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| The Devil - God's
Policeman? ~ David Sims
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 In
response to recent court rulings against the public display of the Ten
Commandments and the continual assault of a secular humanist agenda
against traditional values, the Ten Commandments Commission has been
created to restore and maintain the moral principles of the
Judeo-Christian tradition in our nation and society. -
quoted from www.tencommandmentsday.com
Do we suppose that the display of the Ten Commandments in public places
will help stem the tide of crime in society? It will have far less
effect than the ten commandments written on stone had in the days of
Israel. They exclaimed, “all that the Lord hath said, will we do” (Ex
24:7) It was only 40 days later they were worshiping a golden calf! God
wants the law written in our hearts, not on tables of stone. He
exclaimed “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear
me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with
them, and with their children for ever!” (De 5:29) and “And thou shalt
love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might.” (De 6:5) It is heart worship God desires.
Of all people, we definitely believe in keeping the Ten Commandments,
but God will only accept voluntary worship, and it seems to me, that in
reality, the purpose of this commission, and the Ten Commandments Day,
is for religious people to show a united front to influence politicians
and judges. Jesus said “my kingdom is not of this world”. He made no
effort to force any one to believe. When the disciples wanted to call
down fire from heaven He said “ye know not what spirit ye are of”. He
never tried to court the favor of, or to coerce kings, princes or even
church leaders to better enforce His principles. The only compelling
power Christ used was the power of unselfish love. That is the only
power His followers should use.
God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can
cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to
be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's
government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority
rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these
principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth
and love are to be the prevailing power. {DA 759.1}
So what about the issue of displaying the Ten commandments in public
places? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”. Therefore.
Government is to stay out of those issues. Let the local agencies in
charge decide how they want to decorate their building. We do not
support the interpreting of the principle of separation of church and
state to mean that local agencies can, or can't display religious art.
They are to have nothing to do with deciding such issues.
The Ten Commandments I have usually seen in public places omit from the
fourth commandment, the particular day of the week that God stated He
wanted kept. And they also omit why He wanted it kept. For in six days
the Lord made heaven and earth... and rested the seventh day”. Does any
one suppose that God was tired? Of course not. God set it up as a
memorial day of His creative power! That is why He rested. And does any
one have authority to change the memorial of your birthday, or
independence day, or the Queens birthday? Suppose I were to keep the US
independence day, instead of July 4, on a day set aside by some
terrorist group in honor of one of their leaders? Then does any man have
a right to change the memorial God set up for Himself? We have no more
power to do that than we can omit one day of the week. But if we display
the Ten Commandments in our schools, which Sabbath will we teach?. The
Seventh Day as it says in the Bible, the Muslim Friday, the Catholic
substituted day – Sunday, or the Greek Monday?
But even if the true Bible Sabbath were to be taught, we would have to
oppose any efforts to gain the support of the state, for any religious
purpose. Jesus clearly stated the separation that ought to exist between
church and state when He said, render to Caesar the things that are
Caesars, and to God the things that are God's.
James Madison said: "In the event of a statute for the support of the
Christian religion, are the courts of law to decide what is
Christianity? And as a consequence, to decide what is orthodoxy and what
is heresy? The enforced support of the Christian religion dishonors
Christianity." (Circulated in 1785 in remonstrance of a bill
establishing a provision for teachers of the Christian religion. James
Bancroft's "History of the Constitution," Vol. 1")
Wouldn't that be a horrible thing to return to those dark days when the
civil power was controlled by the state, and the priest controlled how
you thought, and you could be tortured and killed for what someone
thought you thought.
Shall we not remember the dark ages stained with the blood of over a
hundred million innocents, tortured and killed for Jesus, because they
dared to follow their convictions? |
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