Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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This morning we consider the 10 Commandments. A very small subject. Why, in the 20 minutes that we devote to a sermon, we can spend a whole 2 minutes to each one. He do we tackle a text like this one in 20 minutes, when we know we will spend our entire lifetime trying to master these 10 Commandments without success?

This may seem somewhat simplistic, but I’ve decided to try to make just one point about the 10 Commandments this morning, and the point is this: The 10 Commandments are good. Now, before you all respond in good liturgical style with a collective “well daahh,” let me just point out that this is not quite the no-brainer you might think. The 10 Commandments say: “You shall have no other gods besides Me.” But we’re not so sure that’s a very good idea really. Too many limitations – surely there are others gods out there – and although they may not work for me, they may work just fine for someone else. We’re not at all too sure its very good to be putting all our eggs in one basket either. Diversification is better than concentration. One could become a religious nut by going too far with this commandment.

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord, your God.” Good commandment. The name of God is precious and sacred, to be treated with honor and dignity – not to be misused. In fact, we think this commandment is so good that we really hesitate to use God’s name at all for fear of misusing it. That’s why we don’t talk about religion with or neighbor or call on God in times of trouble – pray, praise and give thanks. It’s better to just let the pastor use God’s name. He’s got the proper training.

“You shall honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” We’re pretty convinced that this is not a good thing really. Sometimes the Sabbath day interferes with kids or family or business or leisure – and when it comes right down to it – these are the things that are good to keep holy.

“You shall honor your father and your mother.” Parents tend to think this is a real good commandment. Children tend to think it’s a bad one. Parents think it would be good if children had more respect for their elders. That’s the problem with the world today, you know. “By the way, did I tell you that stupid cop pulled me over for doing 45 in a 35mph zone. What a jerk and believe me, I let him know it. And I’d like to know what the idiots in our federal government think they’re doing. They’ve got to have baked beans for brains.”

“You shall not kill.” Everyone agrees that this is a good commandment. Unless of course its a life you didn’t plan on having or is too old to take care of itself or too handicapped to be productive. Then we think that this good commandment is really bad.

“You shall not commit adultery.” This commandment is still open for debate. A lot depends on just which kind of adultery you’re talking about here. Are we talking about ‘same sex,’ ‘pre-marital sex,’ ‘extra-marital sex,’ ‘group- sex,’ ‘self-sex,’ ‘casual sex,’ or ‘cyber-sex?’

“You shall not steal.” This is a good commandment too. Until God says something like, ‘everything you have belongs to me and therefore you’re accountable to me for your stewardship. Don’t be hoarding what I give you. Share it freely. There’s lots more where that came from. ‘I expect you to use a 10th of your income and your time and your talents towards the work of spreading my Word – and anything that you withhold I consider stealing.’ To that we say, ‘this commandment is not only bad, it’s ridiculous.’

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Good commandment. But then again, it’s just words and what harm can words do.

“You shall not covet.” We agree, it’s good to be content with what we have. But if it’s good to be content with what we have – think of how much more content we’d be if we just had more.

The 10 Commandments are good. And suddenly we think that this is pretty deep. Definitely one of those sermons I’m just not going to get. Might as well tune it out right now.

But of course we think that the 10 Commandments are good. At least in a general sense. They’re good for society. ( Have you ever noticed that this is always the move we make when we’d like to get the spotlight off of us?) The 10 Commandments are good for society. The problem with this country is, we’ve taken the 10 Commandments out of the courtrooms and school buildings and public buildings of our land. But I wonder, how many of us who feel so strongly that these commandments are so good for society and should be on display for all to see have them posted in their own home – on their refrigerator along with the Dominos Pizza delivery number. I wonder how many of us who believe the 10 Commandments are so good – could recite them in order – and could explain what they mean – both in the negative, what we should not do – and in the positive, what we should do?

But I’m sure that if you’re one who doesn’t have these good Commandments posted on your refrigerator at home or if you can’t get these 10 Commandments to obey your command to come to mind, I’m sure it’s because you know that these 10 Commandments are not necessary for your salvation because you know that you are saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. You know that you’re saved by God – not according to the law but by grace alone through faith alone for Christ’s sake alone.

And that is very true. The 10 Commandments are not good for getting into heaven. In fact, the 10 Commandments are a bad way to try to be saved. No one has ever been saved by the keeping of the 10 Commandments except one, the one Man – Jesus Christ.

The truth of the matter is, while Moses was on the mountain receiving the 10 Commandments from God, God also gave Moses the instructions for the building of an altar. And along with the altar came detailed instructions on the way that people were to sacrifice animals on that altar for the forgiveness of their sins. God doesn’t tell Moses to tell the people that when they sin they are to take two tablets and follow the instructions. Salvation and heaven do not come to us through the keeping of the law – but by the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It’s not our goodness that makes us good but God’s forgiveness. God saves us by His mercy, for the sake of that sacrifice who stood in our place. A completely innocent, holy, pure – righteous substitute – whose perfect obedience to the 10 Commandments is credited to us. For Christ’s sake and by His blood, God forgives us all our sins and saves us and opens the doors to heaven through which we will enter.

So why then did God give us the 10 Commandments? Because they’re good. Not for God. God doesn’t need anything in these 10 Commandments. Whether we keep them or break them doesn’t change God’s life at all. God gives the 10 Commandments because they’re good – for us. Our neighbor needs these 10 Commandments, society needs these 10 Commandments. And life is never better for us than when we live by these 10 Commandments.

If we lived by the 4th commandment and children saw in their parents real respect for others and especially those in authority – whether we agreed or disagreed with them, they would learn that the authorities from Presidents to school teachers to parents are servants of God and therefore due the same respect as any of God’s servants. Think of how well it would go in our society and in our own homes if we lived by the 4th commandment.

If we lived by the 5th commandment and treated human life as a sacred and holy gift from God that it is, and did all that we could to support our neighbor in every bodily need – what a safe world this would be.

And if we lived by the 6th commandment, marriages and families would be the places of refuge and security fulfillment that they were meant by God to be.

Can we imagine a world without locks? No keys you can never find. No security systems protecting your possessions from theft but everyone working together to protect and improve each others possessions. That would be good.

And if we lived by the 8th commandment and everyone put the best construction on everything we said without twisting it or spreading that nasty little tidbit of gossip about us, we’d be free to be our own unique selves without worrying about being accepted or rejected.

And what if we could learn to be content with what we have. Contentment with peace. No jealousy or greed pushing us around and robbing us of the satisfaction with what we have.

You have to admit, the 10 Commandments are good. They’re good for us. And if we lived by them, our lives would be good. But this may all sound rather utopian and idealistic to you. I agree, it all sounds good but impossible. But if you think that God has given us these 10 Commandments as some impossible dream, knowing that we can never live up to them – you’ve got it all wrong.

The 10 Commandments are good – they’re good for you. And “And God works all things for good to those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28). I know that this is hard to grasp and even harder to believe – but these 10 Commandments are exactly the way God sees you. By the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, these 10 Commandments are really now the 10 Descriptions of you. Isn’t that just what we mean when we say that Christ’s perfect obedience and righteousness has been credited to us? As long as we remain ‘hidden in Christ,’ God sees us with all of Christ’s perfect obedience to the 10 Commandments.

Listen, when God created the world in those six days and put the man and the woman in the garden of Eden to tend it and care for it, it was “very good.” The 10 Commandments were the way of life in the beginning, and they were the only way of life. And God has redeemed you and all of His creation – and in heaven, it is “very good.” It’s paradise. Life in heaven is lived according to the 10 Commandments – not by compulsion or by the demands of the law. But each and every saint above, delighted in this law of the Lord and able to live by it as easily and naturally as it is for them to love the Lord God with all their heart and soul and mind and their neighbor as themselves.

I know it seems like a terribly painful adjustment to go from our miserable condition here and now to that blessed condition in heaven. Change is so hard and this one seems so radical. But this, my friends, is where we are headed. It is our sure and certain destiny. Wouldn’t it just make sense to begin the adjustment now?

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