LETTERS: LOOK TO GOSPEL TO CHANGE MORALITY

To the editor:

On June 17 the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that permits the posting of the Ten Commandments in our schools and other state and local facilities.

Please understand that I am certainly not opposed to that action in and of itself. We all need to keep in mind every day what God's holy expectations of us are. God makes that very clear in the Ten Commandments where he states positively and negatively how we are to live our lives.

The first three commandments speak of our obligation to God. The last seven commandments speak of our obligation to our fellowman.

However, the mere posting of the Ten Commandments will not in and of itself promote morality or work toward an end of children killing children as too many of our legislators have been led to believe. This will not bring morality back to our country. What we need is for our country to be brought back to God.

How is that accomplished? It is not accomplished by promoting morality itself through the posting of the Ten Commandments. God's holy law always makes demands of us that we cannot perfectly fulfill. It always declares us guilty of our sinful thoughts, desires, words and deeds. It always brings death. It always damns us to hell.

That which brings us back to God individually and as a country is the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news of the Gospel never makes demands of us. It simply declares us to be forgiven because of the holy life Jesus lived for us and the sinless life he offered on the cross of Calvary in payment for all our sins. The Gospel gives us abundant life now as it calls us to faith in Jesus Christ and empowers us to live our lives in God-pleasing ways. The Gospel never condemns and damns. It always saves and gives life -- new life now and eternal life in heaven.

God's law serves as an X-ray, showing us what the problem is: namely, our sinful condition and our many sins. Yet God's law has no power whatsoever to save us and to make us more moral people.

God's Gospel shows us what the cure is: names, the holy, precious blood of Jesus Christ "who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness." (I Peter 2:24) How I thank God that the Gospel of Jesus Christ saves us from sin, death and hell and enables us to serve God "without fear, in holiness and righteousness." (Luke 1:74-75) Jesus Christ alone can give us new life and with that new life strength, love, peace and victory in the midst of our country's turmoil and decay.

The REV. DAVID V. DISSEN, Pastor Emeritus

Trinity Lutheran Church

Cape Girardeau