C.Wayne
October 5th, 2005, 12:18 PM
There has been so much controversy about the commandments. The Supreme Court ruled that the commandments could not be displayed in Pulaski County, Kentucky courthouse, but they could be displayed on the State Capital grounds in Texas. The difference was the ones in Texas had been there twenty years and were among many other displays that influenced our laws. The Ten Commandments in Pulaski were in the room all alone and were intended to make a statement for the Christians, as they were from the King James Bible. Of course, what is interesting to me about all of this is that most Christians do not follow the commandments. We don’t worship Yahweh, we don’t worship on the Sabbath, and we don’t take seriously the commandment to make no graven image. Christians worship the Lord and Father of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and uniquely revealed in 613 commandments of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Sabbath is Saturday, the day God rested from his work in creation. And Christians put up all sorts of graven images in the form of crosses and crucifixes to represent the suffering Christ and the Risen Christ. So most Christians don’t follow the commandments. We only follow them if we reinterpret them, so that the first commandment becomes worship of God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit; God in three persons blessed Trinity. The cross is a symbol to Christians, as it represents the risen and crucified Christ, but it is a graven image as far as the Hebrew scriptures are concerned. And Christians say Sunday is the Sabbath, but the Ten Commandments understand the Sabbath to be Saturday. So of the religious four, most Christians only follow the fourth. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.
Now what I have just said is as painful to me as the fact that I stole that comb. I still regret I stole it. I’d like to make it up, but there is no more Begley’s. So what we Christians have done is we have reinterpreted the Ten Commandments, so that we worship God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We say that representations that point beyond themselves to Christ, like the cross and the crucifix, are valid religious symbols. We say that we are to honor Sunday as the Sabbath because it was on Sunday that God raised Jesus from the dead.
So now we are down to the last 6. If all parents were like my parents, and probably your parents, they certainly should be honored. But there is no reason for the children of Dennis Raider to honor their father. By all accounts he was an excellent parent, scout leader, church member, but he was also a serial killer. I am sure they grieve for him, so I would say honor parents that lead lives that are worthy of honor, and report parents that abuse their wives and their children. How many children have stood between their father and their mother to keep the father from hitting their mother? Honor the parents that are worthy of honor.
Now we are down to the last five. As far as I am concerned, these are the ones that support all the attention they receive. These are the ones that everyone ought to follow, no matter if they be Jewish, Muslim, atheistic, Christian, Buddhist or a follower of Confucianism or whatever. And what are these. Thou shalt not murder. Originally, this referred only to personal violence. It did refer to war and it did refer to punishment by the state. Many though take the commandments to be a living document, so that Christians may reinterpret them so that they are valid for Christians as I have tried to show above. So for many, thou shalt not murder becomes that shalt not kill in war nor in via capital punishment. The Quakers are the best representation of this tradition. It is why most Christians are pro-life and against euthanasia.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Martin Luther said that when these were written people married so young that adultery was the most common form of sexual immorality, but in modern the world, and he was writing in the 15th century, we should regard the commandment in the broadest way possible so that it should involve being chaste, not only in our actions, but also in our thoughts and in our speech. And furthermore, we should do what we can to see that our friends and neighbors remain chaste. We should do everything we could to discourage pornography, degrading jokes, and flirtation.
Thou shalt not bear false witness. This refers to court proceedings where you swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But many say it should also include lying. Thou shalt not lie. It has always bothered me that in our culture it is OK to lie, but not under oath. I believe that a person should not lie at all. There should be no black lies. A black lie is when you state something that is obviously not true. But also there should be no white lies. When I bought the comb and implied that I had stolen it, I was involved in a white lie. You know that I was never close to those boys because I had lied to them. You can only be close when you tell the truth. There is no intimacy when relationships are based on lies.
Thou shalt not steal. Martin Luther said that stealing never pays. It doesn’t matter how much you pile up, the loss of integrity makes all the money in the world a sham. What have you gained if you acquire lots of money and in the process lose your soul? Everyone who steals loses his soul. That is why I didn’t steal the comb. Once when I was at Transylvania, I left a restaurant without paying. I went back to Hazelrigg Hall, got in bed, and remember that I hadn’t prayed. I thought, “I will go tomorrow and pay,” but I couldn’t go to sleep. So I got up out of bed, went back to the restaurant and paid the bill. I feel sorry for people who have to steal, but I am especially saddened by corporate thieves who take advantage by price gouging, or insider trading, or political payoffs.
Thou shalt not covet. Who in here doesn’t place more reliance on money that we do on God. Who is not more concerned to be smart than to rely on God. Who doesn’t covet that their child be a star in something. My wife covets a house of our own. My mother said my father loved our farm more than he loved her. Would you call that coveting? Some people covet a good golf game or bridge game. The truth is, we are all failed baseball players, even Pete Rose. And someday, even Derek Jeter will have to quit. You have heard all your life that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything. But the truth is there are some things that you and I cannot achieve. I like Larry King coveting to be a great singer, but it’s not going to happen. As far as I am concerned there is only one way to not covet. And that is to love the Lord more than grades and sports when you are young, to love the Lord more than sex and acceptance when you are a teenager, to love the Lord more than money and success when you are an adult.
The Ten Commandments are to die for, in my opinion. Love the Lord you God, the Father of Jesus Christ, with all your heart and with all your mind. Keep in touch with God through prayer, meditation, and religious symbols that point to Christ, such as the cross and the crucifix. Honor the Lord’s Day by doing no work and taking a day of rest. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain. Honor parents that are worthy of honor and report parents who abuse their wives and their children. Do not murder. Advocate pro–life choices and avoid euthanasia, pray about becoming a pacifist. Do not commit adultery or any act that suggests sexual impropriety. Seek to be chaise in all relationships. Do not bear false witness. More do not lie. Do not steal in any form. Do not covet.
These are the Wayne Barnett 10 commandments for Christians. What you and I find when we study them is that we do not fulfill them. Only the arrogant and the ignorant, of which I used to be one, believe they follow them. There is only one way to follow them, and that way is by relying on the mercy of Christ. Lord have mercy on me a sinner, because in my heart I break one or more of the commandments daily.
John Perry said, “If you want to be a good Christian, follow the commandments.” If you want to be a good Christian, realize that you can only follow them as you turn over your life to Christ. Amen.
Now what I have just said is as painful to me as the fact that I stole that comb. I still regret I stole it. I’d like to make it up, but there is no more Begley’s. So what we Christians have done is we have reinterpreted the Ten Commandments, so that we worship God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We say that representations that point beyond themselves to Christ, like the cross and the crucifix, are valid religious symbols. We say that we are to honor Sunday as the Sabbath because it was on Sunday that God raised Jesus from the dead.
So now we are down to the last 6. If all parents were like my parents, and probably your parents, they certainly should be honored. But there is no reason for the children of Dennis Raider to honor their father. By all accounts he was an excellent parent, scout leader, church member, but he was also a serial killer. I am sure they grieve for him, so I would say honor parents that lead lives that are worthy of honor, and report parents that abuse their wives and their children. How many children have stood between their father and their mother to keep the father from hitting their mother? Honor the parents that are worthy of honor.
Now we are down to the last five. As far as I am concerned, these are the ones that support all the attention they receive. These are the ones that everyone ought to follow, no matter if they be Jewish, Muslim, atheistic, Christian, Buddhist or a follower of Confucianism or whatever. And what are these. Thou shalt not murder. Originally, this referred only to personal violence. It did refer to war and it did refer to punishment by the state. Many though take the commandments to be a living document, so that Christians may reinterpret them so that they are valid for Christians as I have tried to show above. So for many, thou shalt not murder becomes that shalt not kill in war nor in via capital punishment. The Quakers are the best representation of this tradition. It is why most Christians are pro-life and against euthanasia.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Martin Luther said that when these were written people married so young that adultery was the most common form of sexual immorality, but in modern the world, and he was writing in the 15th century, we should regard the commandment in the broadest way possible so that it should involve being chaste, not only in our actions, but also in our thoughts and in our speech. And furthermore, we should do what we can to see that our friends and neighbors remain chaste. We should do everything we could to discourage pornography, degrading jokes, and flirtation.
Thou shalt not bear false witness. This refers to court proceedings where you swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But many say it should also include lying. Thou shalt not lie. It has always bothered me that in our culture it is OK to lie, but not under oath. I believe that a person should not lie at all. There should be no black lies. A black lie is when you state something that is obviously not true. But also there should be no white lies. When I bought the comb and implied that I had stolen it, I was involved in a white lie. You know that I was never close to those boys because I had lied to them. You can only be close when you tell the truth. There is no intimacy when relationships are based on lies.
Thou shalt not steal. Martin Luther said that stealing never pays. It doesn’t matter how much you pile up, the loss of integrity makes all the money in the world a sham. What have you gained if you acquire lots of money and in the process lose your soul? Everyone who steals loses his soul. That is why I didn’t steal the comb. Once when I was at Transylvania, I left a restaurant without paying. I went back to Hazelrigg Hall, got in bed, and remember that I hadn’t prayed. I thought, “I will go tomorrow and pay,” but I couldn’t go to sleep. So I got up out of bed, went back to the restaurant and paid the bill. I feel sorry for people who have to steal, but I am especially saddened by corporate thieves who take advantage by price gouging, or insider trading, or political payoffs.
Thou shalt not covet. Who in here doesn’t place more reliance on money that we do on God. Who is not more concerned to be smart than to rely on God. Who doesn’t covet that their child be a star in something. My wife covets a house of our own. My mother said my father loved our farm more than he loved her. Would you call that coveting? Some people covet a good golf game or bridge game. The truth is, we are all failed baseball players, even Pete Rose. And someday, even Derek Jeter will have to quit. You have heard all your life that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything. But the truth is there are some things that you and I cannot achieve. I like Larry King coveting to be a great singer, but it’s not going to happen. As far as I am concerned there is only one way to not covet. And that is to love the Lord more than grades and sports when you are young, to love the Lord more than sex and acceptance when you are a teenager, to love the Lord more than money and success when you are an adult.
The Ten Commandments are to die for, in my opinion. Love the Lord you God, the Father of Jesus Christ, with all your heart and with all your mind. Keep in touch with God through prayer, meditation, and religious symbols that point to Christ, such as the cross and the crucifix. Honor the Lord’s Day by doing no work and taking a day of rest. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain. Honor parents that are worthy of honor and report parents who abuse their wives and their children. Do not murder. Advocate pro–life choices and avoid euthanasia, pray about becoming a pacifist. Do not commit adultery or any act that suggests sexual impropriety. Seek to be chaise in all relationships. Do not bear false witness. More do not lie. Do not steal in any form. Do not covet.
These are the Wayne Barnett 10 commandments for Christians. What you and I find when we study them is that we do not fulfill them. Only the arrogant and the ignorant, of which I used to be one, believe they follow them. There is only one way to follow them, and that way is by relying on the mercy of Christ. Lord have mercy on me a sinner, because in my heart I break one or more of the commandments daily.
John Perry said, “If you want to be a good Christian, follow the commandments.” If you want to be a good Christian, realize that you can only follow them as you turn over your life to Christ. Amen.