As mentioned in the previous article, over the decades the values of society have changed, leading to many questioning if there are any moral absolutes, and wondering if there is a reliable source we should go to to determine right values?
The Bible says the Architect and Designer of life presented us with moral and spiritual laws, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Romans 7:14). They define human behavior and morality, yet in spite of this many regard them as no longer appropriate, and that no single source can determine the validity of values. News commentator Ted Koppel once remarked that when Moses descended Mount Sinai he wasn't carrying with him the Ten Suggestions on the tables of stone.
A classic argument claims the Ten Commandments were meant only for the ancient Israelites, or that they are part of an "Old Covenant" and therefore obsolete, in spite of the fact that the Bible clearly tells us they are not Jewish laws, but God's laws for mankind (John 14:21; Revelation 22:14).
God instructs mankind how to live, but He leaves us the choice of whether we will follow His way (Deuteronomy 30:19). He laments that we often make wrong choices, rejecting His moral absolutes and bringing suffering on ourselves: "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29).
The Apostle Paul wrote that "the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-indeed it cannot" (Romans 8:7, New Revised Standard Version). Sadly, most people know little about the Ten Commandments or where to find them in the Bible (read Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). Those who take the time to study the commandments find they're not a list of "Do nots," but are in fact God's guide to a life full of blessings. The commandments are relevant to us today and are designed to protect us, our families and our communities. They're a guide to transforming the way we think, what we do and how we live.
Jesus Christ defined the purpose of God’s law as teaching us how to apply the two great principles of loving God and loving each other. When someone asked Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus responded by quoting from two Old Testament passages, declaring: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:35-40).
God gave us the Ten Commandments because they constitute the highest moral standards and define love. We can think of the Ten Commandments as a lighthouse shining its trustworthy beam through the dense fog of ethical relativism and pointing the way to a life in harmony with godly principles. King David honored God's commands: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). He lamented that human beings do not naturally look to God's laws as lights to guide their lives: "Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law" (verse 136).
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