Among all the writings of the Bible, there is a most sacred treasure—the Ten Commandments. First engraved on two tables of stone, it is the only document given to mankind whose burning letters were carved by the very finger of Jehovah Himself.
Most of the civil laws in any society are based on these simple commands. They give us our sense of right and wrong. Even the atheist admires the moral principles they contain.
Since this is true, should not monuments of these Commandments be displayed in every courthouse in the land? Would not these reminders serve to curb the lawlessness of our times?
There is no question that we live in an age of moral darkness and base lawlessness. Once, shoplifting and thievery were thought to be products of joblessness, homelessness, and illiteracy. But while college enrollments increase, so does the prison population. Young millionaire movie celebrities are caught on camera shoplifting at famous retail venues and plead guilty in the courts of law. Even privileged children—future heirs of grand estates—shoplift or break into their neighbors’ homes just for a thrill.
Youth who have grown up in homes where luxury is indulged are convicted for murdering their parents without a trace of remorse.
As disregard for biblical marriage has skyrocketed, so has domestic violence. Husbands are murdering their childbearing wives, and mothers are murdering infants and toddlers, due either to bad marriages or the inconvenience to their future relationships and plans. Think of the millions of abortions taking place each year and their direct association with sexual promiscuity.
Millions fill stadiums to be entertained by popular rape-suspected athletes, while those who may be victims of their misbehavior are treated with death threats and the crudest of insults. Movie stars and Hollywood celebrities become millionaires by imitating the worst and glorifying the basest of the human condition on the screen. Strangely, even law-abiding citizens wait with great anticipation for the evening news, so as not to miss the frequent activity of lawbreakers. Jesus predicted that during the last days of Earth’s history, such a time of lawlessness would exist: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matt. 24:12.
While many are disregarding principles of morality and decency and removing every reference to God from our public lives, others see the connection between moral uprightness and national stability. They understand the words Solomon penned: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Prov. 14:34. What is sin? The Bible gives the clearest definition: “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4.
To achieve national greatness and stability, a nation must respect the Ten Commandments. Breaking the Ten Commandments leads to national chaos and disgrace. Any serious student of history, even a religious skeptic, will conclude that every great nation’s downfall has been preceded by gross moral instability and a willful disregard for law and order.
So, why shouldn’t governments support judges who are willing to haul marble monuments of the Ten Commandments into every courthouse in the land? Wouldn’t such a movement curb the downward spiral of morality?
There is a greater need that public displays can never address, a need so desperate that if every courthouse placed the Ten Commandments on display, it would be just that—a display. It would never lead to righteousness of the heart.
The greatest issue facing human beings today is not a lack of religion on display, but the sad condition of the human heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jer. 17:9.
Could it be that the human heart is to blame for society’s ills? Monuments of stone in public places are an inadequate substitute for the Ten Commandments written in the heart. The Law of God written in the heart is the only solution for the human dilemma. “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.” Heb. 8:10. Yes, God wrote His Commandments in stone for ancient Israel, but today it is His purpose to write them in our hearts.
How does the work of writing His Law in our hearts happen? There is only one way. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you… and cause you to walk in My statues, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” Ezek. 36:26, 27. The only means by which an individual will go from being a lawbreaker to a true law-keeper is by receiving a new heart from God. Jesus told us that the only way to keep the Commandments is “with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind” and to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Matt. 22:37, 39. This love can only come from a heart filled by the love of God.
The greatest issue facing us today is not a lack of religion on display, but a lack of God’s Law written in our hearts.
Jesus spoke of this love when He said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. Only those who have learned to love God will obey Him, because they have received a new heart from Him.
It is futile to expect courthouses and governments to give us this heart of love. The best government can do is restrain us through the enforcement of penalties for breaking the law. Only God’s Spirit can put the Law of God into our sinful hearts. It is a task that is accomplished, “not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” 2 Cor. 3:3.
Christians may be sincere in their efforts to see God’s Law given honorable display in public places; but without God’s Law spiritually guiding our minds and consciences, a Ten Commandments monument is nothing more than an impotent religious symbol.
Eric Betts was pastoring in Washington, D.C. when he wrote this article.