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Words From the Fire: Hearing the Voice of God in the 10 Commandments

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The Ten Commandments was among the first lengthy passages of Scripture I ever committed to memory. Like most children, I was told to memorize the commandments and did so. Every week they were read in church, ensuring that they remained fresh in my mind. And yet, as I've grown older, I've realized that I think little about these Commandments, usually convinced that I am living by the letter of the law but rarely pausing to consider whether I live in the spirit of them. I'm a New Testament Christian, I suppose, often seeing little reason to look back to these laws, given so long ago. And it is to my shame, I'm sure. So it was some interest that I turned to Words from the Fire, a new book in which Al Mohler calls Christians to hear the voice of God in the Ten Commandments.

The great crisis of our day, of the postmodern times in which Mohler writes the book, is one of knowledge. It is an epistemological crisis that goes to the very root of how we can know anything and, continuing on from there, what right we have to tell other people what is true and what is false. Mohler summarizes the question in this way: "How do we know and teach what we claim to know and teach?" The great challenge for Christians, in face of such questions, is to "make certain we know on what authority we speak, and know, and teach." As Christians our claim is not that we have something to say or that our words merit attention. To the contrary, we claim that God has something to say and has chosen to say it through us. We speak only because he has spoken and we ought to speak only what he has spoken.

The format of the book is dead simple and really exactly what you would expect--after an Introduction there are ten chapters for ten laws. This Introduction is excellent, structured around eight "if's." If we grant that God has spoken as Creator to his creation, there are eight things we must now acknowledge: that we now do know; that we know what we know only by mercy; that we too must speak; that all of creation is about God; that God has spoken for our good; that we must obey; that we must trust; that we must witness. "We are here because God has spoken, not only in the fire, but also in the Son--in whose name we gather as the church and in whose name we serve. The voice at Horeb points to its ultimate fulfillment in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate. For beyond the miracle of Israel hearing God's voice and surviving, we can now know the Word of God made flesh...and be saved." And from this starting point Mohler consistently shows how the Ten Commandments are relevant to us today and how God calls us to obey them; he shows how they are all a work of God's grace. And always he points to the ultimate fulfillment of these commandments in Jesus Christ, the one in whom the law has been fulfilled. These are commandments we can know and obey and delight in today in a way that the ancient Israelites could not even imagine.

As I considered reading the book I was particularly interested in Mohler's teaching on the fourth commandment. I was raised in the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed traditions, both of which insisted on a real continuity between the Old Testament Sabbath and the New Testament Lord's Day. Though I am now a convinced Baptist, I have still found it difficult to reconcile the Ten Commandments with a non-Sabbatarian view of the fourth commandment, a position Dr. Mohler refers to as Lord's Day observance. I found his arguments here logical, convincing and convicting. The main issue in this commandment, he insists, is what we are to do rather than what we are not to do. That simple observation, combined with his other teaching, shows me that I can be a non-Sabbatarian and actually have a higher view of the Lord's Day, just as a New Testament Christian should have a higher view than his Old Testament equivalent of any of the other commandments. "Are there things we ought not to do on the Lord's Day?" he asks. "Certainly there are. Anything that would detract from our worship should not be done on the Lord's Day. Anything that would rob the Lord's Day of priority worship should not be done. Anything that would be on our minds when we are worshiping, as if we can only get done with this in order to go do that, is a matter of sin, no matter what it is."

If I were to point out a potential weak point in the book I'd say that strangely and rather surprisingly, I noticed several little editing oversights--a missing quotation mark here, a missing word there, an overuse of a word in a few other places. There are only a few such things, but still more than I would have expected. It is certainly not enough to detract from the message of the book but still enough that I made a note of it.

We've seen a steady stream of books come from Mohler's pen in the past couple of years. I have read them all and am quite comfortable saying that this one is the best of the bunch. Logically, consistently, biblically, Mohler looks to the Ten Commandments and then calls us to live in light of those laws, not as people burdened by rules, but as a grateful people acting in love toward a great God. "Understood rightly, these commandments lead, not to our despair that we fall short of them, but to our thankfulness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ comes to save lawbreakers like ourselves. Thus, we see the commandments themselves as grace to us. But our confidence is not in our ability to keep these commandments, for we will surely fail. Our confidence is in Christ, whose perfect obedience fulfills the law."

Dr. Mohler has served as the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY since 1993. Dr. Mohler brought reformation to the then liberal seminary and has returned the seminary to teaching the theology of the Southern Baptist founders---the theology of the Bible.

In Words from the Fire, Dr. Mohler expounds the 10 commandments for us. The purpose of the 10 commandments has been a debate for a long time. Calvin and Luther disagreed on this issue and evangelicals today continue to disagree. We can all agree that the law was given to us to point to Christ and to guide our secular law. However, the debated question is does the law teach Christian today? Mohler points out an interesting fact that although Luther denied this third use of the law, he still practiced this use of the law. Mohler concludes the law does teach us today, which is the basis for the rest of the book.

Throughout Words from the Fire, Mohler does an excellent job at showing Christ in the commandments. Jesus is there in each commandment, thank you for showing Him to us Dr. Mohler. Another common theme throughout Words from the Fire is God's glory, and rightly so, God's glory is a theme throughout scripture as well. Mohler clearly declares the chief end of man: "We are called to know and love the God who made us for His glory. And that is the highest privilege any human being can know."

Yesterday I covered Mohler's discussion on images of Christ separately. I completely agree with his exposition of the second commandment and commend him for taking a stand on a sin so prominent among Christians.

I also agree with Mohler on his discussion of the fourth commandment, the Sabbath. However, he left me a bit disappointed in his conclusions here as I was hoping to get some more clear direction. Being the only commandment not reinforced by Jesus in the New Testament, I can understand the confusion around the commandment. Mohler tells a story of washing his car on the Lord 's day as a young man and was lectured on Sabbath breaking by his mother for doing so. Mohler concludes by saying he still does not know if this was a sin. I do not know either, but when I read this chapter, I was hoping he knew. I do not see a clear affirmation of the SBTS Abstract of Principals in Mohler's exposition of the fourth commandment. I doubt washing your car is a work of necessity or mercy.

XVII. THE LORD'S DAY
The Lord's Day is a Christian institution for regular observance, and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, resting from worldly employments and amusements, works of necessity and mercy only excepted.

Mohler's work is presented well and is theologically sound. His contribution will surely edify the church for many years. My only criticism is the few places where no concrete position is taken. I may not have a concrete position either, but I am not writing a book. That being said, I highly recommend Words from the Fire, and I am adding it to my list of possible teaching material for my Sunday school class. I believe it would make for a great 10 week series of Sunday School classes.

In this book, Mohler, who is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes an exposition of the Ten Commandments, explaining how each is still vitally important to us today, even though we live under the covenant of grace, and not under the law. Jesus, after all, was the fulfillment of the law, and we are to be like him. While Jesus' sacrifice allows us to come to faith by the free gift of God's grace -- even though we are guilty of breaking every commandment He has ever given us -- we are still called to live according to God's Will. Jesus didn't remove the law, though he removed it's power over us. Rather, he raised the bar, setting an even higher level of expectation for those who bear His name. It is not enough to live according to the letter of the Law. We are to live according to its spirit, through the power of the Spirit which enables our obedience.

The purpose of the book, says Mohler, is to answer the question: "How do we know and teach what we claim to know and teach?" His answer is that God is a God who speaks. Previously, He has spoken through the law, but now He has spoken through the Living Word, Jesus Christ. This leads to what he calls "several realities that should frame our thinking". He offers eight such realities that must be true regarding the question "How do we know?" if we operate under the assumption that God speaks, and that He has spoken: If God has spoken, then (1) we do know; (2) we know only by mercy; (3) we too must speak; (4) all He has spoken is about God, and it is all for our good; (5) it is for our redemption; (6) we must obey; (7) we must trust; and (8) we must witness.

Mohler then devotes a chapter to each of the commandments. I was amazed and challenged by the depth of his insights, particularly in regard to our worship. His focus is entirely on Jesus, and this makes the 10 Commandments more "relevant" now than ever! Mohler's summary in the penultimate paragraph of this book is spot on:

"Understood rightly, these commandments lead, not to our despair that we fall short of them, but to our thankfulness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ comes to save lawbreakers like ourselves. Thus, we see the commandments themselves as grace to us. But our confidence is not in our ability to keep these commandments, for we will surely fail. Our confidence is in Christ, whose perfect obedience fulfills the law."

This book would make an excellent resource for small group discussion, as well as for personal reading.

In a country where people fight for the Ten Commandments to be posted in public places, but many of these same people do not even know what they say. Dr. Albert Mohler takes us on a journey along those stone tablets in the tradition of Christ himself. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds that the commandments are not about outward action, but about the attitude of the heart. Where the commandments say that we must not murder, Christ took it to the heart of the matter and equated murder with hate. Mohler follows this tradition by showing how each commandment is intended to be about the attitude of the heart.

Mohler also takes the first commandment and shows how all the others follow along with it: they are all about our relationship with God, not just with others.

A very accessible book, it is no doubt a book that can be challenging for new and seasoned Christians alike. Highly recommended!

"But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. " (Galatians 3:23-25)

I've found that many so-called Bible believing Christians do not actually believe their own Bible. Let's add Al Mohler to that list. Attempting to live under the Ten Commandments to any extent or using them as a point of reference as we launch out to live and minister as Christians in this world is legalism regardless of whatever protestations are made to the contrary. To refute Dr. Mohler's book in full would require the writing of yet another book. Even those who have reviewed the book and defend it admit that we will ultimately fail in our attempts to live under the Ten Commandments. On this we agree. But, have they ever thought about how crazy that is? In short, they are saying, "Let us knowingly embark upon a course of life that will ultimately end in failure."

We are taught in Romans 5:17 that we those who receive an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. And we are also taught that the Ten Commandments are the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones. (2 Corinthians 3:7) In other words, Christians are called in the Bible to live victoriously through an abundance of grace and the righteousness of Christ and yet some choose instead to be guided in some measure by something the same Bible calls the ministry of death. This indicates a serious problem understanding that being a Christian is to live under a covenant of grace that is completely new and different from the old covenant of law that was ushered in with the giving of the Ten Commandments. They are attempting to straddle the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, which the Bible does not permit. The Bible flatly states, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14) And yet being taught that they are no longer under law and that the law is the ministry of death, many Christians still cannot let go of the Ten Commandments and cannot resist to find a way to justify utilizing them to guide them through life.

The Bible makes many valiant attempts to point Christians away from the Ten Commandments and toward the grace of Christ and the power of the Spirit to govern their lives. But, if people do not want to heed what the Bible teaches about the new covenant and living thereunder, they won't listen to a Christian layman from Pennsylvania either.

I don't know why I decided to get this book. It was somewhat thought provoking and anything that makes me think is probably a good thing. It raised some questions that I need to research to find the answers when I find the time so it gives me a new set of ideas to look into.

Overall, a very thought provoking book. However, he completely misses the mark on the 4th commandment. There is zero Biblical evidence for God changing the day of the week He hallows as His Sabbath,as instituted during creation week. Therefore, disregarding the plain word of scripture is substituting the commandments of sinfull mankind for the commandments of God. I still recommend this book. The expositions on the other nine commandments are very insightful.