I disagree with the church on key moral issues…

Many of these are now considered — by committed Christians — to be out of date.

During the 20th century, some academic movements collectively known as 'religious liberalism' began to experiment with the idea that not only were these church pronouncements out of date, but the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible were out of date as well.

Although this is a tempting idea in a society where anything goes, we have to face the fact that if you take away Jesus and the Bible, there isn't anything left of Christianity. There is more to following Jesus Christ than moral teachings, but if you take those teachings away, then you are no longer a Christian at all.

Which is which?
In the New Testament, Paul warns us strictly against additional man-made rules and regulations. (Colossians 2:20-22) . Jesus sharply criticised the religious leaders of his day for adding extra rules. Sadly, church leaders have continued to add extra rules over the centuries. In recent times, Christians have often confused public health or social advice with God's laws. For example, in Britain Christians have been opposed to smoking, drinking alcohol to excess (or drinking at all), eating too much, gambling and bad hygiene. From a health point of view, smoking, drinking, over-eating and poor hygiene are potentially life-threatening. But they are not — except by extension and interpretation — part of the moral teaching of the Bible. In the 19th century, Christians were often opposed to dancing, gambling and the theatre. Even today we would still advise against gambling — but these are not things that the Bible calls 'sin'. Worldwide Roman Catholics are opposed to contraception. But very few non-Catholic Christians would agree with them.

So how do I know?
The first Christians faced exactly this problem. There were Jewish Christians, who had inherited all of the Old Testament laws and rituals which were part of God's relationship with the people of Israel, and there were Gentile, or non-Jewish, Christians, who had become part of the Christian faith, but not part of the nation of Israel. In a landmark decision, the early church leaders, who were all Jewish Christians, wrote to the Gentile Christians to explain that they should abstain from the practices linked with the worship of other gods, and from sexual immorality (Acts 15:29). This was, of course, in addition to the moral codes that were part of their own cultures, including not murdering, not stealing, not lying, and so on. In other words, the non-Jewish Christians were being told to follow the Ten Commandments, but not the ceremonial, ritual and cultural law.

So what are the ten commandments, in today's terms?
The ten commandments boil down to this:
• Worship God and only God >>>
• Don't use other things to represent God >>>
• Don't misuse God's name or his authority >>>
• Keep one day special, set aside for God >>>
• Do not murder >>>
• Do not lie >>>
• Do not steal >>>
• Respect your parents >>>
• Don't have sexual relations outside marriage >>>
• Don't long for things that don't belong to you. >>>

Stechford Baptist Church • Victoria Road • Stechford • Birmingham B33 8AH. Map. Stechford is in the Stechford and Yardley North Ward, and is close to Hodge Hill.