What is the Use of the Ten Commandments?

What this episode covers

If you were to poll society regarding rules for life, you would get many different answers. Some of them might even contain a few examples from the Ten Commandments. But you would probably gather a large consensus around a few secular core doctrines. One popular sentiment would be that there is not one “right way” to live. Another might be that people should be allowed to do whatever makes them happy provided it does not harm someone else. Many would advocate for the right for a woman to choose what to do with her own body. As the list gained clarity there might even be popular agreement that the world would be a better place if everyone would live according to these core values. There would be an assumption that an agreed-upon moral code is better than no code at all. Anarchy is generally accepted as leading to chaos. But polling society has not always provided the best results in history. Not too long ago I came across a story about the British government’s attempt to name a $287 million polar research vessel. In an effort to generate publicity for the new vessel, the government decided to name the royal research ship by way of an internet vote. The agency in charge of the contest suggested to British citizens that they look at names such as Ernest Shackleton (the famous explorer), Endeavor, or Falcon. But the people’s overwhelming, runaway choice for this state-of-the-art research vessel—the clear winner of the internet vote—was (are you ready for it?): “Boaty McBoatface.”Kevin DeYoung, The 10 Commandments In this series, we will consider why it is important not to get your standards of conduct from society, but to look to the moral law as summarized in the Ten Commandments. Memorizing the Ten Commandments Although reciting the Ten Commandments in corporate worship is fairly new to our church, it has a long tradition in church history. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of time at the end of our service to provide a lengthy explanation. My hope in this series is that we will have a better understanding of the ongoing value of the moral law for believers. I encourage you to spend time memorizing the Ten Commandments over the course of this series. Start today. Try to recite the Ten Commandments to one another. Then set the goal of memorizing them and meditating upon their importance. There is historical precedence for the value of this. It was something that every Jewish boy learned in the synagogue growing up. All of our reformed catechisms are based on teaching us the meaning of the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. Almost half of the Westminster Shorter Catechism deals with questions about the Ten Commandments. Until relatively recently, this was something that took place in public schools! Prior to 1980, it was not uncommon to see the Ten Commandments posted somewhere in the classroom. J.I. Packer, who was born in England in 1926, had to memorize the Ten Commandments in public school before he was ten-years-old. It was not that long ago that it was reasonable to expect every adult to know them and be able to recite them from memory. You can find some great resources with illustrations to associate with each commandment. Or you might have the kids design their own memory devices. This can be a great exercise for children and adults in our church. Read Exodus 20:1-21 Today I simply want to set the stage for our series with a couple of clarifying remarks. You may find some help in understanding how different traditions have numbered the commandments. I. The Number the Ten Commandments The passage does not number each commandment, nor do we read “Ten Commandments” anywhere in the passage. In fact, they are never referred to as commandments. That is why they are also known as the Decalogue, which is Greek for “ten words” (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; 10:4). Either way, “words” or “commandments” both suggest stipulations for obedience because of the con

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