Monday, February 27, 2012
Luke 18:13b "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"
CROSS AND CATECHISM: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "The Ten Commandments"? Do you think of the passage above? Maybe it's an image from a movie such as the old Charlton Heston film. Maybe it’s the United States' continual attempts in the last 10 years or so to remove not only the Ten Commandments, but anything religious or Christian from the general public. Maybe we think of the morality in our society that basically laughs at the Ten Commandments in general? Are the 10 Commandments a joke?
Luther's Catechism reminds us of what God's Word teaches us about the knowledge of God. Can we look at our existing world or universe and seriously argue against an intelligent design? Can we look at ourselves and deny that there is evidence (the conscience) of a moral code that has been planted in each one of us? Not only does our flesh rebel against its Creator, but as mentioned above, the whole world does too. Add the relentless schemes of the Devil and that is a deadly mixture!
Therefore, a healthy fear of the Lord begins with the wisdom of God. Like that of the sorrowful tax collector in the temple as Jesus described in Luke 18 above, the tax collector acknowledged his failure to keep God's holy commandments. Sorrow for sin directly addresses and pleads for God to be merciful! During this season of Lent, we examine ourselves again in light of God's Ten Commandments and His holy will. We see that our sin is what led our Savior to the cross out of love for us! As we dust off our catechisms we can't help but see the cross of Christ shining through the Scriptures to show us God's love, to teach us God's unfailing mercy, and to remind us to share this wisdom of sinners saved through Christ alone!
Psalm 111:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever."
