This past month, we’ve explored the covenant code (Mosaic law), purification rituals, and priesthood regulations in the Old Testament. The material naturally leads us to wonder about its application to our lives today. Many laws – such as not wearing two types of cloth (Lev. 19:19) or not boiling a goat in its mother’s milk (Ex. 23:19) no longer directly apply to us. But what about the Decalogue (Ten Commandments), moral laws, or ordinances concerning sexual purity? How do we discern which laws remain foundational for a modern ethical code?

Scholar George Mendenhall rightly argues that the Decalogue (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21) serves as a set of broad policy statements that allow each generation of God’s people to interpret a moral code that is faithful to God’s character and flexible to address the prevailing issues of the time. In Moses’ generation, for example, the Decalogue led to the creation of the Mosaic Law, which addressed specific threats like Canaanite worship. Many Mosaic laws were polemics against such practices, contextualizing the Decalogue’s prohibition against the worship of false gods. Today, ancient issues like Canaanite worship are no longer central. Instead, we face new challenges to faith and human relationships that would be unimaginable to the Israelites. The brilliance of the Decalogue lies in its adaptability – it remains relevant because its principles can be tailored to each generation’s needs.

One of the gifts of the Bible is that we can trace this process of interpreting and adapting the Decalogue. As Israel matures as a nation, we see their laws change with their circumstances. For example, after the exile of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to Babylon in 586 BC, too many Jewish people lived too far away from Jerusalem to travel to the temple with any regularity. Thus, synagogues replaced the temple as centers for worship and learning, leading to changes in the requirements for and practice of ritual sacrifices. These changes preserved the importance of worshipping the one true God while taking into consideration the challenges of the displaced people of God.

Moving ahead to Jesus’ time, we see that he fulfilled the Mosaic laws and summarized the Decalogue with two overarching commandments:

·      “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”

·      “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-38)

In his ministry Jesus lived out this understanding of the Decalogue by performing miracles like healing on the Sabbath, allowing him to reinterpret the observance of the Sabbath as an act of love (Luke 6:9). Via his “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus taught that lashing out in harsh anger against another was tantamount to breaking the commandment against murder. In loving God and one another we must take care to preserve both physical life and the life of each other’s souls (Matt. 5:21-26). Jesus didn’t nullify the Ten Commandments he encapsulated them under love.

The early church, guided by Jesus’ teachings, then was able to let go of so many of the regulations of Jewish law like food laws, purification rituals, and the requirement of circumcision. Although this was a difficult task, which was compounded by the challenge of integrating believers from diverse backgrounds and practices, the early church leaders’ humility and openness to the work of the Holy Spirit allowed for new, loving, faithful interpretations of the Decalogue. Indeed, the Holy Spirit enabled the church to thrive in a hostile Roman world.

As we face the dawn of a new age of artificial intelligence and technological advances that will fundamentally reshape our society, we must wrestle with interpreting the law of love and the Decalogue for our time. First and foremost, by understanding that not every biblical ordinance was meant for literal application. Instead, they model how to set boundaries for our communities. Prayerful development of an ethical code that exemplifies God’s love and upholds the Decalogue’s fundamentals will enable us to march to a roadmap of faith that honors God and properly centers him in our lives. 

But what about our personal, daily lives of faith? I often get asked, how do we know what is acceptable or not for a faithful follower of Jesus in 2025? How do we decide, for instance, whether it is okay to watch a certain movie or listen to a certain music artist or participate in a certain community activity or make a certain decision for our lives? When deciding what is appropriate, we should consider questions such as:

·      Does this activity or choice nurture love for God and neighbor?

·      Does it tempt me away from the love of God?

·      Does it hinder my love of neighbor by fostering division, hatred, or jealousy?

·      Is this something that leads all believers away from the will of God? Or is this uniquely challenging for me, even if others are unaffected?

While some of our answers to these questions will reflect universal convictions of faith (e.g., intentional, malicious murder always will be wrong), others will require nuance and may differ among believers. Community consensus will be more difficult as the issues get more specific. One person might be able to eat just one cookie and call it a day and the rest of us might give into temptation and eat the entire box, resulting in shame and self-loathing. Or, to offer a personal example, some of us might be more prone than others to attitudes and actions of unfaithfulness when consuming media content. I find my anxiety easily triggered by social media and television news. I must carefully regulate my consumption of these materials or avoid them altogether lest I give into fear and feelings of divisiveness that lead to a lack of love for my “neighbors.” But I also recognize that this might not be true for all people. Some people can engage with social media or watch endless hours of news and be unaffected. 

A good scriptural example of this can be found in the Apostle Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth. He cautioned them against judging others by our personal ethic codes. In Corinth, disagreements arose over the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols. Paul advised that if it didn’t tempt a person to worship the idols rather than God, than eating meat sacrificed to idols was permissible. However, he also cautioned the Corinthians that when gathered in community, if a person in their midst were to feel tempted by that idol meat, then the entire community should abstain out of deference for, and in the presence of, their friend. In fact, Paul said, he would never eat meat again if he knew that it would help a brother or sister in faith. Jesus taught that the greatest form of love is to lay down one’s life for a friend. Paul would say we can lay down our lives for our friends every time we eschew our own “rights” for the sake of a fellow believer in our close community of faith.

Paul and the other New Testament writers also warn against using “freedom” as an excuse for licentious behavior. Not everything is permissible. Boundaries are good and necessary. The Decalogue, and especially Jesus’ interpretations of it, help us avoid self-justification and honor convictions that are shaped by the Holy Spirit, while still treading lightly with others. We simply cannot know each other’s hearts nor always know what God has spoken to another believer. The New Testaments writers also continually remind us that we do not achieve holiness in our ethical decisions based on own efforts. Such work always comes from surrendering to the Spirit of God that is within us and allowing God to work transformation in our hearts and minds. Likewise, our faithfulness in following God’s will IS NOT how we earn our salvation and entrance into God’s eternal kingdom. Salvation and entrance into the kingdom of God come by grace, not by rule-keeping.

So, when it comes to building an ethical code at any level of our faith communities (universal church right on down to individual believer), the best thing we can do is prayerfully surrender and seek God’s guidance. Asking God how we should adapt our interpretation of the original Decalogue to address the issues of our time. Then continually asking of ourselves: Are we loving God and neighbor? Are we upholding the stipulations of the Decalogue while also holding gently to our interpretations of those commands? Are we willing to give up our own “rights” for the needs of our friends? Are we taking care not to justify immorality for the sake of freedom or wrongly assume that we can do whatever we want because we are above temptation? Are we avoiding judgment and condemnation of others and not overbearingly forcing our metric onto someone else?

These are not easy questions nor is the process of ethical mapmaking easy. But every generation of the body of Christ is called to this task. Engaging in this process as communal surrender to God is good. And in a post-modern world where truth is relative and we are taught to follow our own hearts, followers of Jesus can offer a much-needed, gentle word of correction. Our truest thriving as human beings is not found in the absence of boundaries. Quite the opposite. It is within the loving boundaries of God that we will experience the abundance of life that he offers. 

 May God bless you with his peace,

Kimberly

Our worship series for this year is called “The Names of God,” following along with our Old Testament Bible study.

As you know, I have committed to give 15% of all money donated to Kimberly Constant Ministries between August 2025 and August 2026 to Hope Heals Camp, a division of Hope Heals Ministry. I’m excited to report that I can now exceed that pledge thanks to your generosity. I’ve already received enough to cover my budgeted expenses for the year, so everything in excess of that amount I will also send to Hope Heals. My plan is to donate to them in December and again in August of next year if I receive additional money.

Expenses (August 2025 - August 2026)

Donations (August 2025 - August 2026)

Amount (To-Date) for Hope Heals December Donation: $784.75

With all budgeted expenses accounted for already, 100% of any additional donations I receive between December 1 and July 31, 2026 will be given to Hope Heals (at the beginning of August 2026).

THANK YOU!!!!

Also, registration should open in January for anyone interested in volunteering at Hope Heals Camp. I will keep you posted!

Registration will remain open all year! Currently we are finishing up the book of Numbers and the plan is to study Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Ruth this month. I know that sounds like a lot — but these books are not as long as Genesis or Exodus. That being said, if it ends up being too much we can also slow down!

To visit the course page CLICK HERE.

To register please CLICK HERE.

Have questions, want to connect, have a prayer request, or in need of pastoral counseling? Send me an email and we can set up time to “meet!”

May God bless you and keep you, may God make his face to shine upon you, and may God grant you peace.

Kimberly