Christianity Diverged at Council of Nicaea

2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The Council of Nicaea is considered by some to be one of the greatest achievements of Christendom. And truly, celebrating the 1700th year of anything is a historic event.

The meetings began in May of 325 ad at the small town of Nicaea, in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. Over 300 bishops joined in the meetings. That year, 325 ad, is considered a benchmark by many in the history of the mainstream Christian church.

At the Council, the nature of Christ and His relationship to the Father was discussed and debated. But there was another issue, a very important issue, that was discussed as well.

How astounding that a conference held nearly two millennia ago is still relevant today. To commemorate such a momentous occasion, Pope Francis, before he died, planned to travel to the present-day city of Iznik in northwest Turkey, about 70 miles from Istanbul. This is the site of the ancient city of Nicaea. On November 28, 2024, Pope Francis was quoted as saying that the Council of Nicaea:

…Constitutes a milestone in the journey of the church and also of humanity because faith in Jesus, the Son of God made flesh for us and for our salvation, was formulated and professed as a light that illuminates the meaning of reality and the destiny of all history (“Pope Francis to join Orthodox patriarch in Turkey for Nicaea council anniversary,” Catholic News Agency, November 28, 2024).

Pope Francis was referring to the fact that the Council of Nicaea was convened to address questions related to the divinity of Christ, and the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Father. It’s not our purpose to delve into that issue on this program, nor is it our purpose to discuss the “Nicene Creed,” which came out of that gathering.

Passover vs. Easter Revealed a Big Problem

But as we think about the significance of the Council of Nicaea, let’s consider an issue that is often forgotten, but was causing deep divisions during that time—and maybe even has more importance for us today.

What is that issue? It’s the importance of Passover.

You might say, “Wait, that’s wrong. The Jews keep Passover. The church in the 300s kept Easter.” Well, there’s more to the story.

To begin our dive into this subject, let’s go into the writings of Eusebius of Caesarea. He was the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine from about 313 ad until his death in 339 ad. He is sometimes referred to as the “father of church history.” He played a prominent role at the Council of Nicaea and from his writings we have an in-depth and fascinating glimpse of what took place.

Let’s pick up the story in his book The Life of Constantine, Book III, Chapter 5. Eusebius wrote:

But before this time [the time of the Council of Nicaea] another most virulent disorder had existed, and long afflicted the Church; I mean the difference respecting the salutary feast of Easter… (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace eds. Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. newadvent.org, Accessed April 30, 2025).

Now, let’s stop there. When Eusebius says “Easter” we have to understand the word he actually used was the Greek word “Pascha.” That word is derived from the Hebrew “Pesach,” which is the word from which we get “Passover.” The word “Easter” was used later, as a result of the influence of the Germans and the Anglo-Saxons. The online Catholic Encyclopedia confirms this in the article under the heading “Easter.”

“The Greek term for Easter, pascha… is the Aramaic form of the Hebrew pesach (…passover)…” (newadvent.org/cathen).

Most people are only aware of the word “Passover” by its association with the Jews. But in reality, the church leaders that Constantine convened in 325 ad were all keeping something called “Pascha.” That might be a surprise to you.

Of course, if your native language is French, Spanish, or Italian, it’s not a surprise. In these languages, the word for “Easter” is still related to “Passover.” In French it’s “Paques.” In Spanish it’s “Pascua.” In Italian, it’s “Pasqua.” It all originally comes from the Hebrew “Pesach.”

Let’s re-read Eusebius’ account, this time substituting the word “Pascha,” for “Easter.”

“But before this time another most virulent disorder had existed, and long afflicted the Church; I mean the difference respecting the salutary feast of [“Pascha”]…. For while one party asserted that the Jewish custom should be adhered to, the other affirmed that the exact recurrence of the period should be observed, without following the authority of those who were in error [meaning, the Jews].”

Emperor Constantine Decreed Easter Over Passover

You see, at the time of Eusebius and Constantine, there were different opinions about the timing of the Christian Pascha. One was that it should be kept on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. Others felt it should be kept on a Sunday, with some variation on how they determined which Sunday to keep. All these differences caused a major dispute among the churches.

Going on, Eusebius explains:

“Accordingly, the people being thus in every place divided in respect of this, and the sacred observances of religion confounded for a long period… no one appeared who was capable of devising a remedy for the evil, because the controversy continued equally balanced between both parties. To God alone, the Almighty, was the healing of these differences an easy task; and Constantine appeared to be the only one on earth capable of being his minister for this good end….”

What a statement. A major doctrinal dispute dividing the church, and the only person on earth that could resolve it was a politically shrewd, pagan Roman emperor?

Constantine Used Christianity for Power

As my fellow presenter and colleague, evangelist Wallace Smith writes in the Tomorrow’s World article “1,700 Years After Nicaea”:

The council in ad 325 was not convened under the authority of a religious leader, as one might expect, but the Roman emperor Constantine. In fact, Constantine’s fingerprints can be found all over it (“1,700 Years After Nicaea,” Wallace Smith, Tomorrow’s World, May–June 2025, p. 5–6).

Let’s talk about Constantine for a few moments. Was he a real, true follower of Jesus Christ? Or was he an astute worldly king who saw that backing the mainstream Christian church would be a golden political opportunity?

Historian Will Durant asks and answers that question in The Story of Civilization: Part III, Caesar and Christ.

Was his conversation sincere—was it an act of religious belief, or a consummate stroke of political wisdom? Probably the latter… A real believer would have been a Christian first and a statesman afterward; with Constantine it was the reverse. Christianity was to him a means, not an end (p. 655-656).

Constantine started out his rule fully immersed in the pagan practices of a typical Roman emperor. Toward the end of his rule, he was favoring the mainstream Christian church and weakening the pagan practices he had previously taken part in. So, what caused this change?

In the book A Short History of Christianity, the authors give some background on how this happened. On page 33 we read:

Constantine believed that the Christian God had assisted him in winning his battles for control of the Empire, and he therefore desired a continuance of whatever divine help the Christian religion might afford in maintaining the peace and welfare of his rule. The political wisdom of his policy was amply vindicated in the extravagant devotion and loyalty which he received from his Christian subjects. Constantine’s own personal religion is a subject of speculation. He was not baptized until his deathbed. This much can be said with assurance: (1) his intervention in religious affairs was in large measure dictated by what he considered to be politically expedient and (2) from the beginning of his reign he increasingly identified himself with the church… (A Short History of Christianity, pp. 33–34).

Constantine Guided Nicaea More Than Jesus

So, this pagan emperor, who was gradually seeing the value of professing allegiance to the Christian God, found this new religion of his to be in a doctrinal crisis in 325 ad. That’s when he called the bishops to the Council of Nicaea. He personally presided over the meetings and guided the discussion. In fact, he had so much influence over what took place there that author H.G. Wells made this shocking statement:

A very important thing for us to note is the role played by the emperor in the fixation of Christianity… It is very manifest that in much of the history of Christianity at this time [that is, in the 300s ad] the spirit of Constantine the Great is as evident as, or more evident than, the spirit of Jesus (“The Outline of History,” H.G. Wells, P. 552–553).

What an astonishing thing to say.

Teachings of Jesus Christ Discarded

For a church calling itself Christian to have a council to discuss doctrinal disagreements, you’d think having it guided by the spirit of Christ would be a priority. But it wasn’t.

So what happened at the Council? In particular, what happened in the matter of the Pascha? Would it remain tied to the Passover that Jesus observed, or would it be disconnected from Christ’s teaching and practice?

To answer the question, let’s go back to Eusebius. He sums up the debate this way in Chapter 14 of The Life of Constantine:

The result was that they were not only united as concerning the faith, but that the time for the celebration of the salutary feast of [“Pascha”] was agreed on by all… (Chapter 14).

In truth, it was a forced unity, a standardization by coercion. That’s what was accomplished.

After the Council, Constantine himself wrote a letter to all the churches, and this is what he said:

At this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of [“Pascha”] was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present, that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day…. Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way…” (Life of Constantine,” Eusebius. Chapter 18).

And that was it.

Jesus Is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—Not the Roman Empire

With contempt and derision, it was declared that the Christians should have nothing in common with the Jews. But what if what was declared to be in common with the Jews was actually something God commanded in Scripture? What if it was part of Christ’s teaching in the New Testament that was banned?

Now why was this important?

Following Jesus Christ Means Worship in Truth

Well, a little background: Even by the 4th century ad there were some Christians, especially in the east, who still had a connection with the observance of Passover on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. And those who were keeping the Passover on the 14th were following the teachings that had been handed down to them, all the way back to the Apostle John.

The testimony of Polycarp, a direct disciple of the Apostle John, attests to this. Polycrates, Polycarp’s disciple, also kept Passover in this way. (“Are You a Quarto-Deciman? Should You Be?”)

You see, these faithful disciples, Polycarp and Polycrates, were simply following the biblical Christian Passover.

Jesus Kept Passover—So Should His Followers

This was plain instruction from Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Jesus kept the Passover, on the 14th day of Nisan, with His disciples the night before He died. During this observance He gave wine to the disciples to drink, as a symbol of His blood shed for them. And He gave bread to the disciples to eat, as a symbol of His body which would be broken for them. And then He washed their feet, as a symbol of His humility.

“Do as I have done to you.”

Notice what He said at the conclusion of His last Passover observance in John 13:12–15.

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

A few years ago, there was a popular slogan “WWJD?” or “What Would Jesus Do?” Well, when it comes to doctrine and practice, we know what Jesus did. The Bible is a detailed record of what He did. And Jesus kept the Passover on the 14th of Nisan—the biblical record is very clear. And He told His followers to do so as well.

The Apostle Paul also kept the Christian Passover on the 14th of Nisan, to memorialize the suffering and death of Christ. And he taught the brethren in the church of Corinth to keep it as well. Notice what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:23–25.

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Summing up what Paul taught and what he practiced, we read in 1 Corinthians 5:7–8.

For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast….

Council of Nicaea Did Not Consult Scripture

So why were some avoiding the 14th of Nisan Christian Passover by the 300s ad? In order to not look like the Jews. And they standardized the non-Jewish Paschal festival, fixing it on the Sunday following the first vernal full moon, supposedly commemorating the resurrection of Christ. That Sunday observance grew into what is known today as Easter.

By the way, Jesus was not resurrected on a Sunday. He was resurrected near the end of the Sabbath—Saturday—exactly three days and three nights after He had died on the stake. But that’s another story for another time.

Let’s be clear—the resurrection is extremely important. We base our hope of eternal life on it, as we find in Romans 8:11.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

The resurrection is our hope and our future. But you can search the New Testament from beginning to end, and you will not find a single instruction or command to observe it as a feast day.

You see, Constantine really had very little interest in the truth—he just wanted everyone to be on the same page.

As the award-winning “History of Rome” podcast by Mike Duncan states:

… [t]he Emperor was not so much interested in which side was right, or which interpretation was best, so long as in the end, everyone agreed (“The History of Rome” podcast, by Mike Duncan, Episode 137, May 15, 2011).

So who will you follow? Constantine and traditions he established to differentiate nominal Christians from the Jews?

Or Jesus Christ, who plainly outlined His clear teachings in our New Testament, for everyone to see?

Christian Unity—But Not at the Cost of Truth

We should have unity and cohesion in the body of Christ. The Apostle Paul explained that in 1 Corinthians 1:10.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

But at the same time, Jesus Christ knows that in this age, because we are living in Satan’s world, there will be division. And the truth will sometimes be a source of that division, because not everyone will accept the truth.

Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, 36–37.

Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword… and “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.

The Council of Nicaea was not only convened to discuss the nature of Christ. It also was convened to settle the matter of the timing of the Christian Pascha.

The majority in the now state-religion went along with the edicts of Constantine. They kept a Sunday Pascha, which became Easter. It was now the religion of the empire, so it was the convenient thing to do.

But not everyone went along.

True Christians Keep God’s Holy Days in the Bible

Some held on to the biblical Christian Passover taught by Christ, as well as the other biblical holy days. We have proof of that in the preserved text of a sermon by a priest in Antioch named John Chrysostom. It was given in 386–387 ad. It was entitled, “Against the Jews.” Note how much he despised the Jews. But also note that his text shows there were still faithful Christians keeping the biblical Christian Passover well after Nicaea. He said this:

The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do. Yet some of these are going to watch the festivals and others will join the Jews in keeping their feasts and observing their fasts. I wish to drive this perverse custom from the Church right now… (John Chrysostom, “Against the Jews,” Homily I).

• The Feast of Trumpets
• The Feast of Tabernacles
• The Fast (called the Day of Atonement)
• And the New Testament Passover

These biblical feast days—forever established by the Creator God—were still being kept by faithful Christians 60 years after the Council of Nicaea.

Dr. Jerry Pillay is the general secretary of the World Council of Churches. He had this to say, speaking of the importance of the celebrations in 2025 to commemorate the Council of Nicaea:

It gives us the opportunity to ask afresh with others what Nicaea means for us today…. Then, as now, the call to unity was heard within the context of a troubled, unequal, and divided world (“WCC to celebrate 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea,” oikoumene.org, July 6, 2023).

This is a troubled, unequal and divided world. But let’s not forsake truth for the sake of unity. Let’s not follow Constantine—let’s follow Christ.

Thank you for watching. If you found this video helpful, check out more of our content or hit subscribe to stay connected. And if you want a free study guide relating to this topic, just click the link in the description. See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

What’s Wrong With the World?

Increasingly, protesters fill the streets—waving signs and chanting slogans. They want change, and they want it now. And honestly, who can blame them? We may not agree with all their individual causes, but only the blind could fail to see that our world truly is broken. And only the heartless could not want to fix it.

How can you and I go about fixing the world? But we can. And no, I’m not just pulling your leg. Yes, the problems are big, and yes, the actions we need to take are great as well. But they are the only actions that will work. Stick with me today, and I’ll explain.

I’ll also give you an opportunity to request our free resource on the Ten Commandments. Like everything we provide our viewers, this resource is completely free of any cost or charge at all. Just keep an eye on your screen for the information you need to get your free copy.

In the 1980s, the pop duo Tears for Fears had a huge hit with the song, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” The song was written with an eye toward the ongoing Cold War between the Western world and Russia (or the Soviet Union), the potential for nuclear war, the possibilities of totalitarianism, and other social concerns of the day.

Frankly, with barely any changes at all, those are our concerns today, as well.

As a teenager listening to the song, it resonated with me, because it was clear that the world was broken. And while I might like to think I’m not ancient,” let’s be honest—I’m not a teenager anymore. And yet the world is still broken.

Current Global Issues

Even as I speak here in our studio today, major wars still rage in the Middle East and on the doorstep of Europe. Haiti continues to suffer under a “gang-ocracy,” and civil war continues to destroy the lives of millions in Sudan.

Within our nations, it is clear that racism is still very real. Poverty is still very real. Broken families are still very real. Fears of violence are still very real.

In the United States, considered by many the most powerful and successful nation in the world, suicide rates have climbed with rare interruption for the last 25 years (“Suicide,” National Institute of Mental Health, nimh.nih.gov, March, 2025).

Consider the irony of our current situation.

On one hand, we live in one of the most remarkable times in the entire history of civilization.

Scientifically, we may today understand more about how the physical world works than any other generation in the history of man. We may not yet know how to wed quantum mechanics and general relativity, but man’s comprehension of the physical laws of the universe is truly astonishing.

And our level of technological advancement has surpassed levels that many would have found wondrous even just 20 years ago. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, we’re talking with our machines as if they were people, and some are literally drawing up plans to begin colonies on Mars.

God told Daniel that in “the time of the end…knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4)—and it has.

Yet, for all of that knowledge we’ve accumulated, the knowledge of how to actually live with each other continues to escape us.

Our attempts to address racism in recent years have made relations between the races even worse. Our attempts to expand sex and gender equality to the limits of our secular philosophies have done nothing but thrown sex and gender into utter confusion, to the point that we are surgically, chemically, and irreversibly altering children to appear as the opposite sex. Our approach to sexuality—meant to maximize human freedom and silence moral judgment—is resulting in a world of broken relationships, broken hearts, and broken families that seems to benefit no one but the makers of drugs for sexually transmitted diseases.

Even democracy and democratic republics—supposedly the best of all political systems—result these days in chaos, as stability gets thrown out the door, and each new election threatens to bring in a new party that will spend most of its time throwing out all the decisions of the previous party.

We Need to Change from Our Way to God’s Way

We all want to fix the world. The problem is that no one seems to know just how to do that.

The reality of our world was well summarized by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 59 of his book.

The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us; we look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places (Isaiah 59:8–10).

If we’re going to fix the world, we need someone to show us how. And the only “someone” who truly qualifies is our Creator, the Designer of Humanity—the God of the Bible.

God’s Answer Is the Ten Commandments

More than three millennia ago, God gave His people ten simple commands—commonly called the Ten Commandments. They can be found in Exodus 20.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image [or idol].
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the [seventh-day] Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

These are more than just a list of “religious-y sounding rules” for children to memorize for a prize in church. They are inspired commands from the Creator of life itself—the Designer of humanity, who knows how we should live with Him and live with each other.

How to Love God and Love Your Neighbor

A careful look at the Ten Commandments reveals a structure.

Notice the first four commandments—about having no other gods, not worshiping God with carved images, not misusing His name, and keeping His Sabbath on the seventh day—are all about our relationship with Him.

And the six commandments that follow—about honoring your parents, not murdering, being sexually faithful to your spouse, not stealing, lying, or coveting your neighbor’s things—are all about our relationship with each other—what the Bible calls your neighbor.

Jesus Christ Himself talked about these two great objectives of the Ten Commandments as the greatest commands of God’s law. We see this in Matthew 22, when someone comes up to Jesus and asks Him a question.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36–40).

Look at that again, and then look at the Ten Commandments again.

You shall love the Lord your God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

These ten simple commandments are at the very heart of the way of life Jesus came to exemplify for humanity. In fact, when a young man asked Jesus how to have eternal life, Jesus told Him:

“If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

In fact, God’s commandments were so important to Christ that later, His beloved disciple John would say of those who claimed to be Christian:

He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4).

Now that might sound odd to those of you brought up to think that the Ten Commandments were not important for Christians, or that keeping the commandments wasn’t necessary for Christians. But it is the inspired word of your own Bible.

And it doesn’t take much meditating on the commandments before you realize that keeping them would radically alter our entire world for the better.

For instance, consider the impact of a world that embraced a way of life in which children honor their father and mother like we’re told in the fifth commandment, and in which spouses are faithful to each other like we are encouraged in the seventh.

Imagine a world in which broken families became a thing of the past, a world in which children learned to respect their elders and those in authority, in families that were committed to staying together through thick and thin.

With those changes alone, how much closer to a “fixed world” would we become?

But go further.

Ten Commandments Define How to Love Others

Consider the simplicity of the ninth commandment about not lying. What a radical remake of civilization would be experienced if this value were embraced by the world!

What if honesty were considered one of the highest values of society, to the point that none would dare ever want to utter an untruthful word? What if lies were not expected of our politicians, like they are today, but were unheard of? What if everything you were ever told about the products you considered purchasing could be trusted? What if every news story you ever heard was always true and reliable?

Throw in the sixth and eighth commandments, as well, and you’d never again have to lock a door. Never again have to take the keys out of your car—or even need keys at all. You’d never have to worry about a lost child or a dark alley. Women would not need to worry about “safe spaces,” because all spaces would be safe.

Even the first four commandments—it’s easy to think those aren’t as important, but of course they are. How much trouble in this broken world is caused by religious confusion—people following gods that aren’t gods? What would it mean for the world for everyone to embrace the true Creator of the world? To worship Him how He wants to be worshiped—not according to our own ideas, which often clash and conflict with each other, but according to His own commands.

How to Change the World: Change Ourselves

Because fixing the world begins with fixing ourselves. Not in the meaningless way such talk is normally used, where “focusing on yourself” is code for simply embracing your character flaws and changing nothing.

No, we need change. I need change. You need to change. And changing the world—99.9999+ percent of which is outside of our control—begins with changing the minuscule part that is in our control. It begins with you deciding to fix your life, your family, your relationship to God, Your Creator, and to Jesus Christ, Your Savior.

Define Repentance: Deciding to Change

That decision to change—to turn around from the direction you’re going and to go a new direction, a direction taking you closer to God in obedience to His commandments instead of in continued rejection of them—that decision to change is called repentance. And it is at the heart of the message that the Son of God brought to this planet 2,000 years ago.

Don’t take my word for it—look at it with me. In Mark chapter 1, we see the very beginning of Jesus’ mission to the world and the message He brought simply put. Look in verses 14 and 15.

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15).

Repent. It’s not a word you hear very often anymore, sort of old-fashioned maybe. But the commands of God never go out of fashion. In fact—they are the key to fixing this world.

We Need God’s Power and Help to Change

Now, I know this will sound like I’m undermining all I have said so far, but while the Ten Commandments are vital, they’re not enough.

Even if we could somehow convince every one of the 8 billion human beings on planet Earth to begin keeping the Ten Commandments—worshiping God as He commands us to worship Him, loving our neighbor as God instructs us to—it would not be enough to fix the world.

Don’t get me wrong—it would be wonderful, at least for a while. But it wouldn’t last. How do I know? Because God proved that to us in the experience of the children of Israel.

Gathered together as a free people at the foot of Mount Sinai more than 3,000 years ago, God delivered the Ten Commandments to them—laws of life and living that would build a beautiful society. Before they entered the Promised Land, Moses made clear to them the blessing they had been given in these commands. Read it with me in Deuteronomy in chapter 4, beginning in verse 5.

Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day (Deuteronomy 4:5–8)?

Yet the history is clear. They did not keep those laws. They made covenants and agreements to do so over and over again, but then they broke them, over and over again. Faced with the good, pure, righteous commandments of God and the rich, remarkable, rewarding way of life that they make possible, their selfish, carnal, human nature won out time and again. As the Apostle Paul summarizes in Romans 8:

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7–8).

And like they did, you will fail, too. Those who choose to turn to the Ten Commandments—the only way of life God blesses and endorses in this world, the only way to true peace and happiness, and the only way to fix the world—will find they inevitably fail. They slip up, and they sin.

“Well, that’s just great,” you might be thinking. You bring us this whole way and tell us that the Ten Commandments are the way to fix our lives and the world—and then you pull the rug out from under us! What’s going on, Tomorrow’s World guy?

Well, I can understand your frustration. But the good news—the VERY good news—is that all of those who seek to truly keep God’s commandments are NOT alone in their efforts. And the help we need is within reach.

How to Change Yourself

We just read that:

The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7–8).

But read further.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you (Romans 8:9).

Repent, Be Baptized, Receive the Holy Spirit

For those willing to turn and repent, God makes help available to keep His laws—His commandments. Read earlier in the same chapter.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:3–5).

Yes, God has not abandoned us to our carnal nature. Jesus Christ died so that we may be forgiven of our sins, and He lives NOW in the lives of those who commit their lives to Him—transforming them through His Spirit so that, day by day, week by week, they learn to keep His laws and commandments, just as He did.

We see this promise of aid and transformation reflected in the words of the book of Hebrews, itself quoting from the Old Testament. Read with me in Hebrews 10, beginning in verse 16.

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16–17).

And for those who are willing in this life to fix their own worlds—to repent and to embrace the Ten Commandments of God, and to allow Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins and begin the process of transforming them, from the inside out—there really is good news ahead. Because those who have allowed Jesus Christ to fix their lives in this way, in this life, will be allowed to reign alongside Jesus Christ after His return, and to truly begin fixing the whole world.

Yes, if we really want to fix the world—truly and profoundly fix it, and make it the world of peace, joy, and contentment we’ve always longed to see—then the key is to allow God to fix our own lives first. So, in the end, if we want to join Jesus Christ in finally fixing the world tomorrow, we need to turn to Him in obedience and let Him fix our lives today.

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