So, just in case you have not heard yet, there is quite a controversy brewing here in my home state of Oklahoma. I have lived in Oklahoma all of my life, and I think it's a great place to live and raise my family. The recent uproar is over an attempt by a satanic church to get permission to erect a 7' tall statue of satan himself on a throne with a couple of kids hanging out on either side of him. I didn't want the picture of the statue on my blog, but you can check it out here if you want to see it. I am not surprised at all really. I mean, we do live in a country with supposed freedom of religion, speech, rights to bear arms, and many other freedoms that people all over the world could only dream about. The satanic church claims that since the Oklahoma State legislature allowed a monument of the Biblical Ten Commandments on the capitol grounds, that they should be allowed to have a their statue. Well played satan, well played. They actually have a decent argument if you take an unbiased look at it. Something really bothers me about this whole thing, but its not the fact that this New York based satanic church is proposing a statue of satan.
I'm sure by now I have your attention. You are probably thinking what kind of a pastor is this guy that he isn't bothered by a statue of satan. Let me explain what does bother me before you decide I'm crazy. Sound fair? Good. Here we go. So, here is what really bothers me....The Ten Commandments were not God's original plan. We got the Ten Commandments to show us that we cant keep them. We got the Ten Commandments because we became self-righteous. Did you know it is impossible to keep the law? If we could keep even just the Ten Commandments, we wouldn't need Jesus and Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. The purpose of the Ten Commandments was not to give us a moral code to keep ourselves righteous by, it was to show us we are born sinners and the only way we can be made holy and righteous is by placing our faith in Jesus, the One who is Holy and Righteous. The Ten Commandments are the Old Covenant, which leads to death. If you are a born again Christian, you are under a New Covenant, raised to life by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! (see Galatians 3 for more contrast of the Old and New Covenants)
Now, I'm not saying that because we live under the New Covenant that we get to do whatever we want, or that the Ten Commandments and the Old Covenant are trash. I'm just saying, if we feel that the best way to represent the Christian faith is to set up a monument of the Old Covenant, we may have no faith at all but in ourselves. Jesus said to follow the law He gave- to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourself (Matthew 12:29-31). Jesus said that all of the law and the prophets (the old covenant) hang on these 2 commands. Then Jesus took the the Ten Commandments to a whole new level in Matthew 5 all hinging on love if you really look at it. He said the law that says not to murder, is not enough...that we shouldn't even be angry at someone. He said that to not commit adultery is not enough, but that we shouldn't even look lustfully at another person. If we love people and see them as Jesus sees them we wouldn't be angry at them. If we loved ourselves and saw ourselves as Jesus does, we would not submit to the lust of our flesh. You see my friends, what we need to be reminded of is love, not law. The law condemns, but Jesus gives life! (Romans 8:1-3) (2 Cor 3:7-8) Jesus is love. If we are going to have a statue, why not one of Jesus??
If you want to know how to treat others, look at Jesus. You want to know what it means to really be a "good" person, look at Jesus. You want to live a life of integrity, look at Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only one that is "good". The Ten Commandments are not the key to your right standing with God. Jesus didn't die a brutal death on the cross for us to continue to think all we have to do is follow a set of 10 rules. That is self-righteousness and will lead you straight to hell my friends. Jesus died a brutal death on the cross and rose from the grave so that we could have life and life abundantly through a relationship with him based on faith that He is God's son, lived a sinless life, died for all mankind, and rose from the grave! He made a way for us to be made right with our Holy Creator, and if you are born again when God sees you He sees you clothed in the righteousness of Christ. That is something that no Ten Commandments ever did for anyone. No one has ever been able to or will be able to keep the law of the Old Covenant. NO ONE EXCEPT FOR JESUS. It is still critical for pointing people to Jesus and helping them see their need for a savior, but it does not make you a good person. No one is good. Without Jesus, we have all fallen short of God's glorious standard, but with Jesus we are holy and blameless!
I dont trust in the law, I trust in Jesus. If we are going to have a statue to represent the Christian faith, put up a statue of Jesus blessing the children in Matthew 19. If the satanic church wants a monument, let them have it. Freedom is freedom even if we dont agree with everyone. I promise you this, if they put up a monument of Satan next to a statue of Jesus, the monument of satan would not make it one single day without being destroyed. Every time they rebuild and repair it, it will be destroyed. See if the news will take that story viral. The headline, "Statue of Jesus destroys statue of satan".... and most of the world will likely chalk it up to a hoax. But for now, the hoax is on the Church. Many have been taught that God wants them to follow a set of rules when what He really wants is a relationship with them. If you have been unsuccessfully trying to follow the rules all your life and you want to have a relationship with Jesus then you must first realize you can't make yourself "right" or "good". Jesus was the only one who could fulfill the law and He did, and because He did you can receive his righteousness through faith in Him alone. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Have a blessed day.
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