Love rules

Law and order

LOVE RULES
The Ten Commandments for the 21st century
Ed. Stuart Bonnington & Joan Milne
Banner of Truth. 118 pages. £6.00
ISBN 978-0-85151-057-9

While acknowledging that the Decalogue was given to a redeemed people, the writers of this book see three uses of God’s moral law as summarised in the Ten Commandments: ‘To convict the sinner of sin, to restrain evil [and] to guide the Christian’. The book’s contributors, 11 Australian Presbyterian ministers and scholars, believe ‘one cannot genuinely preach the gospel without the law’ (p.2).

They see the Christian approach to the Ten Commandments as being ‘to discover what each commandment enshrines as its essential moral principle’ and ‘to read it in the light of the whole of Scripture, especially God’s personal revelation in Jesus Christ’ (p.60).

Generally the book achieves these ends with great clarity and skill, though its arguments for Sabbatarianism are not argued from the example of Christ or from New Testament directive. In fact, when it comes to the list of New Testament references to the fourth commandment, those listed do not enjoin Sunday observance, and verses which might question such observance are omitted.

The chapters address major issues of our day such as polytheism, ‘I like to think of God as…’, relativism, parental respect, capital punishment, abortion, sanctity of marriage, honesty and integrity and greed. Useful summaries are to be found at the end of each chapter under the heading, ‘The Bottom Line’. And a study guide is added at the end of the book, consisting of seven questions on each commandment, to provoke further thought and discussion.

In addition to the focus on each commandment, helpful chapters are given on the relationship between Law and Love, and on the Moral Law and Jesus’s Teaching.

It would be hard to find a more thorough and engaging introduction to the Ten Commandments for today than is provided by this book.

Malcolm Jones,
Elmstead

© Evangelicals Now - February 2009
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Main Articles

• Training: who pays?
• The Commentary
  Back to Bongo Bongo land?
• Arthur Stone, 1924-2008
  Obituary
• Faith in action
  Interview with Philippa Stroud
• Pastor Cool
• What you missed in church
  A report to an absent friend
• Carbon-free Christianity?
  A response to Paul Helm's article on climate change
• No conflict
  Why Melvin Tinker thinks evangelicals can differ over their approach to creation
• The semantics of inerrancy
• Monthly arts and media column
  Can a non-Christian lead a church?
• Letter from America
  When everyone does as they see fit
• Monthly youth leaders column
  Beyond the fringe
• The Music Exchange
  Best practice in rehearsals
• The Third Degree
  New year, same gospel
• Darwin's 'Black Box'
  Some more questions for Darwin in thi aniversary year
• When your partner isn't a Christian

Other articles

• Such a great salvation - The collected essays of Alan Stibbs
• Together for the Gospel Live
• Australia
• Finally alive - An extract from a new book by John Piper
• Simplest diet ever
• The Shack
• A gospel primer for Christians
• Fearless pilgrim - The life and times of John Bunyan
• Building bigger people - Success is more than numbers
• Love rules - The Ten Commandments for the 21st century
• Christ walks where evil reigned - Responding to the Rwanda genocide
• Quitting church
• Becoming a contagious church
• Great revivalists - 1700 to the present day
• Praying through the Scriptures
• You can change
• From guru to God - An experience of the ultimate truth
• Environment
• Did I hear the voice of God?
• A friendly dialogue between an atheist and a Christian
• Love one another - Becoming the church Jesus longs for
• The Baptists - Volume Three, The Modern Era
• The Prodigal God
• Metavista