On the Tonight Show, former host Jay Leno frequently
conducted "man-on-the street" interviews, and one night he collared
some young people to ask them questions about the Bible. "Can you name one
of the Ten Commandments?" One man
replied, "Freedom of speech?"
Now if the question had been about the Bill of Rights, he would have
been spot on?
What does the Bible say about the Ten Commandments? God spoke all these words! That's how Exodus 20 begins. I am not giving other people's opinions or my
own opinions on these commands. God's
authority is behind them. No one can
say: “Well, that's your viewpoint, that's
your opinion, but I see it differently from you.” No, you see it differently from God.
Dennis Prager in his book, The Ten Commandments,
writes: “No document in world history so changed the world for the better as did
the Ten Commandments. Western civilization,
the civilization that developed universal human rights, created women's
equality, ended slavery, created parliamentary democracy would not have
developed without them. These
commandments are as relevant today as when God gave them to Moses over 3,000 years
ago.”
Let's turn to the Fifth Commandment - Honor your Father and
Mother. A father lost his patience with
his rambunctious children and scolded them as he put them to bed. The next morning he found this note stuck to
his bedroom door: “Be good to your children and they will be good to you. Yours truly, God.”
In the Fifth commandment, God expresses His will for how
people are to live within the structure of the family. Honoring parents strengthens and unites the
family unit. The integrity of the family
is paramount in terms of shaping human beings spiritually, intellectually,
morally and emotionally. And further,
the survival of a nation depends upon some key factors, and in particular upon
the stability and health of the institution of the family. We know that the breakdown of the family
structure negatively impacts communities.
If you build a society in which children honor their parents, society
will long survive. Sadly, the corollary
is also true. Honoring parents teaches
children respect for and accountability to a higher authority. It can also teach children to ultimately
honor a higher moral authority than parents, God. Psychology has shown us that one's attitude
towards one's parents shapes one's attitude toward God.
God's commandment is serious. It says that to live in peace for generations
in the promised land, the Israelites would need to respect authority and build
strong families. This commandment
summons us to respect, to honor, to follow, to support, to show our gratitude
due our parents.
We often think of this commandment as directing children to
obey their parents. But originally it
was intended for the welfare of aging parents, older parents, and the attitude
and behavior of their adult children.
There was no social security or medicare or pension plans or investment
portfolios 3,000 years ago. God was
commanding adult children to love and care for elderly parents and to assume
responsibility for them. Aging parents
who could no longer work, depended entirely upon their children to care for
them.
A common practice among some nomadic tribes of the Canaanite culture was to leave elderly or sick parents behind to die. This commandment condemns such cruel and
inhumane treatment. Israel was not to resemble other nations, it was
not to follow the practice of other tribes, for God had made a covenant with Israel in these
commands.
In the New Testament Jesus condemned using religious laws as
a justification for neglecting caring for one's parents. Jesus denounces the practice in his day where
some Jews dedicated their money to Korban or to God to evade their rightful duty
to God. If parents needed financial
assistance, an adult child could say: “Sorry, Mom and Dad, I wish I could help, but
can’t, I've dedicated my money to God, my money belongs to God.” Jesus repudiated this religious loophole and
his critique echoes Proverbs 28:24: “He who defrauds father or mother and says it
is no crime is partner to a thug.”
The Bible has much to say in support of this commandment: “With your whole heart honor your father;
your mother’s birth pangs forget not, remember, of these parents you were born;
what can you give them for all they gave you?” “Listen to your father who begot you, and despise not your mother when
she is old.” “He who mistreats his father or drives away his mother, is a worthless
and disgraceful son.”
The problem of course is if we were raised by responsible,
loving and healthy parents we are more receptive to obeying God's command. But what if we were abused by our parents,
what if we were neglected? Then this
command becomes much more problematic.
This command means remembering your parent’s humanness and
learning to forgive them. It means
acting in a way that shows them courtesy and respect. It means showing them they are valued and
worthwhile. It means praying for
them. It means not blaming them for all
of the problems in your life. It means
not physically or emotionally abusing them and elder abuse is a tragic reality
today. It means to support them, to
listen to them, and to help them financially if needed. It means to assist them in making difficult
and emotional decisions, such as when the time has come for them to move out of
their home because they can no longer live independently. I've been through this; it is very
difficult.
I will tell you how inspiring it has been over the years in
the churches I've served as pastor, including Pacific Beach
Let's turn to the Sixth Commandment – You Shall not
Murder! The Bible makes a distinction
between killing and murder. In English
we have two words for taking a life – to kill and to murder. It is the same in Hebrew; there are two
Hebrew words for taking a life. In the
Sixth commandment, the Hebrew word is murder, you shall not murder.
Murder is the illegal or immoral taking of a life. It is the unlawful premeditated killing of
one human being by another. Our law has
first and second degree murder. First degree murder is the intentional murder
that is willful and premeditated with malice aforethought. Second degree murder
is an intentional murder, but is not premeditated or planned in advance. Murder is evil. Murder is a despicable act. Perhaps you have known someone who was
murdered. Murder is against God's
will. Murder is immoral. I doubt if anyone here would disagree with
this.
One the other hand, the Sixth commandment does not prohibit killing. That is an important
distinction. The Bible allows the
killing of animals for food. It allows
the killing of another to defend your own life.
It allows killing in times of war.
It allows killing executing a murderer as a penalty for murder. Some people are against killing in all
circumstances. They might identify themselves
as pacifists. They believe it is wrong,
immoral, to kill an animal or another human being period. They certainly have the right to their
view. The only thing is that they cannot
cite the 6th commandment as biblical support for their position.
Let's turn to the Seventh commandment – You Shall not Commit
adultery! What is adultery? God's prohibition on a married person having
sexual relations with anyone except his or her spouse. It of course has not gone away. It occurs outside the church and can occur
inside the church. I remember, years
ago, a single woman, a church member, was telling me about some problems she
was having in a new relationship. She
casually dropped the fact that the man was married, had two children, and was
still living with his family. He had
promised her he was going to leave his wife and that they would get married,
but he was dragging his feet.
She hoped I would be happy for her because of the bad luck
she had had with men over the years and because she was lonely. I reminded her, gently and yet clearly, that
she was in an adulteress relationship and I recommended she break it off. I told her I would be there for pastoral
support after she had broken it off. She
became incensed, accused me of being judgmental, told me I didn't care about
her, that I had just lost a church member and walked out.
Why is adultery wrong?
Why is it prohibited? The Bible
offers these reasons, which of course, stand in stark contrast to the tolerant
society in which we live today.
Adultery is wrong because God forbids it! This commandment expresses God’s will for
people who have entered into the commitment of marriage. If we claim that God is the Lord of our
lives, if we are accountable to God, if we acknowledge God’s authority over us,
then we will honor this commandment.
Adultery is wrong because it’s a sin! It is an act of disobedience against God’s
word and God's intention for the marriage relationship. It threatens the institution of marriage, it
places the marriage in jeopardy.
Adultery is wrong because it breaks the promises that two
people make to each other. It dishonors
the marriage bond and violates mutual trust and respect. It breaks the marriage vows made in the
presence of God and other witnesses, when a couple promises to love one
another, and to remain faithful to each other, so long as they both shall live.
Adultery is wrong because it threatens the stability and
integrity of the family and society. It
strikes at the heart of the family. The
family is the building block of a society.
It can destroy the very fabric of family life. It devalues the spouse. It is hurtful and even devastating to the
children. A healthy and stable
marriage is a gift parents can pass on to their children.
Is adultery forgivable?
Yes. As painful and harmful as it
can be, it is forgivable. God’s grace is
always reaching out to us. It requires
genuine repentance and an honest decision to stop/end the behavior. You recall the story of the men who brought the
woman caught in adultery to Jesus. Jesus
said: “Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone. Then he turned to the woman and said: “Has no one condemned you. Neither do I condemn you. Go, and do not sin again.”
Should adultery always lead to divorce? Must it end in divorce? In my opinion the answer is that it
depends. It depends upon the couple and
the circumstances. Some marriages do end
in divorce. The trust is broken forever
and they cannot find it in their hearts to forgive the offending spouse. Other couples work through the pain and sense
of betrayal and gradually rebuild and restore their marriage.
These three commandments are directed not toward God, but in
our interactions with others. May we
truly hear the word of the one true God.
Amen!
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