Are the Commandments for You

Are the Commandments for You?

Exodus 20:1-17

So what’s in your frame? Last week I told you about Pulaski County, Kentucky, where they have an empty frame hanging on the wall in the courthouse. The frame used to hold the Ten Commandments, but the county was ordered to remove the commandments because a judge ruled it violated the First Amendment. The empty frame provides a visual prompt for the question: What is inside the framework of our lives? What are our values? What code of ethics or morals do we live by?

Author Merle Jordan has noted that all of us – whether we say we believe in God or not – have gods to whom we bow down.[1] So we could add to these other questions, “Who or what is our god?” Some gods are religious. Some are internal values we seek to maintain. Some are standards we have set for ourselves. Some are addictions and habits. The question is not so much whether we bow down before those gods, but to which gods we are bowing down?[2]

The question of “our gods” brings up an interesting perspective on the Ten Commandments. As I mentioned last week, and as we all know, there’s a great deal of talk about the Ten Commandments being posted in schools, court houses, and other public buildings. I often don’t enter into sides on this debate. To me, there are much bigger fish to fry. It’s not because of the principle of the separation of church and state. It’s much more basic than that. I won’t jump up and down to have them posted in public places for this reason: they are not public property. The Ten Commandments are not for everyone. It would be great if everyone embraced them but I don’t see that happening.

The commandments are for God’s people.[3] Look in verse 2 and see to whom the commandments are given. They are given to the people coming out of Egypt. They weren’t for the Canaanites, the Jebusites, and Amorites…they were for God’s people, those who claimed Yahweh as their Lord. It’s true the Israelites struggled with this, but they remained God’s chosen people. The commandments were for them.

Now how does this apply to us? We’re not marching out of Egypt…or even Orange County…in some kind of exodus. Are the commandments not for us either then because we’re not technically from Israel? Christians become God’s children, God’s people, when we embrace Jesus as our Savior. If you have surrendered your life to Christ, then, yes, you are one of God’s children and yes, the commandments are for you, lock, stock, and barrel. As communities, municipalities, and nations, it is fine if we put the commandments in public places but when we do, we’re making this statement: We are God’s people. And being God’s people means we will live as God’s people. Will the whole of our community embrace that? Will the whole of our nation sign up for that? I would love to see that day, but right now we’re not there.

I read in my preparation that when the Ten Commandments were removed from the Alabama Supreme Court building, there was a good reason for the move. You can't post “Thou Shalt Not Steal,” “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,” and “Thou Shall Not Lie” in a building full of lawyers and politicians without creating a hostile work environment.[4] Maybe it’s not fair to pick on lawyers and politicians so let’s bring it a little closer to home.

Maynard and Lucy were not a very religious couple but tried their best; they only went to church once a year. As they were leaving the church, the minister said, “Maynard, it sure would be nice to see you and Lucy here more than once a year” “I know,” replied Maynard, “We’re very busy people, leading active lives, but at least we keep the Ten Commandments.” “That's great,” the minister said. “I'm glad to hear that you keep the Commandments.” “Yes, we sure do,” Maynard said proudly, “Lucy keeps six of them and I keep the other four.”[5]

As you consider what’s in your framework for life, one of the most basic questions you have to answer is, “To whom do you bow down? Who is your god?” Next week, the choir will be presenting some music entitled, “Sanctuary: At Home in the House of the Lord.” The title of the music makes a strong statement: to be in a state of sanctuary, is to be at home. Figuring out to whom we are bowing down is often answered when we discover our place of belonging and place of home. If you are restless, anxious, and not content in life, then maybe you have not found home…and maybe the god to whom you are bowing down is not the god for you.

A great preacher named George Buttrick was asked in 1953 if he was going “home” for Christmas. It seems a simply innocent question. But Buttrick’s answer was much more penetrating than the questioner was for. Buttrick replied on that winter day, “Home is where Christ is.”[6]

Are you at home with Christ? Are you one of God’s children? If your answer is, “yes,” then the Ten Commandments are for you. In two weeks, we’ll look more specifically at what they say, and why they’re important for life. But if you’re not at home today with Christ, then you’ve got more important considerations than following the Ten Commandments. You need a home. You need to experience the joy and blessing that comes from being one of God’s children. The Ten Commandments were never intended to box people in. They were given so that life could be lived in fullness and freedom. A first-step in knowing fullness and freedom is to know Jesus.

So, who is your god? Are you one of God’s children? If you’d like to join the family of Christians this morning, then come home. Profess your faith in Jesus, surrender yourself to him. Enter into God’s blessing. Put that in your framework for life.

Amen.

[1] Merle Jordan, Taking On the Gods (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1986).

[2] Philip J. Bauman, “Pastoral Implications,” Lectionary Homiletics, February 2003-March 2003, p. 56.

[3] Ronald P. Byers, professor of preaching and worship at Union Theological Seminary, advocated this position in a sermon he delivered at Highland Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, NC, on October 8, 2000. His rationale and reasoning make a lot of sense to me.

[6] Frederick Buechner, The Longing For Home: Recollections and Reflections (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996), pp. 24-25.