It baffles me that people who profess to be Christians so blatantly break the simplest of Commandments. Without even batting an eye.
As every Christian, and probably every Jew, can tell you, the 10 commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai shortly after the Israelites were freed from Egypt. God gave Moses the 10 Commandments on stone tablets which were prized by the Israelites and carried around in a chest called the Ark of the covenant.
The 10 Commandments are part of the Mosaic law. Since the people were not ready for a higher law yet, they were given a lesser law, the law of Moses. This included the 10 Commandments. After Christ came and fulfilled his mission, the Mosaic law was also fulfilled or completed. And a higher law was given. For instance, the command to not kill became a commandment to avoid unjust anger. (Matthew 5:21-22) The commandment to not commit adultery became the commandment to not look at a woman to lust after her. (Matthew 5:27-28)
In fact the 10 Commandments could be summed up by the two commandments found in Matthew 22:37-40.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.The commandments to love God and love our neighbor encompasses all of the 10 Commandments.
So going back to the 10 Commandments being the lesser law, it's hard to fathom that people still can't or I should say won't keep the 10 Commandments.
Just because the law of Moses was fulfilled, doesn't mean the 10 Commandments are still not in effect. They are. God has given us a higher law but he still expects us to live the lesser law which is included in the higher law.
By the way, if you're curious as to which two of the 10 Commandments Lisa and I were discussing that nobody keeps anymore they are number three and number four.
If you don't know them by heart, don't worry. I'm going to give you the exact text from the Bible. Exodus chapter 20 is where you will find the 10 Commandments in the Old Testament. I'm going to post the exact excerpt from Exodus chapter 20 and then perhaps elaborate a little bit on each of the 10 commandments.
Exodus 20:1-17
The First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.This commandment goes along with the higher law commandment to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength. Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ should come before anything else in our lives.
The Second Commandment: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...
4 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:
5 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;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.Nowadays people don't usually worship golden calves. But the updated version of golden calves (graven images) includes money, cars, sports and sports teams, celebrities, property, secular philosophies, fleeting pleasures -- anything that people tend to worship and put before God.
The Third Commandment: Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain...
7 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.This commandment can be taken two ways but obviously profaning the Lord's name is what most people think of when they hear this commandment. Unfortunately, this is extremely common in today's society. Nobody thinks anything of blaspheming the Lord's name in casual conversation. I find this to be extremely upsetting and sad.
Another way this commandment can be taken is for those who have covenanted to take upon themselves the Lord's name, through baptism, then break that covenant by not living the Gospel. That could also be considered taking the name of the Lord in vain.
Interestingly, the second part of verse seven mentions that those who do take the name of the Lord in vain will not be held guiltless. That is a very strong warning that the Lord doesn't take this commandment lightly. Even though seemingly most people do.
The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 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:
11 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.This is another commandment that most people nowadays treat flippantly. Four verses are used to explain this all important commandment. To me it's very clear. The Lord wants us to treat the Sabbath day with respect and honor.
The Lord has commanded that we take one day per week to rest from worldly pursuits and to worship Him. What we do on the Sabbath is a sign to God how we feel about Him.
Most people, including many Christians, treat the Sabbath as any other day of the week. The Sabbath is the Lord's day. We should not be shopping, attending sporting events, recreating, seeking entertainment, or otherwise pursuing worldly endeavors. The Sabbath is a day to worship the Lord and to rest from worldly cares.
The Fifth Commandment: Honor thy my father and thy mother...
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.If your parents are honorable, this should be an easy commandment to keep. We should respect, honor, obey, and value our parents and the sacrifices they have made for us. We should try to honor their good names.
Some people don't have honorable parents. A lot of people have selfish parents who dishonor the family name. Some parents are abusive. Some parents choose evil over good. This might make it more difficult to want to honor them. But even in those circumstances children can honor their parents by living righteous lives and honoring the family name.
The Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill.
13 Thou shalt not kill.This is one commandment that most people still follow. Most people still consider it wrong to kill. Although even this commandment is falling out of favor in the world. Abortion is rampant and many people see nothing wrong with killing unborn babies. Just ask any liberal.
The Seventh Commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.Even though most people might tell you that adultery is wrong, many people, if not most, have no qualms about fornication. In the Lord's eyes, sexual sin is second only to murder in seriousness. And yes, fornication is sexual sin. Any sexual relations outside of marriage (between a man and a woman), is considered sinful. It's very straightforward.
Yet, because of the seriousness of the sin, Satan has waged all-out war on the family and on individuals by spreading his lies and convincing society that sexual sin is normal. People are accepting more and more sexually deviant behaviors as normal. And those who choose to live a chaste life are considered abnormal. Freaks even. Reminds me of the Scripture in Isaiah 5:20:
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"Sexual talk is becoming commonplace. Pornography is everywhere. Music lyrics are not only increasingly sexual but also misogynistic and sexually violent. Sexually deviant behaviors like homosexuality are accepted and even celebrated.
So many people are dropping like flies to sexual sin. It's an extremely sad yet increasingly common scenario. So many families are being destroyed because of sexual sin and selfishness. Very tragic.
The Eighth Commandment: Thou shall not steal.
15 Thou shalt not steal.This is a commandment about honesty. Not only does this commandment encompass not physically taking something that is not yours. But it also includes any kind of dishonest behavior. Things like cheating on a time card or cheating on your taxes. It can also include things like breaking something in a store and not paying for it. Eating some grapes in the grocery store before you buy them. Claiming a child is 11 when he is actually 12 to get the child discount. Anything that would be considered dishonest. That's what this commandment is about. The Lord wants us to be honest. In all our dealings.
Is it really worth it to jeopardize your eternal salvation over a few dollars?
The Ninth Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.This commandment is about speaking truth. It is about not gossiping or spreading rumors about others. We should not try to tear other people down by attacking their character. A lot of people try to build themselves up by tearing other people down. This is especially true in the media.
This goes hand-in-hand with the second great commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The Tenth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet...
17 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.This commandment warns us not to make worldly things a priority. Especially things that already belong to someone else. To excessively desire something is to covet.
A good example that comes to mind is "coveting thy neighbor's wife". This goes hand-in-hand with the seventh commandment. So many families have been torn apart because one of the spouses began coveting someone else other than their spouse. This has been facilitated by social media and stupid cheating machines (cell phones). I know several people who have connected with old flames or even old friends via Facebook or other social media and began coveting that person. To the demise of their spouse and children.
Many people also covet their neighbor's possessions such as their house, cars, boats, even their well-kept yard, lifestyle, etc. Neighbor doesn't just mean those who live in proximity to you, but anyone.
The old adage that the grass is always greener on the other side may sound appealing but it's not true. Many people find this out after destroying their families and their lives. They find out that the floozy/floozer they abandoned their family for is not all they're cracked up to be. The flame quickly dies out and they're left with nothing but heartache and regret.
The perfect neighbor's life is not all that perfect after all. The fancy house, car, boat and lavish lifestyle leave you feeling empty. If you don't put God first, nothing else matters. Things that are coveted bring fleeting happiness. Only by putting God first in our lives do we find lasting happiness and joy. Like Mark Chesnutt said, "they don't make a hearse with a luggage rack". You can't take it with you. Don't waste your time pursuing things that are not important.and don't last.
These are only the 10 Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. We have many more Commandments now. Yet so many people have such a hard time keeping these 10 simple commandments.
It is exceedingly tragic and sad that so many people allow Satan to deceive them into believing that the 10 Commandments are archaic or outdated. They most certainly are not. They are still in full effect today. It's sad that so many people no longer believe in the 10 Commandments. But what's even more tragic is that many of those who do still believe in the 10 Commandments don't even try to keep them.
That's my two cents.
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