The Politically Correct Ten Commandments

                                                     Dr. Russell K. Tardo

Scripture Reference: Exodus 20:1-17

¹And God spake all these words, saying, ²I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Commandment #1:

³Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Commandment #2:

⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me; and keep my commandments.

Commandment #3:

⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Commandment #4:

⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Commandment #5:

¹²Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Commandment #6:

¹³Thou shalt not kill.

Commandment #7:

¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Commandment #8:

¹⁵Thou shalt not steal.

Commandment #9:

¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Commandment #10:

¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

These are not called the ten suggestions, the ten pretty good ideas or even the ten guidelines.  They are commandments and are representative of the entire Law.  The Old Testament Law was given to Moses, the ancient lawgiver, and he wrote down the commandments as God gave them to him.  There were actually 617 commandments and Moses wrote all of them but the ten stand as representative of the whole.  When considering the Law, the ten are the ones most often thought of.  The Law was comprised of moral, civil and ceremonial aspects and governed everything concerning the life of the Jew.  It was Law given exclusively to them and given by direct revelation of God Himself.  Consequently, it occupied a unique place in the lives and history of the Jewish people. 

                                                                 - The Law's Fulfillment -

The New Testament does not say that Jesus came to destroy the Law.  It actually says:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. [Mat. 5:17]

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.  He met all of its righteous demands through His perfect obedience and by becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  The Law required perfection which no human being was able to render so God Himself temporarily laid aside the independent exercise of His deity.  He never ceased to be God but He clothed Himself in humanity; He became a man and as a man, lived a perfect and flawless life.  As a man, God kept not just the Ten Commandments but He kept all of the Law's demands.  He fulfilled them and then He actually volunteered to pay the penalty that the Law required for those who didn't fulfill its demands.  That's why Christ died as a sacrifice for you and me.  Only He could be our sacrifice because only He fulfilled all the righteous demands of the Law.  Therefore, only He could die in our place.  That's what Jesus did on the cross; dying in our place, the innocent dying for the guilty, the righteous dying for the unrighteous.  He was the Law keeper in that He met all of its demands.  We, of course, are the guilty, the violators, who have been made right and placed in right standing by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  His righteousness is now imputed to us by faith in Christ. 

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.                                             [Rom. 10:13]

Now if any one by faith calls out to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin, salvation and life everlasting He will answer.  Jesus alone is the giver of these things.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.                                                                                                                                     [Rom. 4:12]

Jesus is the only one to whom the penitent must call.  Please don't be among those calling out to Mary for forgiveness of sin.  Salvation is not found in Buddha, Mohammed, Allah, Krishna or any of the Hindu gods.  In our dilemma of sin, there is only one to whom we may call for forgiveness and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.  Having  confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior we stand with all other Christians and even with the Jews who for thousands of years have honored the great eternal wisdom found in the Ten Commandments.  The commandments and their message are actually timeless.

                                                                     - Who's to Blame? -

We would probably all agree that in this day and age, the commandments have fallen on hard times.  It wasn't long ago that parents taught their children not only the Ten Commandments but also the Bible and its principles.  Parents took the responsibility to read the Bible to their children and to relate to them the great stories and lessons of the scriptures.  Imagine that!  What a novel idea -- parents actually teaching their children the Bible.  Now if children get anything at all it's generally what parents expect the church to do for them.  Parents today have become an irresponsible lot.  If you don't fall into that category, praise God for that.  Our modern generation is being fed a diet of television morality, television ethics and if parents exercise any control or restraint, it's generally little more than shouting at the children telling them not to watch such-and-such.  I ask you why then do you have access to such-and-such on your television set?  Christian, if you don't want your kids watching nudity, pornography, etc., then why do you have it piped right into your home and pay to do so?  If you don't want the kids watching that trash, then why is it okay for you to watch it?  

My point in all of this is that not only have the Ten Commandments fallen upon hard times, but also parents themselves are failing to take responsibility for raising their children in a Christian environment.  In the not too distant past, there were parents who taught their children the commandments and also saw that the children committed them to memory.  These kids grew up respecting their parents, teachers and authority figures.  They even grew up respecting the property of others.  Just imagine that!   They were taught such shocking things as not to steal, not to lie or covet their neighbor's possessions.  These children were obviously deprived as they grew up believing they couldn't just take anything they wanted and were not entitled to what someone else had.  They actually grew up thankful and prayerful; they actually valued human life believing it was something God-given and precious.  What intolerable abuse!  It’s no wonder that those teachings have been disregarded and replaced.

                                                                    - Morality's Decline -

Something happened here in America that is beyond definition.  A shift in American values began shortly after the close of World War II.  By the time of the 1960s, American youth was in full fledged revolt.  There was rebellion against God, against morality and authority.  Something occurred in this time period in the spiritual realm that has transformed America and it's been on a downhill course since.  When I was a kid, the Ten Commandments were posted on the wall of every public school classroom.  The commandments also appeared in courtrooms and public buildings, etc.  Then the wisdom of American judges prevailed and it was decided that too much favoritism was shown to America’s Judeo-Christian ethics so that had to be catapulted.  Consequently, the Ten Commandments were no longer acceptable and no more teaching about Jesus was permitted in the public schools.  Now just look what we have!  What about children respecting parents?  Respecting authority?  Respecting teachers?  Regard for the property of others?  Regard for human life? 

It should be obvious to everyone that when America catapulted, our Judeo-Christian heritage as a nation took a wrong turn.  Sadly, since then, we have been in a hellish race toward our own destruction. It now seems that things are changing so rapidly that even our history is being rewritten.  I don't mention this to be critical of our president or government authorities but as Christians we should be aware of these things.  Just last month, the president was speaking to the Turkish parliament and he expressed to them on international television the deep appreciation that we as Americans have for the Islamic faith which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world even our American culture.  Since he made that remark Christians have been puzzling over how Islam has helped shape American culture.  I don't think there were any Muslims riding with Paul Revere or fighting the British for our independence.  I don't recall seeing any Muslim signatures on the Declaration of Independence.  There were no Muslim nations fighting for the cause of America in World Wars I or II.  The only way that I know that Islam has benefited us is that we now have increased homeland security as a result of 911.  The point is:  We're now saying that Islam has helped shape American culture but we can't mention the shaping of American culture by Judeo-Christian standards.  Saints, we are now rewriting our American history.  We're saying that things happened that didn't happen and that's a perilous road to take.  That means that one can fabricate and declare anything to be our nation’s heritage and history.  In light of the fact that we are rewriting history and everything is changing, I've written a new and improved version of the Ten Commandments which we'll review this morning.

                                - The New and Improved, Politically Correct Ten Commandments -

You will readily see that these are the commandments that our American culture and society has come to live by.  While Moses would certainly not recognize these, it is nevertheless the new and improved, modern American version of the Law.

Commandment #1:

Thou shalt love thyself with all thy heart and all thy mind and with all thy soul and with all thy strength.  We can all repeat the old mantras, To thine own self, be true.  Look out for #1.  Certainly this is the #1 greatest commandment that American society has embraced.  Whether or not we acknowledge it, it's the commandment that we live by.  In keeping with this new commandment, just listen to what happened in a 10,000 member church in Atlanta recently.  This occurred at Hillside Chapel (a 12-acre complex), founded by and ministered by the Rev. Barbara King.  This past December the pulpit assistant was the Rev. Angela Harrington Rice who led the congregation through the following exercise: 

Let's extend our love as we do every time we come together by enclosing our arms around us and loving ourselves.  For some of you it may be just a little squeeze, but for some of you, a great big hug and just hold yourself and feel the love within you; feel that love that's bubbling up and allow it to fill all that you are and fill your spirit.  Let's all repeat this together.  As I say, I love you (insert your own name), you say it to yourself:  I love you, I love you.

Saints, this is a church of 10,000 members which amounts to 20,000 spiritually blinded eyes.  This new commandment is right in line with Bible prophecy.

¹This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  ²For men shall be lovers of their own selves . . . .   [2 Tim. 3:1-2]

Most assuredly, that is where we are right now.  If we could categorize this society by using only one word, it would have to be selfish.  For the most part, people look out for themselves.  Even within the bonds of marriage, each partner looks out for their own personal wants, interests, etc. and woe unto the spouse who doesn't measure up to those expectations.  Each party is of the opinion that his/her personal happiness is the most important because each loves himself or herself.  Loving myself as I do, my self must be ministered to, catered to, properly attended to and my spouse must pay me the proper respect.  I would be inclined to think that a great percentage of our problems come from this love we have for ourselves. 

This new commandment is needed because after all, Bible teaching is so outmoded.  Let's face it, there's entirely too much attention given to serving others.  Think of it!  Jesus even said that we should love our enemies -- no one can be expected to do that in this modern day and age.  That's old fashioned and it's time to tell it like it is -- love yourself!  If you follow this new commandment, saints, you'll be right in step with our modern way of thinking.  What has become of the old ideas and concepts of Jesus who said that if one wanted to be great in His kingdom, one would be the servant of all, the least of all?  Putting others first, considering others, etc. is simply no longer apropos.  This is a new age and the teachings about Jesus and His methods just aren't politically correct.

Commandment #2:

The Hebrew reads have no other gods before My face.  The idea is there are no other gods or goddesses to be worshipped, honored, venerated or supplicated by man.  There is only one God and He alone is to be the object of our praise, our adoration and our worship.  He alone is to be supplicated in prayer.  However, in the light of our new permissiveness and political correctness, we must remember that this is a recipe for intolerance.  Being that our 21st century key words are diversity, plurality and acceptance, the second commandment would have to be let us recognize the good in all religions.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

                                                                                                                                                           [John 14:6]

Today one can either follow Christ, believing that what He said is true or one can believe the spokesman for the new religion Rev. Oprah who says that Jesus is not the only way, that He can't be the only way.  Now who are you going to believe?  Are you going to believe the outdated, outmoded teachings of Jesus Christ or the spectacular Rev. Oprah?   After all, which one is America's idol?  Which one does America fawn over?  Which one does America love, adore and cherish?  You make the call.  In this new pluralistic society, you, like Oprah, just might believe that there are many paths to God.  After all, that is the mantra of the new religion:  There are many paths to God; they all go to the same place.  Ah, this is a sharp group here today for we all know where all these different paths lead.  We also know what God says He thinks about those things.

. . . I hate every false way.                                                                                               [Ps. 119:104 & 128]

God doesn't wink or shrug His shoulders at false religion.  False ways bring people to spiritual ruin and damnation.  We either have to believe that Jesus is the way, etc. or we embrace a false way.

Commandment #3:

Again, taking the Lord's name in vain is outdated.  That should be replaced with Thou shalt revere the sacred name of Darwin.   Highly esteemed and regarded as truth is Darwin's great work, "Origin of Species," advancing the theory of natural selection and no tolerance is extended to those who might entertain doubts.  The nation even recently observed "Darwin Day."

To be accurate, let's add to that new commandment:  Thou shalt mock and ridicule all ignorant Bible quoters who believe in creation.  Darwin is to be spoken of in glowing terms of awe but the Bible is to be spoken of with skepticism and disdain.  That's the new religion.

Commandment #4:

Honoring the sabbath would be commensurate to tithing a day of the week to the Lord.  Just as people give of their monetary substance, we should give of our time.  However, one day in seven for God seems to be excessive.  Let's revise that too as it's old fashioned and outmoded.  Instead of honoring the sabbath, the new fourth commandment should be:  Honor your sexuality.  Flaunt thy sensual self.  Promote thy perversions and protect them. Strut thy seductiveness.  Propagate thy perversity.  Take thy degeneracy in public (television, radio, movies).  Show the world that thou art perverse and proud of it.  Hate and revile those who dare to call your perversity sin.   If you think this is crude and taking things just a bit too far, take time to see what's going on around you.  Do you watch the news?  Read the papers?  It's quite obvious that this is one of the new commandments.  Honor your sexuality.  There is no longer any such thing as being ashamed of sexual perversions or sexual degeneracy.  In this 21st century, it's not the sabbath that's sacred, it's whatever sexual appetites one yearns for.  The level of degeneracy they run to no longer appears to matter.

Commandment #5:

Honoring one's parents has been replaced with Honor thy mother earth.  It's the new commandment of religious,  fanatical environmentalism.  In the new religion, the devil is not the enemy; global warming is the enemy.  Let's all love the trees, the rain forest . . .  all of which is paganism, i.e., the worship of nature.  It's the worship of the creation rather than the Creator.  In the new religion, there is a wave of paganism sweeping America and we've become earth worshippers.  We worship all that is green and shame on all you rotten, wasteful people who drive vehicles with V-8 engines.  There's obviously something wrong with you. 

Included in this radical religious environmentalism is a new move toward vegetarianism.  Thou shalt eat no meat, i.e., no beef, no wild game, no fowl or fish.   While I do reserve the right to poke fun, I don't have anything against people who practice vegetarianism.  Vegetarian is an ancient Indian word meaning man who cannot hunt.  Generally speaking, those who are vegetarian today for religious reasons have bought into the new 21st century religion. 

Commandment #6:

This commandment has been taken beyond the killing of man.  To that has been added Thou shalt not kill animals, birds or fish.  Thou shalt not execute criminals, including robbers, rapists, murderers, kidnappers or terrorists.  Only shalt thou kill human embryos and babies in that they have committed the horrific crime of being an inconvenience to thy lifestyle.  Babies only shalt thou kill and human embryos are to be sacrificed on the sacred altar of scientific research.

Commandment #7:

This commandment is quite outmoded.  Completely out of date is the quaint concept that one man and one woman fall in love, marry and have children, and then stay together all their lives.  Today it's the practice to meet, have sex, make babies and perhaps marry.  While some may consider it, most decide not to marry so the new seventh commandment is:  Thou shalt not forbid marriage to anyone.  Four states within the USA presently allow homosexual marriage.  It appears to be a move that's gaining momentum in our culture.  Just twenty years ago, who would have dreamed this would be a subject open for debate?  This only tells us just how rapidly American morality is declining; there is no morality here in America today.

Commandments #8 and #9:

No one should steal unless one is a corporate executive or politician.  They are the exception and hereby excused from following that commandment.  That commandment and bearing false witness can be combined in the new commandment:  Thou shalt not condemn.  Who are you to condemn another for his lifestyle or sexual preferences?  Thou shalt not criticize or judge.  Let's make it inclusive:  Thou shalt tolerate everything except Bible believing Christianity.  That cannot be tolerated because it's narrow minded and bigoted.  Those Bible believers are totally unacceptable and not to be condoned.

Commandment #10:

The last and final commandment is:  Thou shalt recognize no absolute truth.  This is certainly the motto of the 21st century spirituality.  Absolute truth means there are certain facts that are absolute, fixed, certain and permanent.  There are some things that are absolutely true and irrevocable.  If one is among those who don't believe there is absolute truth then truth becomes whatever one thinks it is.  Truth is relative and what might be truth for one is not necessarily truth for another.  You just might be among those who can say, "My life has been changed and transformed since I asked Jesus to come into my heart.  He forgave my sins and I now have peace in my heart.  I'm delivered from my addictions; my marriage is coming back together; my children are coming around. Everything has changed since I committed my life to Christ."  If there's no absolute truth, the person infected with this new spirituality would say, "Well, I'm glad that works for you.  But what's true for you may not be true for me.  I'm exploring meditation, yoga and New Age experimentation.  I seem to be finding peace there.  You have your truth and I have mine.  There is no absolute truth."   This has infected American culture.  If there is no absolute truth, no one has the right to say that anything that someone does is sin. 

Do you have any idea where this concept of no absolute truth will lead?  If there's no absolute truth there's no such thing as right and wrong.  Considering that, what's right for you may be wrong for me.  What you think is wrong, might be right for me.  Talk about a slippery slope.  Beloved, this is exactly where we are.  This is the motto of the new 21st century spirituality.  Even Pilate asked, "What is truth?"    

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

                                                                                                                                                           [John 14:6]

Jesus meant exactly what He said:  No one has eternal life, forgiveness of sin and no one goes to heaven but by Him.  The truth makes us free from the inroads and confusion of swirling, changing spirituality.  The Bible says that God's Word is truth.  Is there absolute truth?  Absolutely.  It is the Word of God from which we must not waver.  Even when the entire world has embraced a new politically correct set of commandments, we're still not interested in following that way.  It's obvious to us that it's one of the false ways that God says He hates and it leads to destruction.  Remember saints, there's one way that's straight and narrow and it leads to life.  The other way is wide and broad and Jesus said there are many on that road.  Where does it take them?  It takes them to destruction; it takes them to hell.

                                                                  - What's Your Choice? -