The Lord omnipotent is King!

There is a power vacuum in Britain today because the general election gave no political party an overall majority. There is a spirit of anarchy in the air. Anarchy is a state of disorder due to the absence or non-recognition of authority. When there is no effective government individuals claim absolute freedom to do what they want. The consequences for society are potentially very serious. In the Bible there was a time when Israel had no king and “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”

This raises important questions for the future of our society and the wellbeing of every individual in it. How do we know what is right? Are we free to do anything we want? To whom are we accountable? The Ten Commandments provide a clear and coherent basis for a stable society in which every individual can flourish. The commandments begin with God. He must be recognized as God and be given a unique place. So, the first commandment is, “You must not have any other god but me.” God is supreme. He is the One who created us and to whom we are accountable for the way in which we live. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength.

The commandments also teach how we must relate to each other. Our neighbour’s life, wife, possessions and reputation are to be safeguarded and respected. We must not to be covetous about our neighbour’s possessions; a very relevant commandment in our materialistic society. In summary, we must love our neighbour as we love ourselves. These commandments are not advice, but are given by God’s authority and are to be obeyed.

When we recognize the absolute authority of God and seek to live according to his commands we are faced with the fact that we all fail to obey his commands. We are all lawbreakers and sinners. We need to find forgiveness and experience God’s grace. The wonderful message of the Christian Gospel is that God, the Lawgiver, is also the One who sent his Son to save those who have broken his laws. Isaiah wrote, “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Peter Milsom