Old Covenant

The Ten Commandments are not totally relevant to Christian life. The reason is that they were the heart of the covenant between God and Israel. The Bible explains why the Ten Commandments were given.

Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites (Ex 19:3-6).

The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain (Deut 5:2-4).

These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me…..So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess (Deut 5:22,32-33).

The Ten Commandments were the expression of the covenant between God and the children of Israel. To keep their side of the covenant, Israel was required to keep all Ten Commandments. Most of the commandments had penalties for disobedience. This covenant with God was enforced by the civil authorities through the justice system. Under this system, blasphemy was a crime punishable by the civil authorities.

Ten Commandments (1) - Adore and Ignore

The Ten Commandments have very widespread acceptance throughout the western world. Even people who have given up on the church, or stopped believing in God, will say that they live by the Ten Commandments. In the United States, the Ten Commandments are often displayed on courthouse wall and other public places.

However, despite all the attention and mention, the commandments themselves are mostly ignored. The people claiming to live by them would be hard pushed to name five of the ten. Despite their place of honour in the United States, they have almost no affect on laws and lawmaking. Even serious Christians are uncertain about what to do with the Ten Commandments. They know that they live under grace rather than law, so it is not clear how the Ten Commandments fit with God’s grace. This is an important issue that we must get sorted.