Next week is another Q & A week. Once per quarter I ask people in my congregation for questions or current events suggestions that they would like me to preach about. My goal is to bring biblical theology to bear on that subject to help us think Christianly about the headlines of the day. I received a very interesting question: “What can we do to allow Jesus’ love to bring peace to America?”
How would you answer that question?
Some in America have answered that question by suggesting that public schools need to post copies of the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. A year ago, June 20, 2024, Louisiana passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in all Louisiana public school instructional classrooms, regardless of the subject taught in that room.
Last Friday, June 20, 2025, though, the US 5th Circuit of Appeals rejected that notion, blocking the law. The very next day, June 21, 2025, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a law defying the appellate court decision, requiring all Texas public schools to post the Ten Commandments anyway. Now some Texas parents are suing the state.
It seems the opposite of peace has resulted from the idea of posting the Ten Commandments.
If it is so controversial, why do some people believe that posting the Ten Commandments is a good thing? Their rationale is that the ethical statements in the Ten Commandments are the foundation of the Judeo-Christian heritage of the Founding Fathers, and that it would benefit children in our country to have a regular reminder of those ethical statements, whether they are studying math, science, or English. Continue following the logic of that rationale, and the hope is that posting ethical statements will lead to children becoming ethical people, and that will bring peace to America. Also, the proponents suggest, it is just a good thing for children to learn about the ethical heritage of our country.
How do you feel about that? I disagree with the logic undergirding the Ten Commandment Posters. Please hear my heart. I do not disagree with the ethical content of the Ten Commandments. In my view, all but one of the ten are repeated in the New Testament. Guess which one is not repeated? Answer is at the conclusion of the post below! What I disagree with is simply the logic that individual and cultural change flows from posting ethical statements in public school classrooms. Jesus clearly chose not to disciple his disciples that way. There are far better, more scripturally sound ways to disciple people.
Therefore, on the blog this coming week, I’ll try to present what I believe is a superior answer to the question “What can we do to allow Jesus’ love to bring peace to America?” As I’ve thought about this question this week, I was drawn to Philippians 2:1–11. In that teaching, Paul’s approach to peace is radically different from just posting the Ten Commandments. As a faithful Jew, Paul was far more familiar with the Ten Commandments than just about all of us. Yet, he doesn’t mention them when he talks about peace. He could have, especially because the Mosaic Law says something that could be construed as “Post the Ten Commandments” (see Deuteronomy 6). What Paul does mention, however, is an idea that I believe is exactly what we American Christians need to apply to our lives to bring the kind of peace that God desires in our communities.
Check back here on Monday!
Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash
The answer to which of the Ten Commandments is not repeated in the New Testament? #4 about the Sabbath. Christians, no longer under the Old Covenant, are not required to follow the Sabbath law. We can, however, follow the sabbath principle, and that is what my sermon mini-series in July will be about.
Engaging Scripture 