On Sunday - Past Sermon

Sermon Title: "Short Rules For Easy Living "
Date: October 2, 2005
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

This is a Sunday when I wish, instead of the banners depicting the season of Christian growth you see on each side of the chancel, we had two banners depicting the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  Alas, we have no such banners; and, secondly, it is a bit of a stretch to change out these banners for just one occasion.

From early in my ministry, I remember a Presbyterian church in Cortland, New York that had painted on the walls two immense tablets with the Roman numerals one through ten.  There was no sign identifying what they stood for.  You just knew.  And if you had a good enough memory, you might try to remember which was the first, or the fifth, or the tenth commandment.

Such displays are easily justified and accepted in churches or synagogues, but considerable uproar has taken place in the press and in the courts in recent years about displays of the Ten Commandments on public property:  in parks, in front of court buildings, and on the walls of courtrooms.  This issue has been argued all the way up to the Supreme Court.  The arguments go on, and no doubt will continue to go on for many years to come.  But as we ponder this issue, it does raise for us the question of where the Ten Commandments belong in our own lives.  Am I displaying them clearly in my own daily words and deed?  Am I keeping them prominently posted in my personal life?

It’s true that the commandments contain a list of rather daunting “thou-shalt-nots,” but these ten short rules are not meant to drag us down into negativity.  In fact, they are intended to give us a very positive framework—indeed, an easy one—for the living of our lives.  By way of remembering them more easily, though, I propose that you think of the first tablet being numbered one through four, and the second tablet numbered five through ten.  For the first four commandments provide us with guidance for our relationship with God, and the last six explain what it means to have a healthy relationship with each other.

The Protestant reformer John Calvin wrote that “God has so divided his law into two parts, which contain the whole of righteousness, as to assign the first part of those duties of religion which particularly concern the worship of his majesty; the second, to the duties of love that have to do with men.”

Worship of God’s majesty.  And love of one another.  They are equally beautiful, equally innovative, equally well-crafted propositions.  Jesus had this same two-tablet approach in mind when he said that the greatest commandment called us to both “love the Lord your God” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matthew 22:36-40)

Looking at the tablet with the first four commandments, we see that they contain the divine directives that instruct us to have no other gods except the Lord, to avoid idol worship, to refrain from misusing the name of God, and to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  These are simple, straightforward, easy—forming a clear picture of what it means to be in a right relationship with the Lord, including what Calvin defined as “the worship of his majesty.”

Are they negative?  Not at all.  Yet they can certainly be a challenge for us, especially when we find ourselves tempted to pay more attention to the current idols of Wall Street or Hollywood than to following God’s way for us.  They can be counter-cultural, particularly when we struggle to maintain a Sabbath day in a fast-paced, over-programmed, and ever-accelerating 21st century.

It used to be easier to observe Sabbath and Sunday worship in the days when nothing much else happened on Sunday.  I lived in Alberta, Canada in the mid-fifties.  Every store was closed on Sunday.  The colored comics and the “Sunday” paper came instead on Saturday.  I was back in Calgary on a Sunday in 2000.  Like here, everything is open on Sundays.  You can buy anything from a newspaper to a car.  Sports activities for children, youth and adults happen on Sundays, morning as well as later in the day.

Another commandment:  Taking the Lord’s name in vain is such a common occurrence that I believe the users have no idea of how offensive their language is.  I heard a fellow the other day talking on his cell phone in a drug store, using words I used to hear in the oil fields during my summer job in college.  I’ve followed teenaged girls though the mall when every third sentence out of their mouths was “I swear to God!”

Clearly, these commandments of God, passed down to us from thousands of years ago, are designed to help us, not to hurt us.  We tap into a source of energy and security when we worship God, rather than the powers of this world.  We have a more appropriate awe and respect of the Almighty when we use God’s name only in a positive, not flippant or degrading fashion.  And we lead a much healthier life when we take the time to rest, instead of working 24 hours a day seven days a week.  The worship of God’s majesty is a positive, not a negative.  It makes us stronger, not weaker.

The same can be said for the second tablet’s six commandments, despite the repeated “thou-shalt-nots” it contains.  There is an enormous amount of guidance and direction to be gained from these final six commandments.

There is a natural tendency to rebel against any limitations on our human freedom.  We don’t like to be told “you can’t do this” or “you can’t do that.”  We respond, “Why not?”, and kick into gear trying to find a way around or a way out.  Whether the flashing red stoplight appears in front of adultery, or stealing, or covetousness, we don’t like to hit the brakes and hear “thou-shalt-not.”  But these commandments are not all about the negatives.  They also provide a positive framework for the living of a good life in relationship to our neighbors. 

“Honor your father and mother” was not written for sarcastic teenagers during Moses’ day.  It was likely directed originally to adults, requiring that they treat their elders with respect.  It has only been within the last four to five decades that a proliferation of retirement and senior care facilities have evolved.  Heretofore, everyone took care of their elder relatives at home.  Back then, and now, wherever they live or whatever their physical or mental state, we are still called to love, honor and respect our elders.

When we honor our parents; when we work to reduce the inclination to carelessly murder right here in our own city, when we resist adultery—which can include inappropriate emotional intimacy with someone besides one’s spouse; when we turn away from stealing—including other people’s ideas “borrowed” from the internet without giving them credit; when we speak with truthfulness, and refrain from envy, then we find ourselves much better able to love our neighbors as ourselves.  The keeping of these six short commandments moves us into relationships that not only reflect the will of God, but also provide us with much happier, healthier, and easier—not more complicated—lives.

It’s important that we put the Ten Commandments, and the Great Commandment of Jesus, and our understanding of discipleship right where they belong—prominently posted in our personal lives.  It’s important to realize that the commandments are a reliable guideline for moral choices in this day and age when there are so many alluring choices to distract and entice us.  These ten short rules for easy living are an excellent framework for daily words and deeds.  It’s time to reclaim the very positive view of God’s law that was once common in the Christian community.  Martin Luther saw that the law has a social use since it exercises a restraining influence on society.  He also realized that it has a teaching use since it points out sin and reminds us of our need for Jesus Christ.

But it may be that John Calvin again had the best insight of all:  He saw that the law has a guiding use, since it acts as a rule of life for us.

When you read the New Testament, and come across the Great Commandment of Jesus to love God and love neighbor, it is important to see the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, and to post them prominently in your heart and mind.  Get a visual fix on this:  On one tablet, you have the first four commandments concerning your relationship with God.  And on the other, you have the last six commandments concerning your relationship with neighbor.

On one side is God.  On the other side is neighbor.  Both are important.  Both are God’s will.  Both are found throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New.  Both are close to the heart of Jesus.  Keep all of these commandments in the picture.  Keep them posted.  Keep them visible.  If you know them, and live by them every day, it’s easy.

(Resources from a sermon suggestion:  “Pulaski’s Empty Frame”,

found in Homiletics, Sept.-Oct. 2005, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 36-41.)