What are the Ten
Commandments?
What are the Ten Commandments? The Ten Commandments are ten primary
laws God gave humans to follow and obey. Jesus referred to these
Ten Commandments in Matthew 22:37-40. In response to a question
asked by one of the Pharisees, "Jesus replied: ' Love the Lord your
God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.' This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the
second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
The Ten Commandments can be found in a couple different places in
the Bible: Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, of the Old Testament. We
will be referencing the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20.
The first - Exodus 20:3: "You shall have no other
gods before me." In Exodus 20:2, God states who He is and why He
would permit no other gods before Him. He is the creator of life,
and He brought the Israelites (our ancestors from whence creation
started) out of a land of slavery. God does the same today through
His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus offers us deliverance from slavery, or
bondage, to self-indulgent, self-destructive behavior (sin). Those
who freely choose Jesus find real life here and eternal life with
Him.
The second - Exodus 20:4-6: "You shall not make
for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on
the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to
them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and
fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a
thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my
commandments." God, who is all wise and all knowing, realizes what
happens to us when we worship anything other than our Creator.
Because He wants the very best for us, and because He alone can
handle being the object of worship, He adds this critical
instruction.
The third -Exodus 20:7: "You shall not misuse the
name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone
guiltless who misuses his name." God tells us it is imperative to
be truthful and honest at all times. Many biblical scholars point
to the example of a witness in a court case. As God's witnesses, we
are not to swear by God's name falsely or under any false
pretenses. In Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus discusses oath taking. Our
answer, He states, should always be either yes or no. We must
strive to be known for our honesty, instead of the need to take an
oath.
The fourth - Exodus 20:8-11: "Remember the Sabbath
day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it
you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter,
nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien
within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the
seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it
holy." On the seventh day of creation, God rested. Does God need to
rest? Of course not! He did this as an example for us. In our
contemporary, 24/7 society, we tend to think the Sabbath rest is
optional. God does not! Jesus tells us in Mark 2:27 that: "The
Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Which day of the
week may not be important, but one of the seven needs to be devoted
to godly rest.
The Fifth - Exodus 20:12: "Honor your father and
your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your
God is giving you." Whether or not our parents have been respectful
toward us, the Bible commands that we honor them. Note that this
commandment comes with a reason why: honor your parents SO THAT you
may live long in the land.
The sixth - Exodus 20:13: "You shall not murder."
Intentionally taking someone's life is murder. In Matthew 5:21-22,
Jesus tells us that anger and hurtful words are like murder. Romans
13 discusses Christian behavior regarding obedience to civil
authority and patriotism. Scholars believe, and Old Testament
sources support, that protecting one's country as in civil defense
or during a time of war is not the same as murder.
The seventh - Exodus 20:14: "You shall not commit
adultery." Adultery is engaging in a sexual relationship outside of
one's marriage. Jesus takes this further when he tells us in
Matthew 5:28 we commit adultery when we even look on another person
with thoughts of desire.
The eighth - Exodus 20:15: "You shall not steal."
Do not take anything that is not yours. In today's
culture, one of the most prevalent forms of stealing involves
copyrighted material. We may think it is OK to download music we
don't pay for or gain access to software we did not purchase a
license for. . .but the Bible says it is stealing.
The ninth - Exodus 20:16: "You shall not give
false testimony against your neighbor." In court, false testimony
is called perjury and is punishable by law. Our testimony, whether
before a judge or in the courtroom of life, should be true and
accurate -- free of false information.
The tenth - Exodus 20:17: "You shall not covet
your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or
his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that
belongs to your neighbor." God wants us to learn to be content with
what we have and not to desire what our neighbor has. He knows
where jealousy and envy lead; His desire is to spare us the
consequences of coveting.