What Are the Ten Commandments

I think that there are many things in the Bible that, nowadays, are questioned and the validity is overlooked. This is more so with the Old Testament than the New Testament. I hear people say "That is the 'old', this is the 'new'." I will not go so much into the validity of the Old Testament right now but I want to talk about something that is often questioned.

Most people are aware and know of the Ten Commandments. It is a staple for many societies and honor systems. I have found that peoples' beliefs in the Ten Commandments are one of two directions. Some people use it as a good guideline and something to live by to make society function better. Some people hold religiously to it, while others think it's "a good idea" and praise those who follow them, but don't follow them themselves. Then there are those who believe that the Ten Commandments are obsolete, no longer needed, and even offensive. So the question arises, "how important are the Ten Commandments and are they still valid?"

I want to answer this question in a couple different ways. I think before we look at and examine each commandment, we need to look at the reason and purpose for them. The Ten Commandments are not the only commandments that are given to us, but are rather the foundational commandments. It's sad how some people will try to religiously follow the Ten Commandments, but disregard any other command in the Bible. These were commandments given to govern the people as a godly nation, but God's commandments do not end there.

The Ten Commandments are found in Exodus chapter 20 and are separated into 2 parts: the first 5 are spiritual commandments on serving and loving God, and the last 5 refer as to how we should treat others. But all of them are a reflection of our love for God. The Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites through Moses after they were freed from bondage in Egypt. And even though they were given to specifically Israel, it applies to everyone and are still valid today.

Hebrews 13:8 says, " Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." And Malachi 3:6, Jesus says, " For I am the Lord, I change not..." We know that God was the same in eternity past before the world was created, as he is now and will always be. What we are told in the New Testament, or even nowadays, is nothing new. Everything we learn in the Bible has always existed before time. Therefore, we cannot say that the Ten Commandments are no longer valid. Remember as we go through these commandments, that they have always existed and are a reflection of who God is, revealed to the Israelites at the proper time and are continuous standards.

1. "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." This is one of the most important of the Ten Commandments! If the first five commandments (particularly this one) are not followed, the rest definitely will not be followed. This is the foundational command for our love for Christ. A god is defined as anything that we worship more than the true God. When we read this, we think of when this was written and think of idols made of gold that the people bowed downto. But today, this can mean your job, your family, or anything else that we put ahead of God. We oftentimes think that our country does not have issue with idols that we bow or pray to, but it's amazing how some "Christian" denominations cling to their "idols" to use in worship.

2. "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." This is quite similar to the first commandment, but is more specific. We are told in this verse to not uphold anything higher than God and to not make anything our god. Back in that time, people were more inclined to worship man-made idols or "gods". We, in America, don't have that so much, but we do have things that we oftentimes will put ahead of God. We make money that is quite often placed over God. Friends are close second. We can easily let our friends influence to do things that we shouldn't (or not do things we should) that God clearly says not to. Peer pressure is a strong influencer in our lives. 

We are told in Luke 16:13, "No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." This is speaking specifically about money, but is applicable to any possessions or other things that we make our god. If we decide to please our friends rather than speak up for what is right, we are serving them rather than God. This is what the second commandment is speaking about.


3. "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." I believe that this is one of the most broken commandments. How often do we hear this taking place? "Oh my God", "GD", "Jesus Christ!". This is what taking God's name in vain is, using it in an unholy matter. In Isaiah 57:15, we see " For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy...". We often disregard what it means for God's name to be holy. God, and his name, are the most powerful, most reverenced in the whole universe and time. For us to take something as God's name and place a negative connotation to it, is called blaspheme. We are told that anyone who uses God's name in this manner will not be found guiltless.

4. "Remember the Sabbathh 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." I think that this command is not taken as it should be. Most people enjoy having a weekend off to relax and not do anything, but don't realise how deep it is. When God created the earth, he did so in six days then had a seventh day for rest. But let me ask, did God really need a break from the "hard work" of creating the universe? No, I don't believe so.

In Genesis, in regard to the seventh day (the Sabbath), we are told "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." God made this day holy, not because he needed rest, but to glory in his creation and enjoy it. God created the sabbath as a day just for us to look at God's glory. It is the day devoted to nothing but praising God and focusing on him, enjoying his glory and magnificence. When we disregard this, we are taking away from God what he deserves. He wants us to recognise his sovereignty and omnipotence through recognising the sabbath. That is why it is so important.

5. "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." Amoung youth, this is probably the most disregarded commandment, but oh how important it is! I would classify this also under one of the spiritual commands because the following it is a direct recognition of God's authority and the authority he placesover us. There are multiple verses on just honouring our parents (Prov 1:8, Col 3:20, Eph 6:1-2). Most things we do here on earth are a representation of a Christian's relationship with God. God is our spiritual father and honouring him shows a reverence and submission to him. Our Relationship with our earthly parents is a reflection of our relationship with God. Our parents were placed as authority over us and when someone disregards this and dishonours his parents, he is actually dishonouring God. God is serious about it when he says in Exodus 21:17 "he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."

6. "Thou shalt not kill." These next few commandments I will expound on because there is more to them than just what they say. We can all agree that murder is a sin. It seems like something that actually physically harms another person (murder, rape, etc.), is considered a haneous crime. But it is more than just because it hurts society. God creates every life, as we see in Genesis. He crafts each one of us individually for a purpose. When we decide to take someones life, we are stealing from God, destroying his own creation that he intends to use. But murder goes beyond that. In Matthew 5, verses 21-22, we are told "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, [idiot], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Killing is more than the physical act. Anything we do outwardly is a reflection in our heart, it is a side effect. When we have hate, resentment or the desire to have someone harmed, it is the same as having actually committed the act. (This also applies to abortion, killing of an innocent baby. Jeremiah 1:5)

7. " Thou shalt not commit adultery." As with killing, adultery is also an act of the heart. Matthew 5:27-28 is clear when it says "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." Not only does the Bible tell us that adultery is a heart issue, it give boundaries. Matthew 19:9, Hebrews 7:2,-3 Luke 16:18, and Matthew 5:32 are just a few examples that give boundaries. This is a very controversial issue because we live in such a sex-crazed world. But the Bible is clear on sex.

Sex is an act to seal a covenant. In the Bible, when a covenant was made, blood was shed to seal the covenant and make each party accountable. This is seen when Christ said "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Christ's blood sealed a covenant that if any call to Christ, they will not be turned away. The same is for sex. When two people are married and have sex, there is bloodshed with the first time which seals the covenant and makes the two people accountable to keep to their vows. When we commit adultery, we taking lightly what God takes seriously.

8. "Thou shalt not steal." This commandment can actually be a summary of many commandments. When we murder, we steal someone's life. When we commit adultery, we steal the purity of someone's wife/husband (if you are not married, that person will be someone's future spouse and adultery is stealing that intimacy from that couple). Stealing is an outward sign that we are not content with what God has given us. God provides us what we need if we are faithful and stealing is not only a sign that we don't trust God, but is a dishonour to those we are stealing from. If we steal, we are committing testimony suicide. If we try to, later on, witness to that person, our credibility and testimony are ruined. We are called to reflect who Christ is and doing this dishonour is not a reflection of Christ.

9. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." This could also be called slander or gossip. False witness would be spreading rumours about someone that is not true. The only reason for doing this is out of spite for the other person, which is covered under murder, wishing emotional harm on someone. We are called, as Christians, to lift other up and speak positively of people. Not doing so is a disobedience of our Lord and disregard for his wishes. As it is with stealing, We ruin our testimony when we do this, probably even more so. That is also how you lose people's trust and respect. More can be said on this and will be covered in a future post.

10. "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 can relate back to not stealing, but this is more of the heart issue. To covet someone's property is to want it enough to be willing to steal it. This is a sign of discontentment with what God has given us. In most cases, people covet things because they are not happy and believe that it will make them happy. But happiness does not lie in possessions, or even social status or hobbies, but in having a relationship with God and being in his will. That is how "poor" people in other countries can be fully content because they know they are in God's will and that he will provide. There are countless verses that tell us that God will provide.

I like how this commandment is at the end because it is a whole summary. We covet things because we thing we deserve them. Too many people have an "entitled" mindset that they deserve things. But we are told that all we deserve is hell. We are all born sinners and we deserve hell; God does not owe us anything. But God provides us a way out of hell through his Son. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

These are the foundational commandments for God's other commandments that he gives us. These are a start, but we must dig deeper into the Bible to find exactly what God asks of us, because the Ten Commandments are far from being all God asks.

Ultimately, these commandments are a result of a single commandment. When Jesus was asked what the the greatest commandment is, He replied "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." Each commandment is a heart decision. If we love God, we will do as he asks. This is revealed in John 14:21 "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." Sin is any form of not showing our love for God. That is why God considers stealing to be equally as sinful as murder and lying to be equal to rape. Sins are not placed on a scale. The ultimate sin is to not love God. If we break this one commandment, we are guilty of breaking all of them.

The second most important command is "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." If we love others, we will not mistreat them. Half of the Ten Commandments refer to how we treat others. Again, if we don't love others, we will not follow these commandments. But if we don't love God as we should, we won't love others as we should; this command comes second. We are to "love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."