TEN COMMANDMENTS

                                                           TEN COMMANDMENTS

    People who proclaim they are of the Christian faith have a strange way of demonstrating their support of the Ten Commandments. Although these commandments form the basis for all of Christianity, charlatans within and out of the church are choosing to ignore some of these 10 basic rules of The Way. I use the term "The Way" instead of Christianity because much of the practice of Christianity today does not fall within the guidelines of Christ's teaching. If you disagree with me, I urge you to study the four gospels. If you're strictly a New Testament Christian, I remind you Christ frequently quoted from the Old Testament and was aware of all the "Jewish" teaching. Even Satan knows the Old Testament. We should know it, too.

    Much of the clamor and blustery commotion on radio, television and publications is centered on sexual related matters. The fact is these people (including pastors) are singling out social issues to lead people into passing legislation for control. Before you hit "delete", please read the rest of this paragraph. If you are going to purport to be a Christian, you must not ignore a commandment that deals solely with sex. That is the Seventh Commandment (Exodus20:14). "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

    I may have missed something, but I haven't seen any state or national movement to enforce the sin of adultery as a crime punishable in a court  of law. It is a common sin, committed both by Christians and unbelievers. A sinner can repent and be forgiven. That is true for every sin except one: Matt. 12:31. The unforgiven sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. When you do this, you are denying the power of God. So...an adulterer can be forgiven for straying. The adulterer may commit the same sin more than once. The person can be married more than once, but the sin may be forgiven. This is a common occurrence, even among church attending Christians. Pastors do this and are reinstated as the church leader. 

    Since this adultery is a violation of Christian law, should all adulterers be criminally prosecuted and/or fined and jailed? There is a move on to do just that, except it's not for adultery. It seems there are many people professing to be of faith who want to criminalize certain sex related issues, but not adultery. These other sexual issues are flash points to
support a modern form of vigilantes. Very little thought is given to the entire sexual issue. When the word "sex" is used, it is "tuned" to exotic sex--intercourse and oral sex. It is explained only as sex, with nothing to do with companionship, love or assistance.

    Have you examined pictures of these couples? Most same sex  marriages are between older people. If you had the "opportunity" to see the couples who came to the hospital for treatment, you might understand that the need for companionship was a main reason for many couples. There are many people alone in our country, and if you are old or in any way physically limited, you will understand the need for a caring and even loving companion. There is no sex involved. The hue and cry about same sex marriage reflects the "dirty" minds of many smug, righteous people.

    Marriage between a man and a woman applies for the purpose of procreation. Our society offers certain privileges and benefits for married couples that are available only for married couples. By not permitting same sex marriages, these people are denied access to tax supported
funds. Is there some reason a Christian can't understand the need of love and companionship without physical sex? Is everyone possessed with a "dirty" mind? Check out a hospital or assisted care facility to get a decent understanding of the horror of being alone. 

     How can a professing Christian attend and support a church whose pastor tells his congregation to "use a stick to hit the limp wrist of a son to prevent him from becoming a homosexual?" I'm moving on to another subject here--changing horses in mid stream. I want to stress that this kind of general teaching is not from Christ. It has no place in the pulpit. This guy reminds me of the West Baptist preacher. A limp wrist does not indicate a future homosexual. Christ did not teach a Christian should whip or force anyone to make them accept and perform as a Christian. If you know history, you know both the Jewish religious leaders and Rome tried to enforce obedience to their wishes. Even Rome would have released Paul, but the Jewish religious leaders wanted Christ dead. Think about that, and do a teeny bit of research before you decide to join a pastor like the one I mentioned. (I saw his sermon.)

    I won't comment on homosexuality except to say scripture describes it as a sin. So is lying a sin, and cheating, and gossiping. All these sins can be forgiven. We are not to judge how they conduct themselves as long as they don't harm us. If you pre-judge, that is a sin. Look at Matt. 7:1-2. "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  We need to remove our sins first. We may try to help them overcome that sin, but, again, physical and mental force are not tools  given us by Christ. We should encourage them to attend church. Our job  is to witness Christ to them. Where better than the church?

    Christ did not attempt to establish a theocracy. He knew, and history has proven religious based societies fail. Except for God's choice of Israel as His people, even Israel would not exist today. There is a strong Christian movement to establish laws that would create a theocracy.
For some reason, people want to govern by heavy-handed law rather than by Christ's process of choice. Christ never forced anyone to do anything, and neither did the apostles. He expressed physical anger just once, and it concerned love of money--the current dollar symbol that is replacing the cross. See His action in Matt. 21:12-13, "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and  overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, 'It is written, My
house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'"

    Christ expressed extreme oral anger in Matt. 23: 1-36. I pray you will read these passages, as they are among the longest in His discourse. I will summarize them because of the length, but the sub title tells you what the subject is, "Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees." Jesus points
out the people were being misled by wrong teaching and man-made extended rules and regulations. This is a warning to us to carefully examine our religious leaders. Of course you have to know the meaning of scripture to make an intelligent decision. That takes time, and we
all know time is MONEY, right?

    I've heard professing Christians cite various verses of Proverbs as the basis for persecution of Christians and non Christians. You do understand that Proverbs is not Christ's teaching, right? Oh, it's important and a part of scripture, but it wasn't taught by Christ or a priest. It is solid advice from a very wise man, and I'll tell you how you can easily make a mistake in the use of passages. Turn to Proverbs  6:16. "These six things the Lord hates, Yes seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren." 

    Proverbs was written by King Solomon and several other writers. None were religious leaders or priests. The Book is advice and wisdom, but not part of Christ's teaching. The first clue is a word in verse 1, HATES. Christ never taught anything but love. Even when He berated the Scribes and Pharisees, Christ never used the word hate. He only listed the many ways they were misleading the people. I hear and see hatred all around me, and both political and church leaders are guilty of tarnishing the truth and gold of Christianity. 

    When the Israelites told the prophet Samuel they wanted a human king to lead them instead of God, Samuel warned them they would suffer under  a human king. Read 1 Samuel 8:1-22. This is another lengthy read, but if you can't correlate these verses to the movement toward a theocracy, the consequences will be similar. You may not be a political or church leader, but if you fail to understand these consequences, your support means you are falling into the same pit as the Israelites. Christ brought us the four gospels. That is God's Word. That should be our manual of operation. Using any other scripture without actually understanding it is a sin. It is forgivable, but it's still a sin.

Rev. Walbear