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Why the Ten Commandments Matter
- The Coral Ridge Hour television program is broadcast nationally and internationally on over 200 stations and has a viewership in excess of three million. - Kennedy hosts a daily, half-hour radio program, Truths That Transform, carried on over 700 stations, and The Kennedy Connection, a daily 90-second radio feature carried on over 500 stations. - Kennedy is president of Coral Ridge Ministries, whose newsletter has a circulation of more than 200,000. - Kennedy's Evangelism Explosion (Tyndale House, 2002) is used in every nation of the world and has more than 1.5 million copies in print. - Solving Bible Mysteries (Nelson, 2000), Why I Believe (Word, 1999), and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nelson, 1994-62002) have together sold over 300,000 copies. - D. James Kennedy (Ph.D.) is the long-time senior minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is the author of over 60 books.
- GenresChristianityChristian
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2005
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
D. James Kennedy
160 books24 followersDennis James Kennedy was an American Presbyterian pastor, evangelist, Christian broadcaster, and author. He was the senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 1960 until his death in 2007. Kennedy also founded Evangelism Explosion International, Coral Ridge Ministries (now known as D. James Kennedy Ministries), the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, the Knox Theological Seminary, radio station WAFG-FM, and the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, a socially conservative political group.
In 1974, he began Coral Ridge Ministries, which produced his weekly religious television program, The Coral Ridge Hour, carried on various networks and syndicated on numerous other stations with a peak audience of three million viewers in 200 countries. He also had a daily radio program, Truths That Transform, from 1984 on. During his lifetime, Coral Ridge Ministries grew to a US$37-million-a-year non-profit corporation.
In 2005, the National Religious Broadcasters association inducted Kennedy into its Hall of Fame.
In 1974, he began Coral Ridge Ministries, which produced his weekly religious television program, The Coral Ridge Hour, carried on various networks and syndicated on numerous other stations with a peak audience of three million viewers in 200 countries. He also had a daily radio program, Truths That Transform, from 1984 on. During his lifetime, Coral Ridge Ministries grew to a US$37-million-a-year non-profit corporation.
In 2005, the National Religious Broadcasters association inducted Kennedy into its Hall of Fame.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 28, 2013
The book starts off strong but then it seems to lose it's direction. It has many good points but they don't fit the points they are listed under. For example a section in chapter nine goes way of base. It talks more about not walking in the fullness of your salvation than stealing. Some of the prayers are inconsistent with the topics they're listed under as well. Dr. Kennedy has a lot of heart and he does make many good and valid points however it is overall inconsistent and goes off topic at times.
September 16, 2013
James Kennedy points out the oft-forgotten importance of following God's law. As Christians, we tend to place all the importance in the Gospel and tend to neglect the fact that "faith without works is dead". To show our gratitude for God's grace, we should desire to follow his commands. Kennedy explains the commandments in modern terms with examples to show how we might not think of all the applications of God's commands.
May 15, 2015
This guy is harsh. He's irritated with Born to Shop bumper stickers and then goes so far to answer the question of "why did my child die?" with "you took the Lords name in vain". Still am not sure what exactly that commandment means. This book didn't explain it well.
May 18, 2025
One would think a book on the Ten Commandments would be a pretty interesting read. Reflecting on what the Ten Commandments are, what they mean, and how they are to be followed within a modern context would probably be a useful book. Sadly, this book is not all that useful. It is a rather shallow look at the Ten Commandments. In fact I would argue that this is really a gospel presentation that simply uses the Ten Commandments as a bludgeon to make people realize their sin and turn to God. Even as that I think this book fails, but even more so if you're looking for a good book on the Ten Commandments.
Part of the problem with the book is that it comes from perspective that our culture has declined because "modern" America (the book was written in 2005) doesn't know the Ten Commandments and hasn't followed them. This to me is a rather shallow reading. Humanity as a whole has struggled with these commandments, or words, as the original Hebrew uses for them. Reading any of the Bible will show you that even Israel struggled mightily with following these.
I think this causes a lot of my problem with the book. It is so ahistorical and lacking in any sort of context other than culture war alarmism, that it was hard to take it too seriously. The majority of the stories in the book feel more like hypotheticals that the author made up than real scenarios. Maybe they're all real, but I also wouldn't be surprised if half of them were purely made up since they tend to be very generic and lacking in a whole lot of detail.
Even the content isn't very thoughtful. The third commandment,“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7) Is simply talked about as not making God's name a curse word. While I would agree that this does cover that, I think this is actually one of the lesser issues with this command.
To me this is about not making God's name empty. This would include using God as part of a curse, but would also include using his name carelessly. Promising things by God that God himself doesn't promise, attributing views to God that are really your own. You're using God's name to simply pass off your own thoughts. This to me is a deeper issue behind this commandment.
This leads me to my next criticism of this book. Kennedy seems to go after the lowest common denominator. He tends to focus on ways that non-leaders would break these commands. He tends to punch down throughout the whole book. So leaders using God's name in an improper way isn't focused on, it's about the unchurched person using God's name as a curse or just overly casually.
The chapter on do not steal is far more focused on the everyday person than it is on leadership. He does mention it briefly, but then goes back to his main focus. It's just not a big focus, which I find interesting. When it comes to the prophets and even Jesus himself, the focus tended to be on the leaders and not the everyday person. That's not to say that we all don't need to think about the Ten Commandments, but I also think that depending on the power you wield in life, your influence when you don't abide by these instructions will be even more significant.
Again part of this comes back to his focus on presenting the gospel. He wants the everyday person to be convicted of sin so that they will repent and come to Jesus. I guess this is okay, but as a strategy it seems not the best for a book like this. Most believers I know are not big readers, so having a non-Christian pick up a book like this seems even more far fetched.
That's a lot negative I know. I didn't really like this book at all, but I did want to share one positive I came across while reading it. On the chapter focused on "You shall not murder" he spins it halfway through and talks about how we as followers of God and Christ should seek more than just not murdering someone. Instead we should be seeking ways to enhance and provide for life wherever we can. I thought this was a good insight, but I do wish I saw this in other chapters as well.
All this to say that I disliked this book very very much. It was not a good book and I don't recommend it for taking a look at the Ten Commandments. It's shallow and is more focused on trying to show how you've broken the commandments so that you can come to Jesus than to really help people understand what the commandments are for and trying to cultivate in the life of God's followers. Sadly, I haven't found a good book on the Ten Commandments to recommend instead, but this is definitely not it.
Part of the problem with the book is that it comes from perspective that our culture has declined because "modern" America (the book was written in 2005) doesn't know the Ten Commandments and hasn't followed them. This to me is a rather shallow reading. Humanity as a whole has struggled with these commandments, or words, as the original Hebrew uses for them. Reading any of the Bible will show you that even Israel struggled mightily with following these.
I think this causes a lot of my problem with the book. It is so ahistorical and lacking in any sort of context other than culture war alarmism, that it was hard to take it too seriously. The majority of the stories in the book feel more like hypotheticals that the author made up than real scenarios. Maybe they're all real, but I also wouldn't be surprised if half of them were purely made up since they tend to be very generic and lacking in a whole lot of detail.
Even the content isn't very thoughtful. The third commandment,“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7) Is simply talked about as not making God's name a curse word. While I would agree that this does cover that, I think this is actually one of the lesser issues with this command.
To me this is about not making God's name empty. This would include using God as part of a curse, but would also include using his name carelessly. Promising things by God that God himself doesn't promise, attributing views to God that are really your own. You're using God's name to simply pass off your own thoughts. This to me is a deeper issue behind this commandment.
This leads me to my next criticism of this book. Kennedy seems to go after the lowest common denominator. He tends to focus on ways that non-leaders would break these commands. He tends to punch down throughout the whole book. So leaders using God's name in an improper way isn't focused on, it's about the unchurched person using God's name as a curse or just overly casually.
The chapter on do not steal is far more focused on the everyday person than it is on leadership. He does mention it briefly, but then goes back to his main focus. It's just not a big focus, which I find interesting. When it comes to the prophets and even Jesus himself, the focus tended to be on the leaders and not the everyday person. That's not to say that we all don't need to think about the Ten Commandments, but I also think that depending on the power you wield in life, your influence when you don't abide by these instructions will be even more significant.
Again part of this comes back to his focus on presenting the gospel. He wants the everyday person to be convicted of sin so that they will repent and come to Jesus. I guess this is okay, but as a strategy it seems not the best for a book like this. Most believers I know are not big readers, so having a non-Christian pick up a book like this seems even more far fetched.
That's a lot negative I know. I didn't really like this book at all, but I did want to share one positive I came across while reading it. On the chapter focused on "You shall not murder" he spins it halfway through and talks about how we as followers of God and Christ should seek more than just not murdering someone. Instead we should be seeking ways to enhance and provide for life wherever we can. I thought this was a good insight, but I do wish I saw this in other chapters as well.
All this to say that I disliked this book very very much. It was not a good book and I don't recommend it for taking a look at the Ten Commandments. It's shallow and is more focused on trying to show how you've broken the commandments so that you can come to Jesus than to really help people understand what the commandments are for and trying to cultivate in the life of God's followers. Sadly, I haven't found a good book on the Ten Commandments to recommend instead, but this is definitely not it.
February 3, 2024
2.5 or 3 stars can't decide how harsh to be.
I've definitely read worse, but I can't say this was all that good.
It might be an OK place to start for individuals who are young in their Christian faith. And it gives an alright outline of the 10 commandments. But there is some sketchy theology in here that I think is unscriptural and although it sounds good it isn't in-line with Christian orthodoxy.
It's also very simplistically written and uses some specious logic at times.
If I had read this book 15 years ago, I would've loved it. But my faith and theology has matured a lot since I was a teenager.
Read something better.
I've definitely read worse, but I can't say this was all that good.
It might be an OK place to start for individuals who are young in their Christian faith. And it gives an alright outline of the 10 commandments. But there is some sketchy theology in here that I think is unscriptural and although it sounds good it isn't in-line with Christian orthodoxy.
It's also very simplistically written and uses some specious logic at times.
If I had read this book 15 years ago, I would've loved it. But my faith and theology has matured a lot since I was a teenager.
Read something better.
January 9, 2019
This book would have been a very excellent read if it weren't for the author's claim that Jesus changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Nothing in the Bible says that.
November 11, 2014
A very good, readable book that is enlightening to Christian and unbeliever alike. The book was written in 2005. It is nothing short of alarming how much things have changed and how far we have drifted from following God's law. Since that time, D. James Kennedy has passed on to be with the Lord. As I was reading the book, the news came out that the Presbyterian church, the denomination of D. James Kennedy,announced its support for gay marriage, allowing gay marriages to be conducted in its churches. I am sure he would be saddened by this as it is God's intent for marriage to be only between one man and one woman. As the expression goes he would be turning over in his grave.
The book goes through each commandment, explaining it in very clear terms. at the end of each chapter, he explains how to turn one's life over to the Lord, accepting His grace that was made possible by Calvary. The last chapter is a well-written epilogue explaining the relationship of the law and grace. You do not obey the law to be saved, you obey the law with the Lord's help and grace, picking you up when you stumble, because you have been saved by His grace. It is a big difference!
The book goes through each commandment, explaining it in very clear terms. at the end of each chapter, he explains how to turn one's life over to the Lord, accepting His grace that was made possible by Calvary. The last chapter is a well-written epilogue explaining the relationship of the law and grace. You do not obey the law to be saved, you obey the law with the Lord's help and grace, picking you up when you stumble, because you have been saved by His grace. It is a big difference!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews