The 10 Commandments!

These shall be in your heart, you shall teach them diligently ....

Do you know the 10 Commandments? Western civilization was built upon the 10 Commandments. As a pastor, I have several times asked my congregations, “How many of you can quote the basic 10 Commandments? Not the full text of Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 — just the basic 10 Commandments? Truth is very very few. This is among Christians in America.

We do not teach, emphasize and drill into our hearts the thundering words of God from Mt. Sinai. I’m talking about Christians in America. We don’t know the basic 10 Commandments. Do you know the 10 Commandments? Can you recite from memory the basic concepts of the 10 Commandments? Not all the myriad applications of them to any culture or individual — just the 10 Commandments!

Jesus honored, obeyed and taught powerfully the 10 Commandments. This is what the great Sermon on the Mount is all about. Jesus did not come to set aside the Law, but to fulfill it: to keep it, to explain it, to fulfill it to the “T”. Throughout the Sermon (Matthew 5-7), Jesus exposes the corrupt, hypocritical teaching and practice of the Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders of His day. If He was here today, I fear He would say the very same things to our pastors and religious leaders.

“You have heard it said (by the Pharisees) … but I say to you …” Jesus clearly applies the 10 commandments in a positive way. Moses gives the Law in negatives — You shall NOT … Jesus teaches us You shall .. not the shallowest application, but the deepest. This is a subject for a whole book.*

“Hear, O Israel, The LORD our God is One! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words (Moses just renewed the 10 commandments) which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and talk of them when you sit down in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when your rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes (like eye-glasses that bring everything in life into focus). You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

“Only take heed to yourselves, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and grandchildren ..” (Deuteronomy 4:9)

Consider the Word of God to Joshua —

“Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the Law of which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and they you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:6-9)

“Blessed is the man .. who delights in the Law of the LORD, and in His Law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings for its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)

The Bible is filled with these passages that say the same basic thing over and over and over again. Clear, simple, direct. Keep God’s Law in your mind, your heart, your home, your recreation — and teach them diligently to your children and grandchildren! Be careful to obey the Law!

That’s the secret of a great family, a great city, a great county, a great state and a great nation! But we have failed as a people to do this simple command. We are like the generation that arose after Joshua and the elders that outlived Joshua. Within 2 generations of Joshua —

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD, nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the baals; and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers …” (Judges 2:10-11)

This clear, simple Truth explains exactly what has happened in America. In our own Christian churches. As a result, you cannot even mention God or His Law in our schools. Do your children know the 10 Commandments? They will never learn them in a public school.

We have imported millions legally and illegally who do not honor and revere the Law of God found on every page of the Bible. We have a corrupt government that is clearly in rebellion against the Law of God. They only mention God bless America to placate us.

The ONLY hope for America is for God’s people, Christians to take a long hard look at ourselves in the mirror. Be broken and contrite, falling on our faces and weeping over the condition of our culture today. Begging God for mercy.

Oh I know, there are thousands, even millions of decent, good hearted Christians in America still — which is the only reason that God’s hammer of judgment has not already fallen. But we must remember that God’s judgment always begins at the house of God — with His own children. If you are a pastor or teacher of God’s people, when is the last time you talked about the 10 Commandments?

Let me ask again: Do you know the 10 Commandments?

PS — I welcome your thoughts.

* If you want a whole book on the incredible applications of the 10 Commandments to a culture, I highly recommend:

The Institutes of Biblical Law: Volume 1, by R. J. Rushdoony. Incredible!