The Ten Commandments Need to Make a Comeback (Thoughts About Current America)

American Christians within modern congregations must understand that the Ten Commandments of the nation of Israel serve as a code of conduct to all the generations of the world, and that the entire Decalogue is ultimately a summary of holy living. The entire Torah, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, was used as the primary source for moral living standards in the ancient theocratic society of Israel.

The government ruled by Torah laws. And in a righteous world, the law is being followed.

While the American concept of democracy and the ancient Israelite concepts of government are far different in application, the same principles apply regarding our fellow man and our Creator.

The government and church were one in ancient Israel, in contrast to the secular world of today. Depending on who rules, this can be detrimental or positive.

I suppose only Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) would be the ideal candidate for a theocratic rule on Earth. That power would be absolute, requiring massive responsibility.

And that’s true. Power means more responsibility.

I think of divisive issues like the recent ICE situation. On the one hand, I see the woman’s family losing their loved one; on the other, I see that Romans 13 principles weren’t followed as far as understanding the authorities must be respected due to their station. There is some guilt on the part of the driver in being unruly.

Better angles now released (and bodycam footage) show there was hostile intent on the part of the driver (who was there to be a nuisance to begin with). I'm no longer 50-50. After doing further research, this was justified in respect to the law.

No matter which side of the issue you are on, the situation is tragic and a sign of heightened tensions in our nation.

If you want to protest for immigrants, fine. But let’s not forget we should come to countries we want to live in legally (and both sides should be congruent with that fact).

I understand some of these immigrants are fleeing from oppression, and my heart goes out to them. But as someone fond of biblical law, when a law is broken, that is transgression.

I believe we should look at both sides and then come to our conclusion, but there needs to be a bit more understanding from the current administration as to the fire in the nation coming from the left.

Back to the topic at hand, the summary of the Torah.

The politically correct society of today will often shrug off the Old Testament commandments as outdated, and it is unfortunate that even believers in Jesus Christ follow suit. Christianity should not discount the Old Testament simply because of modern theological interpretations, neither should it be discounted simply because our modern form of government has a set of regulations to follow that serves as a replacement for Old Testament law—separating the church and the state.

The Definition of Righteous Living

When investigating the Decalogue and its relevance to modern Christians, it is important to understand what the Bible and our Creator have to say about what being righteous is. All of us can agree that we are made righteous before God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ or Yeshua the Messiah, but we have many interpretations of what it means to live righteously.

There are several scholars and believers who side with the theology of “once saved, always saved.” Meaning that since we cannot bring any good works to God to satisfy His standards, we as believers should just accept Jesus to cover us for our sins and leave it at that. It doesn’t matter what we do; we’re fine.

Something to that effect.

We don’t need to commit to doing good works, because He did it for us.

This is a serious error that needs to be addressed. The Apostle Paul addresses that sin is known from the Law of God, and without the Torah and the Decalogue specifically, we are without knowledge of sin.

Sin is transgression of the Torah, and the Ten Commandments summarize the highest of the Torah laws.

Romans 7:7 says, “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7 [ESV]).

That the Ten Commandments are not relevant to a New Testament Christian is completely inaccurate, as they are an integral part of the faith.

 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it” (Romans 6:6-7 [ESV])?

 Righteousness has to do with avoiding sin and keeping the commandments instead.

“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous” (1 John 3:7 [ESV]).

The current administration must be just in its actions and stick to its role as God’s avengers in a fair way. The United States was far better when the Decalogue was allowed in schools, as well as prayer.

As a Christian, I don’t believe in stealing from the secular for the sake of the kingdom’s advancement, but I’m OK with freedom of religious expression in schools.

We must never force our faith onto a political side. Jesus is not left or right, as the angel says in the Book of Joshua.

King David wrote all of Psalm 119 as a testimony to the validity of God’s commandments in righteous living. In other words, we can only be righteous when we follow God’s commandments in obedience, and Psalm 119 defines just what it is to be called righteous.

I’m not saying the Trump administration should encroach on a secular republic with such rules, but that it should follow righteous principles.

The Ten Commandments and the Messiah

Undoubtedly, our walk as Christians in modern-day America should serve as an example of the Messiah’s character to influence the world for the better and for the Kingdom of God.

This means following the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Torah, because our Messiah did it perfectly.

If we are told to follow His example, would we not follow the commandments as well? The Old Testament texts were the only scriptures that the New Testament Church had, and we are told in the second Book of Timothy that all scripture is “God-breathed and useful for instruction in righteousness [ESV].”

This can only mean that they took the Old Testament as seriously as we take our New Testament theology. The Old Testament idea of righteousness was not about works either, since God also showed mercy throughout it apart from their works. Verses in the body of Deuteronomy 5 and the rest of the Torah simply reestablish the righteous standard of the Decalogue, and the New Testament letters of Paul say nothing contrary.

Rather, the Messiah and the commandments should be taken as a package deal, as both are the Word of God! We can’t separate the Old Testament from the New Testament—they are essentially the same. All of it points to Christ as our Redeemer, and therefore, the Ten Commandments should be followed out of love for our God.

If the United States government used these paradigms for society internally without forcing it on people, the world would be far better than these petty fights on the left and right.

The Decalogue and Modern Society

Equally important as following the Ten Commandments, the promotion of the biblical standard of righteousness should be shown to the world as an invitation to follow the standards of covenant living.

Regarding God, God never changes; there is no alteration in His character, as Malachi 3 shows us.

Showing the culture of America just what it means to live righteously is vital to bringing people to their redemption, no matter what period we live in, as God is immutable.

As the American political structure dismisses the unification of church and state—being rather secular with politics—many modern Christians agree to take the Ten Commandments out of schools and public places.

We are a melting pot of cultures; however.

This means we should be open to the ideas of religion without rejecting them outright.

In ancient Israel, there would be no problem in posting the commandments in public places, as the Torah specifically commanded such a thing, and the theocratic cultural context of Israel made this possible.

It is a great tragedy that the secular scientific community and court system can present and implement their ideas uninhibited, while alternative codes of conduct and belief such as religious law or creation science are overlooked and seen as outdated and irrelevant.

This is where the current administration might do wonderful work and make up for some shortcomings.

Unfortunately, the modern era is secular, and we as believers must obey the civil laws just as any atheist or Buddhist citizen would.

Going back to the recent tragedy, could it have been avoided? Sure. But as frankly as I can say this, after doing further research, authority was not respected and she attacked the agent. We must follow the truth, no matter what that means.

According to the New York Post, Renee Nicole Good was part of an ICE watch who had been training to resist them before this happened.

I'm going to follow the truth I saw with my own eyes and stand firm here after further research. That cam footage is the nail in the coffin for the victim narrative.

Back to the main subject.

Secular society confines us to working within the parameters that modern society has set for the separation of church and state.

In essence, the best way to show the modern era the love of God and the importance of the Ten Commandments is to live what we believe and plant the seeds of righteousness within our legal boundaries.

The Ten Commandments and the Torah are Necessary

At the heart of the Decalogue is the standard that God has set for holy living, and the modern American Christian does not differ from an ancient Israelite when it comes to spiritual standards and righteousness.

While it may seem that we are prevented from using the Ten Commandments in a secular setting, we can still show their effectiveness in following them as an example.

The New Testament and the Old Testament faith are essentially the same belief system, only differing in time and certain judicial laws being prevented from being carried out.

A person who trusts in the Messiah—whether they looked forward to Him or look back to Him in their respective time periods—can display their faith and wisdom in understanding the impact of the Decalogue on Christian life. The Ten Commandments are an integral aspect of the American Christian’s walk with the Creator and only enhance our spiritual understanding of what moral character looks like.

I hope both the common citizen and the current administration see the light of the gospel, the Ten Commandments, and the Torah, that while not secularly enforceable, can be followed in principle.

Tensions are high right now, so let’s understand each other as best we can. Lean not on the left, lean not toward the right, but stand up straight toward heaven.

May you be blessed and find shalom.