We need to know these, not just memorize them in order.
Teaching our children the list, The Ten Commandments, in Sunday school, is not a bad thing. Understanding that Commandment 6 says Thou shall not kill, is a good thing. Knowing that Commandment 5 is the first with promise, is a good thing. However,,,
"The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Understanding the Ten Commandments is more than just counting. 1,2,3,4,5,,6,7,8,9,10.
"My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: " Proverbs 6:20-23
The Ten Commandments were not given to man to make man's life more difficult. To refrain man from the things he loves. They were given to man to make man's life easier. To keep him from the snares of the devil. Understanding, not only what they are, but what they mean, is crucial to every child of God's growth and well-being.
You can find them in.
Exodus 20:1-17
"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. "
Also in Deuteronomy 5
These commandments given to us by God Himself, are simple to understand. They are not something to be learned how to say in order in Sunday school. Nor something we should look at and say, yeah, makes sense. They are something given to us by God, to keep always.
The sad thing is, a lot of our churches today, have stopped actually teaching them. What do they mean? Are they really important? That is the failure of many of our churches to teach them. People have a basic understanding, Have faith in God, don't kill, uh, don't cheat on your spouse. Oh and love your mom and dad. Or something like that. Right? Wrong.
So what do they mean? If it is, and it is, more important to actually know what they mean, than simply what they are, then what do they mean? This is what we will be looking at.
"I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me." Exodus 20:2-3
It seems pretty simple.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7
God IS. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. He is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He is the great "I Am." He is the one that created all things. He is a God of Love. He IS Love. He is God. Not some made-up thing. Not some concept or idea. Not something to take as casually as, say, Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. He IS God.
"But I was never in Egypt. I was never in bondage. So this does not really apply to me." Wrong. You were in the worse bondage you could ever be in. The bondage of sin and death. It was God that, through Jesus, set you free from that.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Romans 8:1-2,15
God is the one that sets you free. Jesus is the one that paid the price. Yes. God DID bring you out "from the house of bondage."
Why is the truth of God diminishing? Becoming a concept and idea more so than reality? Many reasons. One of the main ones is that some have stopped teaching who He is.
The "theory" of evolution has replaced God in our schools. Even though evolution minus God is both scientifically, and mathematically, impossible, they forbid the possibility of including God in the equation. Some in society say that it's OK to believe in whatever god you chose. If that big Purple Bunny in your backyard is your god. Good for you. We will say that it is equal to the God of the Bible. It's all good.
Even some of our churches have stopped teaching who God is instead of teaching man-made traditions called religion. What does God say about this or that? "The church says." Yeah well, the commandments say. "But Jesus came and taught us another way." No, he didn't. Jesus even warned us about that. He told those religious leaders of the day.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-20
Jesus then went on to explain, not only does He fulfill the Law, He enhances it. 21-48
"Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Jesus did not come to do away with The Law. He enhanced it. He summed them up this way
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:36-40
Churches, and religions, get so caught up in the teaching of their traditions, that they lose track of God Himself. They teach things that are contrary to God. In some cases, they leave God out altogether. God is also not some old man, sitting on a throne, waiting to throw you into hell. Get to know the real God. Our Father. Worship Him alone.
When we forget God, it then becomes easy, and perhaps even human nature, to create and worship Idols.
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:5-7
"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation." Exodus 32:1-10
God is serious about this folks. He was ready to destroy the Jewish people that He brought out of bondage in Egypt. Then Moses convinced God to repent. Can you imagine? Moses is telling God to repent....11-14
"And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."
So because of Moses, again, the Jews were saved from utter destruction.
In.
Deuteronomy 4:15-19
"Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:"
That statue of Mary? That statue of Jesus Himself? The cross? None of these things have any life in them.
"And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."
Can you say astrology? Horoscopes and such? I have known people that will not leave their homes until they find out what their horoscopes say about their day. The sun, moon, and stars will not protect you, nor keep you safe. When you look at them, you are looking at a creation. They are to God, what the most beautiful building is to man. All of them are just created things. They have no life in them.
I'm a big guy. I have even been told that when I am in my gym gear, all black, with my sunglasses on, I look evil. Very intimidating so I'm told. So you are my neighbor. You are going out of town. You decide I will take a picture of this guy. {Pointing to myself} I will blow it up to life-size, and I will place it, right inside my front door. This way, when a thief comes in, he will see the big guy in black, and he will get scared and run away. My house will be protected.
So you do this. The thief comes. He kicks the door in and sees the life-size image of me standing there. He gets startled. But he is a brave thief. He takes a second look and realizes, it is not real. So he steals your stuff and takes the image of me with him. You wonder what happened?
Now you are going out of town, you come to ME. You ask ME to watch your house. I agree. The thief comes and kicks in your door. This time, I really am there. I seize him and protect your home. The difference? I'm real. I'm alive. I have the ability to do whatever I chose. That image of me? It's dead. There is no life in it.
God is the same way. Remember the key? Jesus. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Not this saint or that one. Not Mary. Not the statue of Jesus, but Jesus Himself. That Statue of whatever has no life in it. It will do you no good. Neither will any other than Jesus Himself. Mary, the prophets, John, Paul, Peter, whatever, were for a time, and are now in heaven with God. Just like you will be when you leave. So they can not do anything for you themselves. Let alone their likenesses.
Paul told the early Church when a dispute arose about forcing gentiles {Non-Jews} to be circumcised and follow the law, That all the gentiles needed to do to be saved is believe in Jesus and keep God's commandments,
"Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.." Acts 15:24-29
Also in.
Jeremiah 10:1-25
"Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
“Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.
Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.
Gather up your bundle from the ground, O you who dwell under siege!
For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it.”
Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.” My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are not; there is no one to spread my tent again and to set up my curtains. For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes! a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals.
I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation."
Again, what the Word is telling us is that these things, created by man, will perish with time. A fire will consume that statue as well as it will destroy anything else. It will not protect you. It will not benefit you in any way. Only the true and living God can, and will.
We'll wrap it up today with...
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols." 1 John 5
Coming up next time is part two, where we will discuss:
3 - "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."
4 - "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."
Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.
"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"
That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10
If you want to tell me, comment, questions, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13
Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!!
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