The Big Ten

Go Hawks! Football is coming and I can’t wait to hear our Gary Dolphin yell out, “Touchdown, Iowa!”  But… sorry, football fans, I’m not referring to an athletic conference today.  I’m talking about the original “Big Ten”, God’s Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. The Cascade Knights of Columbus recently erected a beautiful stone monument along the Davidshofer Trail in town. This monument has the Ten Commandments on one side (albeit Exodus 20:4 is left out, look that up and ask why) and the beatitudes on the other.  It is awesome and everyone should go see it. 

I hope this monument causes us to stop and think about these commandments. Why did God give them to us? Is it just a holy checklist for us to measure our good behavior?  If we score above 50% in this life do we pass the test and go to Heaven? I can probably make it through life without killing anyone, but I’m not sure I can walk through Target without coveting.

The Ten Commandments are God’s law.  James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”  So, if we fail even one commandment, we fail completely (no Heaven). Keeping all of these rules is impossible. Especially after Jesus declares lusting equal to adultery (Matthew 5:28) and hate equal to murder (1 John 3:15). So are we without hope and utterly doomed? 

Remember this when you see the Ten Commandments: Jesus!  Jesus alone lived a perfect life and fulfilled God’s law (Matthew 5:17).  He took this holy checklist to the cross and said, “It is finished.”  Where does this leave us?  Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Confess Jesus as your Lord and he will share his perfect score and let it count as yours.  That is called grace and it is only God’s grace that can save you.  When you see the Ten Commandments, think on Jesus. 

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