Why Study the Ten Commandments

We've begun a new series of sermons in our church on the Ten Commandments, but a lot of people ask, "Why study them? Why should we take the time to study something so outdated?" After all, everyone knows the Ten commandments, right? There is something about lying, and stealing, and . . .um, oh, yeah, thou shalt not kill. Let's see, that's three . . . Ah?

The Ten Commandments seem to be something we would assume most everyone would know - that everyone would want to know. Wouldn't people want to know what God expects from them? But sadly, that is not the case.

Our society has become so secularized, that we've believed the lie about our constitution (or should I say, misrepresentation) that there is a wall of separation between church and state. By that, they mean that the wall of separation was built to keep religion from messing around in people's lives and in governmental structures, not the other way around. As a result, we've pretty much banned the Ten Commandments from public life. They can no longer be posted in public buildings or school houses because somebody might (gasp!) actually be influenced by them and follow them.

As a result, although 97% of Americans claim to believe in the Ten Commandments, only 5% can name three or more of the commandments. Try it and see how you do. Sadly, they are not a part of most people's lives. We as a society are woefully ignorant of what God demands of us.

And that reflects in our behavior. How evident that is if we only read the daily newspapers or tune in to the news on our radios or TVs. We have become a society that is morally bankrupt, throwing off all moral restraint. We have a national epidemic of crime, AIDs, abortion, divorce, drugs, and pornography in this country - a country that was given birth on Christian principles. And people wonder why.

Yet, we as a people don't want anyone telling us what to do. We say,

"So what how we live our lives! What difference does it make if we don't keep our word? People will get over it. So what if we get our passion in someone else's bed. Our spouse needs to be more broadminded. We're entitled to some pleasure. So what if we're too focused on our work. No one has a right to tell us what to do."

And we can go on and on making our rationalizations. but we forget that God does have a right to tell us what to do because He made us. And God did tell us in the Ten commandments.