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Practical Christianity, The Ten Commandments
Entering any Bible bookstore, one is overwhelmed with titles on “Practical Christianity” and “Christian Living.” These are the church's version of self-help books, and they all promise that between their covers is the answer to our heart-felt questions: “What is my purpose in life?” “How do I follow God?” “How can I become a leader in the church?” Every day a new volume comes out: Prayer for Dummies, Decision Making Like Jesus, Perfect Holiness in 15 Minutes a Day, and the list goes on.
We all want a handbook on being a Christian; a simple guide that answers the questions, “What is God's will for my life?” “How do I live to please God?” Where can we find such a book? Will it be published this year? Most of us have that book sitting on the shelf at home: the Small Catechism.
Most of us think of the Small Catechism as a textbook, a book we studied intensely for three years, pasted the test, and then put aside for other, more practical reading. But the Small Catechism is more that a textbook, it is a handbook for Christian Living; it teaches us how we are to practically and daily live before God and with our neighbor. This month we consider the TEN COMMANDMENTS [Exodus 20:3-17], and the “Practical Christianity” the Catechism teaches us.
PRAYER
Which commandment concerns prayer? The Second: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. If we are not to misuse God's name, then we must use it rightly, that is, call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks. God commands that we pray and gives us three promises concerning prayer: (1) He is pleased with our prayers, (2) He hears our prayers, and (3) He will answer our prayers. [Psalm 50:15, St Matthew 7:7-8] This is what the Second Commandment teaches us.
WORSHIP AND DEVOTIONS
Which commandment concerns worship and our personal and family devotions? The Third: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. How is the day kept holy? By the Holy Scriptures. We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. We should gladly go to church, regularly hear God's Word read and preached. We should constantly hear and learn God's Word by reading our Bibles daily and studying them with our families. This is what the Third Commandment teaches us.
FAMILY
Which commandment concerns the family? The Fourth: Honor your father and your mother. In an age when the family is under attack and “youth” is another word for “rebellion”, this commandment teaches us that we should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. God has given us parents and other authorities for our good. Through them God richly blesses us with orderly authority instead of the chaos that sin brings. We are to honor, serve, obey, love and cherish those whom the Lord has put in authority over us. For children, these are our parents. For citizens, these are our governing officials and law officers. For employees, these are our bosses and managers. By honoring others in authority, we honor God. This is what the Fourth Commandment teaches us.
OUR NEIGHBOR
Which commandment concerns how we treat our neighbor and our enemies? The Fifth: You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. What not to do, and what to do: we do no harm, but, more than that, we spend our time, effort and money helping our neighbor and all those around us so that they have all that they need to live. This is what the Fifth Commandment teaches us.
MARRIAGE
Which commandment concerns marriage? The Sixth: You shall not commit adultery. Our spouse is a gift from God, therefore we are to lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other. We are to honor and cherish our spouse both by what we say and do, forgiving and delighting in each other as our Lord delights in His forgiven church. [Isaiah 62:5; Ephesians 5:22-30] This is what the Sixth Commandment teaches us.
AT WORK
Which commandment concerns the Christian at work? The Seventh: You shall not steal. Stealing is more than the masked-face thuggery we see on America's Most Wanted; we steal when we are lazy on the job, accepting payment for work that we have not done. Instead of trying to get money from our neighbors, we are to help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. We are to be honest in all our dealings, with our business, our taxes, and all that we do. This is what the Seventh Commandment teaches us.
CONVERSATION
Which commandment concerns our conversation and talk with and about others? The Eighth: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. Do not gossip, lie, betray or slander anyone with your words, but defend... speak well... and say everything in the kindest way. Our mouths are to be filled with the praise of God [Psalm 51:15] and words that edify and build up our neighbors [Ephesians 4:29]. This is what the Eighth Commandment teaches us.
CONTENTMENT
Which commandment concerns contentment? The Ninth and Tenth: You shall not covet. Be content with what the Lord has given to you, for He cares for you perfectly [St Matthew 6:25-34; Psalm 23]. Rejoice when the Lord gives His gifts to others, and be content when He withholds gifts from you, for this too is from the Lord [Job 1:21]. In the end, God has given us all that we need, for He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? [Romans 8:31] To be content in all circumstances, to have peace beyond understanding, this is what the Ninth and Tenth Commandments teach us.
In the Catechism we have enough practical advice and goods works to busy ourselves for the rest of our lives. Here we are given the answer to our question, “What, Lord, would you have me do?” and we are given the answer straight from the mouth of God: You shall keep the commandments. [Deuteronomy 7:11]
The Lord's Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Wolfmueller
For Further Study on Christian Vocation, Consider these verses from the Table of Duties in the Small Catechism...
Bishops, Pastors and Teachers: 1 Timothy 3:2-6
Duties Christians Owe Their Teachers: St Luke 10:7; 1 Corinthians 9:14; Galatians 6:6,7; 1 Timothy 5:17,18; 1 Thessalonians 5:12,13; Hebrews 13:17
Governing Authorities: Romans 13:1-4
Duties Subjects Owe to Governing Authorities: St Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1,5-7; 1 Timothy 2:1,2; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13,14
Husbands: 1 Peter 3:7; Colossians 3:19
Wives: 1 Peter 3:1,6
Parents: Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21
Children: Ephesians 6:1-3
Laborers: Ephesians 6:5-8
Masters and Mistresses: Ephesians 6:9
Young Persons in General: 1 Peter 5:5-6
Widows: 1 Timothy 5:5,6
Christians in General: Romans 13:9; 1 Timothy 2:1