The Law
of Perfect
Freedom
Relating to God and
Others through the
Ten Commandments
Michael S. Horton
Moody Publishers
chicago
Michael S. Horton
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture Passages marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
Scripture passages marked (Phillips) are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, translated by J. B. Phillips (New York: Macmillan, 1958).
The use of selected references from various versions of the Bible in this publication does not necessarily imply publisher endorsement of the versions in their entirety.
ISBN: 0-8024-6372-X
CONTENTS
The first thing to say about the Ten Commandments is that they exist and their status is that of divine command. They are not Moses’ bright ideas, but God’s categorical requirements. Scripture affirms that the two tables of the law were written directly by God (Exodus 31:18). Thus God told the world what sort of behavior pleases Him: He made this very clear by His ten prohibitions of any other sort of life. Though stated as part of God’s covenant with Israel, the Decalogue shows God’s will for all His human creatures and is thus the place where all mankind’s moral and spiritual education needs to begin. That was true in Moses’ day and is just as true in ours.
The second thing to say about the Commandments is that we have largely lost them, and that is our folly. Until quite recently they were basic to the religious training that Western nations gave their young. Before I was ten I was made to memorize them—at a public school!—and so were most children of my day. But all that has changed. Prejudice against memorizing as an educational discipline, against the Old Testament, against law in the church, and against religion in schools has led to a state of affairs in which few in the churches, and fewer outside, can repeat the Ten Commandments, let alone explain them. The Reformers and Puritans, who wrote literally dozens of catechisms for Christian education based on the three classic formularies, the Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, would weep over us if they knew how far we had fallen from the standards they set. In a godless and immoral age like ours, ignorance of the Commandments is as great a spiritual weakness as one can imagine. But it is, alas, widespread, and on moral issues we fumble accordingly.
The third thing to say about the Commandments is that they are in fact foundational to Christian morals, as has been implied already. The positive principles implicit in their negative form, when set in the context of the Christian reality of Christ’s kingdom and life in the Spirit, stand as a family code for God’s redeemed children everywhere. Appeals to the ethic of Christ and the apostles that fail to find their roots in the Commandments (roots that are made very plain in the New Testament, be it said) slip and slide into all sorts of misconceptions. The unity of biblical ethics, starting with the Decalogue, needs rediscovery today.
The fourth thing to say about the Commandments is that Michael Horton’s exploration of what they mean for Christian people today is a fine entry point for anyone who wishes to reappropriate their message. There is much wisdom here. Make it yours. It is wisdom that we all need.
J. I. Packer
Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology
Regent College
Vancouver, B.C.
Thanks to the staff at Christians United for Reformation (CURE) for giving me the flexibility to write this book. I am especially grateful to the assistance afforded by my associate, Alan Maben, and also to Kim Riddlebarger, Loretta Johnson, Rod Rosenbladt, and Shane Rosenthal for their help.
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