The Eleventh Commandment – Introduction
To conclude a study of the ten commandments (we called it “God’s Love Letter Etched in Stone”) we turned to O John 13.34. If you will, this could be seen as the Eleventh Commandment. You might wonder, what is the Eleventh Commandment? The Eleventh Commandment is the new commandment that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel of John 13.34:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (Jn 13.34)
Do you realize there’s something in every one of us that strongly resists rules?
Psychologists call it the self-biased impulse drive. Fancy words, aren’t they? We’re born with a self-biased impulse drive, they say. The Bible says we’re born with a sin nature. Something about us that resents rules. Because of our sin nature, most people, when they come to the study of the Ten Commandments, or the consideration of the Ten Commandments, come with a bad attitude.
Thou shalt not… Thou shalt not… Thou shalt not…
Nine of the Ten Commandments are framed with thou shalt not. The only commandment not framed with a “thou shalt not” is the Fifth Commandment, which challenges us to always obey and honor our parents. Otherwise, the reading of the Ten Commandments comes across as a big negative. People recoil against such a negative.
It’s vital that we understand that every time God makes a negative statement in the Ten Commandments, the outcome is incredibly positive. God has a way of making those negative statements into great positives in the lives of those who will submit to the commandments that he’s given.
When he says, you’re not to bow down to any other God, we see how God lovingly protects us from demons round about who would seek to destroy us. Those who respect the second commandment about bowing down to other images are protected. He turns it into a positive.
When God says that you’re not to commit adultery, how loving of the Lord to say “Thou shalt not.” Regarding the commandment turns into a great positive in families who are protected from disease and violence and breakups and resentment.
When God says, “Thou shalt not steal,” how good of God, to protect personal property rights and to keep us away from what causes perhaps more violence than perhaps anything else that we encounter.
I purposely entitled the study of the Ten Commandments, God’s Love Letter Etched in Stone. I’ve called it God’s Love Letter because I believe with all my heart that the Ten Commandments are indeed a love letter of God. God is love. And all the revelation that he gives to us comes from his love to us that is overflowing and filled with grace.
In the 1960’s Joseph Fletcher authored a book called Situation Ethics. Joseph Fletcher was an Anglican minister, and his book caused quite a stir. Joseph Fletcher became the strong proponent, if not the initiator, of Situation Ethics. Back in the 1960s and the 1970s, churches did Bible studies on Situation Ethics. Even Bible colleges picked up his book and made it necessary reading.
Situation Ethics, what is it? In his book Joseph Fletcher was repudiating moral absolutes. Instead, he was recommending “an ethic of love.” What did he mean by that? He reasoned that adultery might be permissible if it was done out of a heart of love. Or a lie, according to the situation, might be acceptable if it was told out of a heart of love.
According to Fletcher, absolute obedience to the Ten Commandments was unnecessary if a person could say that they were living and acting in love. Fletcher’s definition of love is contrary to the teaching of the New Testament. In Romans 13:8-10, the Apostle Paul says, “Owe no man anything but to love one another…” Now if it stopped there, we might say that Fletcher was dead on. “Owe no man anything but to love one another for he that loveth another fulfills the law.” Sounds like a good basis for situation ethics.
But the apostle Paul goes on, “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefor love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Notice that! “Love works no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Paul is not saying “Break the commandments if you do it in love.” Paul is simply saying love is the fulfilling of the law.
In fact, 2 John 6 says, “This is love, that we walk after his commandments.” Those who love keep the commandments.
You see, love and law are not contradictory terms in the Bible. In fact, love and law are complementary themes. Jesus is the embodiment of love. He’s also the fulfillment of the law. And Jesus said in John 14.15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” 1 John 5.3 says, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” Love responds to the commandments of God, not by resisting, not by rebelling, but by keeping, respecting, and obeying them. Love knows that God is always good and he’s always wise. Love and law — they complement one another.
Dr. Charles Phelps is the pastor of Colonial Hills Baptist Church, Indianapolis, Indiana.