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Is it true that we cannot legislate morality? Consider the Ten Commandments. The fifth is “Honor your father and your mother.” A few years ago, I was called as a witness to testify in a case of abandonment and neglect of older parents. There are current laws related to the fifth commandment. The sixth is “You shall not murder.” Martin Luther King Jr. said, “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.” As reported by nytimes.com, April 1, 2004, adultery is still a felony in Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin. Of course, the 8th commandment, “You shall not steal,” would be found in laws against burglary, armed robbery, grand theft, petty larceny, shoplifting, looting, mortgage or securities fraud, embezzlement and so forth. Perjury, or bearing false witness is also against the law.

If by saying, “you cannot legislate morality,” one means that laws can’t make a person’s heart good or righteous, true. That's what Martin Luther King Jr. argued when he also said, “Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.”

However, the argument that morality cannot be legislated is now used selectively regarding issues like homosexual marriage, abortion, drug dealing and others. It’s having an impact on Christians too. Not long ago, one Christian lady said, “I believe abortion is wrong, but it shouldn’t be illegal. We cannot legislate morality.” She went on to say that a law against abortion will not change a mother’s heart. In part, she’s correct. A law against rape will not change a rapist’s heart, either. A law against murder will not change a murderer’s heart. Laws that legislate morality are needed exactly for that reason, to protect against the evil in hearts of men and women.

“And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.” (Psalm 119.47)