δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
I’m getting ready to preach on the Ten Commandments at my church as we work our way through the book of Exodus on Sunday mornings. I’m excited to use Kevin DeYoung’s book, The 10 Commandments: What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them, as an aid in my sermon prep. From what I can tell so far, it’s thoroughly biblical, rooted in the Reformed tradition (that’s a good thing in my opinion), informative, accessible, and practical.
I’ve been a Christian for over twenty years, but I’ve never heard a series of sermons on the Decalogue, at least not at any of the churches I’ve been part of. I suspect the same is true for many believers my age.
There was a time when the Ten Commandments were a core component of the church’s discipleship program. New believers were taught the Christian faith and life by means of three tools: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. The idea was that these summaries of Christian belief, piety, and practice would provide new converts with a solid foundation for a lifetime of following Christ.
The church in America has largely abandoned this historic practice. I don’t think we’re better off for it. The theological ignorance, prayerlessness, and moral confusion that characterize much of American Evangelicalism are signs that we need to rethink how we’re doing discipleship. By “rethink” I don’t necessarily mean come up with something new. Rather, we need to draw on the heritage left to us by our fathers and mothers in the faith. There’s ancient wisdom available to us in the tried-and-true practices of the Christian church, wisdom we can learn from and apply to our contemporary church life. We stand to gain much from recovering the practice of catechesis — systematic instruction in the Christian faith.
Consider four things believers young and old could learn from receiving a thorough grounding in the Ten Commandments.
I’ve taken up the psalmist’s prayer and made it my own request for my church and myself: Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart
(Psalm 119:34).