Christian leaders have designated Sunday, May 7, as Ten Commandments Day in an effort to bring a revival of interest to the Ten Commandments. The North American Religious Liberty Association, in conjunction with Liberty magazine and the Pacific Union Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, urges churches and schools to observe May 6 as Written In the Heart Sabbath.

The Ten Commandments have become a battleground as lawsuits are repeatedly fought over their public display. Adventists understand the necessity of a spiritual revival that leads to commandment keeping. Our emphasis is not on securing public honor for the Law of God, but rather on the fulfillment of the new covenant promise that God will write His Law in the human heart. We continue to teach that the state cannot change hearts, only God can. We also continue to distribute posters and brochures entitled “Written in the Heart,” available at www.WrittenInTheHeart.org. We want to encourage all to put the Law where it belongs — in our hearts.

All churches and schools are urged to plan special programs to honor God’s Law on May 6. Churches should include their youth in these programs. For detailed information central to this event, visit www.religiousliberty.info, website of the North American Religious Liberty Association. We are asking all participating churches and schools to identify themselves through this website. We are also asking for ideas, plans and resources that can be shared with others. Sermon materials, articles and book reviews about the Law of God will be posted on the web — if you provide them. This day will be a success if it becomes a grassroots effort.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been given unique wisdom and insight about the Law of God. Contrary to what our critics say, we do not attempt to keep God’s Law in order to be saved, but out of love for Christ, and because we have been born again. Today, Christians are rediscovering that they have been missing something for years in not understanding the proper balance between law and grace. Yet the answer is not to push the state to honor God’s Law. Rather, it is to obtain a richer and deeper spiritual experience of the Law written in our hearts.

Concerned Christians are on the right track when they realize that a recovery of the eternal moral principles of God’s Law is the only lasting solution to our moral and spiritual decline. The key question is: where will it be written? If God’s Law is written in our hearts, resulting in spiritual revival, we can preserve our heritage of freedom. If not, and the state must enforce religious and moral laws, the result is tyranny. The future of the American experiment in liberty hangs on this question. Written in the Heart Sabbath is about recovering the new covenant experience and about the necessity of a spiritual revival that alone can preserve our liberty.