United Church of God

Treasure Digest: Not Ashamed to Say, "Oh, How I Love Your Law!"

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Treasure Digest

Not Ashamed to Say, "Oh, How I Love Your Law!"

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Let's stand up for the Ten Commandments! With all the antilaw preaching, let's not be intimidated into hiding our light. God places great emphasis on the wisdom, love and beauty of His holy laws, and so must we.

What is the longest chapter in the Bible—Psalm 119—about? David is praising God's laws (including the Commandments) and His Word. God would want us to have the same heartfelt attitude and enthusiasm. Since God enables us to understand His Commandments, we can have great confidence and satisfaction in explaining them. When someone asks about our church, one good answer is this: "We believe the Bible is the Word of God, and we believe in obeying all of the Ten Commandments." This gives the person something simple to think about that often leads to a positive discussion.

In our previous congregations, we printed business cards that all the members could carry that gave facts about our church, phone numbers, etc. To summarize what we teach and practice, the back of the card read:

  • Preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
  • Teaching the Ten Commandments as a way of life.
  • Reaching out in fellowship, service and love.
  •  

The Ten Commandments can be taught on all levels of understanding and as deeply as anyone would like to go.

What else did God write in stone with His finger? What else did He speak so all the Israelites could hear Him? What other words were kept in the ark of the covenant? What summarizes the answers to virtually all of the world's problems? What is the core of what God writes in the hearts and minds of His people? God has certainly put the spotlight on the Ten Commandments!

The Ten Commandments are famous! In fact, if someone wants to specify several "commandments" about anything, he often chooses 10 so he can say "the Ten Commandments about such-and-such." It is something that almost everyone can relate to. Things often are graded on a scale of 1 to 10—with the best being "a perfect 10." The Ten Commandments are the real "perfect 10!"

We can capitalize on the publicity that others are giving the Ten Commandments. At least one group publishes book covers for textbooks with the Ten Commandments on them. Judge Roy Moore has become quite a controversial figure for insisting on the Ten Commandments in his courtroom and in the lobby of his courthouse. Various preachers will occasionally preach on the validity and value of the Ten Commandments.

In spite of all the publicity, there is a giant need for education about the Ten Commandments. Most people can't name all 10, and there is woeful ignorance about their meanings and applications. We can all help to fill that need.

Let's not be shy about boldly proclaiming, "Oh, how I love Your law!"