Within the last week or so, we have seen the removal of the Ten Commandments from an Alabama courthouse, a removal done on the tyrannical insistence of our federal government, over the courageous protest of Chief Justice Moore. My point here is not to praise or blame Moore, although if it were, I would praise him.
We need to think about this like adults, and not like children. How is it that such a tyranny is even possible? How is that Christian people sit and watch, even if in disapproval, when the most transparent lies are shopped around as models of constitutional exegesis?
The answer is that the Ten Commandments were taken out of our hearts, lives, families, and churches, a long time before they were removed from this courthouse. The Ten Commandments have already been removed from countless Alabama churches. Why do we protest when the feds insist upon the same thing, the same removal, that our corrupt theologies of cheap grace do? And how many protests have you seen on church steps where God’s law/word is actively preached against?
Of course, we must never confound the law and the gospel as the unbelievers do. At the same time, we must never make them enemies. To the unbelieving heart, the entire Bible is law, and condemns. To the believing heart, the entire Bible speaks of Christ, and grace is seen throughout all God’s words. Because, in the name of grace, we have banished the very idea of God’s holy law from our worship, we cannot be surprised at the result in the public square.
When God grants a reformation to the church, we will see a subsequent reformation in the public square—but certainly not a moment before.