Articles
The Ten Commandments
Why should we care about the Ten Commandments? We should care because God gave these commandments to us for our instruction (Rom. 15:4). Jesus said these commandments encapsulate the two great commands of the Law of Moses: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40 ESV). Consciousness of our sinfulness comes through them (Rom. 3:20). They reveal our need for a Savior, Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:23-24). Jesus is the embodiment of them (Matt. 5:17).
The early church learned the Ten Commandments. When God gave them, it was the only time he spoke directly to the entire nation of Israel. First-century Christians revered them as God-breathed words (2 Tim. 3:14-17). What can we learn from the Ten Commandments?
The first two commandments specify why and how God is to be worshiped.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:3-6 ESV)
Israel was not to mix the worship of God with idolatry. They were not to place other gods before God's face. The God who manifested Himself upon Sinai was jealous of Israel's devotion. What God taught Israel he requires of us (cf. Jas. 4:4-5).
God taught Israel to be careful in using His name. “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” (Ex. 20:7 ESV). God's name is to be esteemed. Jesus reiterated this when teaching us to pray (Matt. 6:9). Israel should only attribute to God what he actually said. Jeremiah prophesied, "And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed" (Jer. 14:14-15 ESV).
God will punish those who use his name to promote lies. God should be treated with profound reverence. He will punish any profane use of his name.
God wanted Israel to rest with Him. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8 NAS95). Israel was commanded to rest from their labors and spend time with God. “For in six days, the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Ex. 20:11 NAS95). Do you rest and spend time with God? Some Christians neglected "to meet together, as is the habit of some." The apostles taught us to meet together to encourage "one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Heb. 10:25 ESV). Have we devoted time to God, to rest and pray?
God taught Israel to “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Ex. 20:12 ESV). Honoring and obeying father and mother prepares us to do the same with God. Honoring our parents instills a respect for authority that glorifies God (1 Pet. 2:13-24). Jesus lived this commandment (Luke 2:50-52; John 19:26-27). Christians are expected to do the same (Eph. 6:1-2; 1 Tim. 3:4-5, 16).
God taught Israel the last section of the Ten Commandments and, through the apostle Paul, to us. “For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:9-10 ESV). These commands fulfill God's great command, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:17-18 ESV).
Christ ended the old covenant and established a new one (Heb. 10:8-10). While Christ established a new covenant, the teachings of the Ten Commandments remain relevant, offering moral guidance in loving God and others (cf. Matt. 5-7).
