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We begin today in a series on the 10 Commandments. If you’ve read the latest edition of The Scroll you’re aware from my article that I think I’ve reached a breaking point with the diminishing standards set in our society. Publicity about a summer TV series brought me to that point…and that, in turn, brought me to the Ten Commandments. There is an obvious conflict between God’s standards and the standards of the world. So, it felt like a good time to review God’s standards as expressed through the Ten Commandments.

Most of us are pretty familiar with the Ten Commandments. We could probably recite most, if not all of them. They come to us in the biblical story of Exodus, the story of the Jews, led by Moses, leaving 400 years of slavery in Egypt for a new life in the Promised Land. After leaving Egypt, including the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, the Jews are poised to begin that new life. But, they need laws that will guide them, both in their religious life and in their civil life. So, they gather at the mountain God has led them to and Moses goes to receive the Law. The story is found in the 20^th chapter of Exodus. I’m not going to read the entire section of Scripture referred to in the bulletin. Most of it is the Ten Commandments itself. Let’s quickly review them, in paraphrase: (1) You shall have no other gods; (2) No graven images; (3) Do not misuse the Lord’s name; (4) Keep the Sabbath day holy; (5) Honor your father and mother; (6) Do not kill; (7) Do not commit adultery; (8) Do not steal; (9) Do not lie; (10) Do not covet. Then, after the commandments are given, our passage for today concludes with these words (read Exodus 20:18-21).

Well, as I said before, the content of this new TV series confronted me with the diminishing standards in our society. It was shocking…and discouraging to see. And I couldn’t just let it go. I’ve reached the breaking point. Or, perhaps I should call it a boiling point. You’ll recall the analogy of a frog and boiling water. I think I’ve mentioned it before and, again, I’ve never personally tested this analogy, but it is used in explaining the declining standards in our society…and our casual acceptance of those standards. Supposedly, so the analogy goes, if you place a frog in boiling water the frog will immediately hop out. However, if you place a frog in cool water, then slowly heat that water to the boiling point, the frog will contentedly hang around until it is boiled to death. Again, I haven’t tried that experiment but there is actually some internet debate about the veracity of the experiment. Whether true or not, it makes the point, and (I’ve learned in looking up some information about the experiment) has been used in a variety of ways—warnings against the subtle growth of communism, warnings against climate change (Al Gore uses it in his documentary Inconvenient Truth), and warnings against the growth of government authority—a tax here heats up the water; a law there, the water is a little warmer. That type of thing. Whether true or not, the analogy makes the point and I think is relevant to where we find ourselves in the values of our society today. Allow a Playboy magazine to enter into the culture and pretty soon you find the Playboy philosophy entering into every area of our culture. Get away with a lie here and pretty soon you can’t remember what is truth and what is false anymore. The water began slowly heating up decades ago and I wonder if we’re reaching the boiling point.

If you’ve read my Scroll article you know that the trigger for my anger about this is a new show called Swingtown on network TV for the summer season. We’re not talking cable here—which has its own set of issues—but national, network TV. CBS to be specific. The promos leading up to the start of the series were terrible, showing scenes of spouse swapping, drug use and teen sex. I’ve been recording it while I’ve been out of town because I want to know what I’m talking about and not just go by the promos. I’ve since watched three episodes and, frankly, so far I can’t tell if it’s parody, or tragedy—which might be possible redeeming aspects—or serious. The critics are having the same difficulty by the way. I don’t know what the future holds for the series. I hope it dies a quiet death. I don’t know what the future holds for future network programming, but I’m not optimistic. The water is heating up around us and Swingtown’s content is a reminder of how far our standards have fallen. It raises for me the question of exactly what do we consider acceptable and by what standards do we choose to live—the world’s standards, or God’s. And that is what has brought me to the foundation of God’s standards, the Ten Commandments: (1) You shall have no other gods; (2) No graven images; (3) Do not misuse the Lord’s name; (4) Keep the Sabbath day holy; (5) Honor your father and mother; (6) Do not kill; (7) Do not commit adultery; (8) Do not steal; (9) Do not lie; (10) Do not covet. These are God’s basic standards for His people. They come to Israel as Israel is becoming a nation and the people are in need of laws that will lead them in being an orderly, structured and civilized nation. God brings to them His law—both for their religious life and for their social life—the first four commandments addressing their relationship with God and the final six addressing their relationships with others. And these standards do not change.

What is essential in developing a correct attitude toward the Ten Commandments is to take them out of the negative context in which they are normally viewed—the great "thou shalt nots" that seek to spoil all our fun—and view them in the light of two positives for which God intended them, His protection and His provision. Throughout this series we will be examining each commandment in that light: what is God wanting to protect us from and what is God wanting to provide for us in these foundational standards to live by.

If there is a sub-text to this series, and there could be many cited because the Bible frequently speaks to the difference between God’s standards and the world’s, it is Romans 12:2, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." Take a stand for God’s standards as expressed in the Ten Commandments and you will run smack into conflict with the world’s standards. Be outspoken about it and you will be subject to ridicule, laughed at. You will be called old-fashioned, outdated, square (a particular put down used in Swingtown). But I truly believe that seeking to live according to the standards God sets for us is the pathway to the best life, the pathway to God’s protection from those things that would damage our relationship with Him and with others and the pathway to all that He wants to provide for us in those relationships. And, no matter the ridicule we might face, that is the message we have for the world.

Our Scripture passage that was read this morning comes after the listing of the Ten Commandments and it speaks to the magnitude of the moment. There is thunder and lightening. There is a mountain enveloped in smoke. It is, as Cecil B. DeMille’s classic film portrayed, a very dramatic moment. It is a central moment in the life of God’s people. I’ve always found it interesting that DeMille entitled his movie after one relatively brief scene. The movie is basically the story of the entire book of Exodus. The movie is 3 hours and 40 minutes long! Yet, DeMille didn’t call it "The Exodus." He called it "The Ten Commandments." And I think he got it right. Everything points toward this pivotal moment when these people, a tribal family coming out of 400 years of enslavement in another land and moving toward becoming a nation in a new land, receive the foundational laws for how they are to live. It is a pivotal point for the people of God. And the Ten Commandments remain a pivotal point for the people of God today. The story of our text for today remains relevant for us today. There may not be thunder and lightning, a mountain encased in smoke, but the story of the Ten Commandments remains the same for us today. There is a test…and the requirement of fear, or reverence for God that motivates us to follow the commandments and keep from sinning. The test of the commandments is whether we trust in God’s design for our lives…or do we trust the world’s standards. Do we believe God’s way holds the best path for our lives to take, or do we think our way is best? Even in the midst of ridicule, or the voices of others calling us to a different standard, are we prepared to trust in God’s way for our lives? That is the test that the Ten Commandments bring.

So, over the course of the next ten weeks, we will explore what the commandments have to say in the midst of our permissive culture. And we will seek to understand them, not as the repressive "thou shalt nots" for our lives, but as the liberating standards that bring us the joy of God’s protection and provision for our lives.