The race for United States Senator in Alabama is becoming one of the most watched elections today. At stake is a choice between electing a Liberal Democrat, Doug Jones, who strongly supports abortion and other liberal social issues ~ OR ~ electing a Conservative Republican, Roy Moore, who in the past has risked his position asChief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and his judiciary career - as he stood strong for his Christian faith, refusing to remove a Ten Commandments statue from the Alabama Supreme Court building lobby, and for taking a stand to support Traditional Marriage.
It seems that discussions regarding Judge Roy Moore always find their way back to his stand on the Ten Commandments. In a recent Facebook dialogue, an Alabama Lady Political Blogger raises the question of the Fourth Commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8) and asks:
We both agree that the Bible, God's full revelation to us - consists of both the Old Testament and the New Testament, both equally inspired by the Holy Spirit to be God's Written Word given to man. God gave us the Old Testament to point us toward the Cross ~ then He added the New Testament to fully explain the Cross.
In other words, theNew Testament stands upon the Old Testament and continues to expand upon, not exclude, Old Testament teachings. Yes, parts of the Old Testament laws were intended only for the Jewish people, His chosen people, as temporal means of pointing them toward their coming Messiah and the Cross.
That said, let me share an excerpt from a good explanation of how we should view the Sabbath:
The best way to understand the Ten Commandments is to see how Jesus explains them:
If we look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, we find that the first four speak of our relationship with God:
And, the last six commandments deal with our relationship with our neighbor, our fellow man:
Jesus Christ did not do away with the Ten Commandments, He only compressed them into two commandments: (1) Love your God, and (2) Love your fellow man.
The teachings found in the New Testament stands upon the foundation found in the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments. Can anyone actually keep the Ten Commandments? No. And God knew that. He did not give us the Ten Commandments as a means to gain salvation. He gave the Law to the Jews and the Ten Commandments to all of us - to make us aware of our sin, not to give us salvation and eternal life. Salvation, for the Jews and for the Gentiles - can only come through a saving relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Jews' Messiah.
In the Law, God gave the Jews animal sacrifices as a means of temporal forgiveness of sin, not as a means of salvation. They had to repeatedly sacrifice animals to continue gaining temporal forgiveness. But once Jesus Christ came and was sacrificed, once for all, that gave all of us a path to salvation and eternal life. There can be no more sacrifices - for the Perfect Lamb of God has purchased forgiveness for all who will receive His "paid in full" gift of eternal life, purchased for all mankind by His Perfect Blood.
So, yes, the Ten Commandments are still the foundation of our Christian faith - and we have to look upon the Two Commandments Jesus gave us in Matthew 22 as representing the full Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. Yet, that said, we are saved, from the first man, Adam, to the last person raptured into heaven, "by grace through faith in Jesus Christ - alone" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Nothing else is needed nor accepted.
So, to respond to my Political Blogger Friend, I will ALWAYS stand with a man such as Roy Moore who supports the Ten Commandments and our right to display them, a man who fights against abortion, same-sex marriage, and other unBiblical moral issues ~ AND ~ I will ALWAYS stand against anyone (in this case, Doug Jones) who supports killing babies, same-sex marriage, and affirmation of the LGBTQ++++ lifestyles.
My Blogger Friend asks me, "Also, if we post the Ten Commandments, we have to post other doctrines. You want to do that?"
Yes, if it is appropriate to display other doctrines, then by all means, display them. However, when the Bible is printed, it does not always include all the canonized books of the Bible. Is that wrong? Of course not.
In my own personal library, I have a number of Bibles which include both theOld Testament and the New Testament - I have some which also includes the Apocrypha (which I do not support as Biblical canon). And I have Bibles which include only the New Testament. Is it wrong to print only the New Testament alone? No. Nor is is wrong to display only the Ten Commandments without displaying other Biblical Christian doctrines.
That said, I do strongly believe that a Christian believer should be intimately aware of, knowledgeable of, and affirming these Christian doctrines which are essential for our salvation:
And, there are many Non-Essential Christian doctrines and teachings, i.e., eschatology, baptism method and timing, to tithe or not to tithe, Sabbath or Sunday worship, musical instruments or no instruments, etc. - which, while important to understand, interesting to discuss, and are helpful in making us more mature believers and better witnesses - DO NOT define nor affect our salvation.
So, in summary, yes, we should honor and strive to keep the Ten Commandments and we, as Christian believers, should support a candidate for office who also honors and stands strong for the Ten Commandments. That is why I urge all my Alabama Family and Friends to vote for Roy Moore to be the next United States Senator representing my home state of Alabama.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
It seems that discussions regarding Judge Roy Moore always find their way back to his stand on the Ten Commandments. In a recent Facebook dialogue, an Alabama Lady Political Blogger raises the question of the Fourth Commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8) and asks:
"Bill, as a Christian, my problem with the Ten Commandments is the Sabbath. Unless one is a Seventh Day Adventist, which neither you nor I are, we don't follow the Ten Commandments today. We're under the new law. Also, if we post the Ten Commandments, we have to post other doctrines. You want to do that?"
We both agree that the Bible, God's full revelation to us - consists of both the Old Testament and the New Testament, both equally inspired by the Holy Spirit to be God's Written Word given to man. God gave us the Old Testament to point us toward the Cross ~ then He added the New Testament to fully explain the Cross.
In other words, theNew Testament stands upon the Old Testament and continues to expand upon, not exclude, Old Testament teachings. Yes, parts of the Old Testament laws were intended only for the Jewish people, His chosen people, as temporal means of pointing them toward their coming Messiah and the Cross.
That said, let me share an excerpt from a good explanation of how we should view the Sabbath:
A common error in the Sabbath-keeping debate is the concept that the Sabbath was the day of worship. Groups such as the Seventh Day Adventists hold that God requires the church service to be held on Saturday, the Sabbath day. That is not what the Sabbath command was. The Sabbath command was to do no work on the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:8-11).
Nowhere in Scripture is the Sabbath day commanded to be the day of worship. Yes, Jews in Old Testament, New Testament, and modern times use Saturday as the day of worship, but that is not the essence of the Sabbath command. In the book of Acts, whenever a meeting is said to be on the Sabbath, it is a meeting of Jews and/or Gentile converts to Judaism - not Christians.
Is there anything wrong with worshiping on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath? Absolutely not! We should worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday! Many churches today have both Saturday and Sunday services. There is freedom in Christ (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1).
Should a Christian practice Sabbath-keeping, that is, not working on Saturdays? If a Christian feels led to do so, absolutely, yes (Romans 14:5). However, those who choose to practice Sabbath-keeping should not judge those who do not keep the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16). (https://www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-keeping.html)
The best way to understand the Ten Commandments is to see how Jesus explains them:
Matthew 22:35-38 (nkjv), "Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.' "
Matthew 22:39-40 (nkjv), "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
If we look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, we find that the first four speak of our relationship with God:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
And, the last six commandments deal with our relationship with our neighbor, our fellow man:
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
Jesus Christ did not do away with the Ten Commandments, He only compressed them into two commandments: (1) Love your God, and (2) Love your fellow man.
The teachings found in the New Testament stands upon the foundation found in the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments. Can anyone actually keep the Ten Commandments? No. And God knew that. He did not give us the Ten Commandments as a means to gain salvation. He gave the Law to the Jews and the Ten Commandments to all of us - to make us aware of our sin, not to give us salvation and eternal life. Salvation, for the Jews and for the Gentiles - can only come through a saving relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Jews' Messiah.
In the Law, God gave the Jews animal sacrifices as a means of temporal forgiveness of sin, not as a means of salvation. They had to repeatedly sacrifice animals to continue gaining temporal forgiveness. But once Jesus Christ came and was sacrificed, once for all, that gave all of us a path to salvation and eternal life. There can be no more sacrifices - for the Perfect Lamb of God has purchased forgiveness for all who will receive His "paid in full" gift of eternal life, purchased for all mankind by His Perfect Blood.
So, yes, the Ten Commandments are still the foundation of our Christian faith - and we have to look upon the Two Commandments Jesus gave us in Matthew 22 as representing the full Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. Yet, that said, we are saved, from the first man, Adam, to the last person raptured into heaven, "by grace through faith in Jesus Christ - alone" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Nothing else is needed nor accepted.
So, to respond to my Political Blogger Friend, I will ALWAYS stand with a man such as Roy Moore who supports the Ten Commandments and our right to display them, a man who fights against abortion, same-sex marriage, and other unBiblical moral issues ~ AND ~ I will ALWAYS stand against anyone (in this case, Doug Jones) who supports killing babies, same-sex marriage, and affirmation of the LGBTQ++++ lifestyles.
My Blogger Friend asks me, "Also, if we post the Ten Commandments, we have to post other doctrines. You want to do that?"
Yes, if it is appropriate to display other doctrines, then by all means, display them. However, when the Bible is printed, it does not always include all the canonized books of the Bible. Is that wrong? Of course not.
In my own personal library, I have a number of Bibles which include both theOld Testament and the New Testament - I have some which also includes the Apocrypha (which I do not support as Biblical canon). And I have Bibles which include only the New Testament. Is it wrong to print only the New Testament alone? No. Nor is is wrong to display only the Ten Commandments without displaying other Biblical Christian doctrines.
That said, I do strongly believe that a Christian believer should be intimately aware of, knowledgeable of, and affirming these Christian doctrines which are essential for our salvation:
1. The Deity of Jesus Christ: God Incarnate - fully man; yet, fully God.
2. The Trinity: God eternally existing; manifested (revealed) in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
3. The Bible: Is the Holy Spirit inspired Written Word of God and is the sole authority for Christian faith, salvation, and to guide our Christian lives.
4. Salvation by Grace: By grace you are saved, through faith in Jesus Christ – plus nothing else.
5. The Resurrection of Christ: He rose from the dead, that we may also be resurrected.
6. The Gospel: The birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ according to Scripture.
7. Heaven and Hell: Both are real places and are the only two eternal destinations available to all mankind.
And, there are many Non-Essential Christian doctrines and teachings, i.e., eschatology, baptism method and timing, to tithe or not to tithe, Sabbath or Sunday worship, musical instruments or no instruments, etc. - which, while important to understand, interesting to discuss, and are helpful in making us more mature believers and better witnesses - DO NOT define nor affect our salvation.
So, in summary, yes, we should honor and strive to keep the Ten Commandments and we, as Christian believers, should support a candidate for office who also honors and stands strong for the Ten Commandments. That is why I urge all my Alabama Family and Friends to vote for Roy Moore to be the next United States Senator representing my home state of Alabama.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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