You Shall Not

Understanding the Ten Commandments

1.      Exodus 20:2-3 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
               YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.”
Who we worship is the most important matter in life, whether we realize it or not, and it is the basis for all decisions and relationships we make. God did not say there are no other “gods.” He said we are commanded not to worship them. They are demons.
The issue in this commandment number 1 is who we are to worship. We are to worship the ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD; He is unique (the only one like Him). He is both creator and redeemer. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit in ONE ETERNAL BEING. He is the ONLY ONE worthy of our worship.

2.      Exodus 20:4 “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF AN IMAGE 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…”
This commandment carries a four generation curse (v. 5b) “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me…” Children imitate and repeat the sins of their parents, and pass the same sin patterns on to their own children. Idol worship leads to heathenism. The peoples we have known as heathen; tribal peoples (African, American Indians, Eskimos) were all once civilized nations. They degenerated through idolatry.

Our unique God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, not through man made images. The most wonderful image man can make belittles he person of God (John 4:24).

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.”

3.   Don’t profane God’s name. “Name” represents character (Who He really is). “Name” represents authority (sovereignty. power). “Name “ represents person. The person of the Father, who planned the creation, salvation, and numbered the hairs on our heads and the days we will live. The person of the Son, who actually created the universe and keeps it running (Colossians 1:16-17); the one who paid the penalty for ALL our sins. The person of the Holy Spirit, who indwells every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who constantly prays to the Father on our behalf, because we’re not always able to pray properly.

The King James Version of this verse warns not to take God’s name “in vain” (Hebrew: shawv) means:  Desolating – making meaningless, common, unimportant. Evil – misrepresenting God in the world. Ruin – rot, decay, shameful, dirty word. Guile- deceitful, for mercenary reasons, to impress. Idolatry – phony front. False. No faith. Religion. Good luck charm. Uslessness – to no purpose. Christian in name only. No faith in God’s Word. Lying- swearing an oath. Trying to authenticate a lie. Emptiness – Idle chatter, coarse jesting, irreverent attitude. Only rebels and fools treat God like a joke of a convenience.

4.      Exodus 20:8 “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY BY KEEPING IT HOLY.”  Verse 11 “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.”

“Holy” means set apart unto God, for rest and remembrance of the creation. Cease from your work, concentrate on the One Who Provides. Physical illustration of spiritual truth in Hebrews 4. Faith Rest. “There remains a rest to the people of God.”

This Sabbath was the SEVENTH day. Saturday. It has not changed. Sunday is NOT the Sabbath, it is the Lord’s Day, because He arose the first day of the week.

5.      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.”

This command carries a promise of prolonged life. Home is the training ground, parents are the coaches to teach children about life. Children who dishonor parents are not only a shame to the parents, but they can’t function in the world. The most important characteristic of human behavior is humility. You learn it by obeying your parents. Jesus did.

Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (!)

6.      Exodus 20:13 “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER.”

There is no further elaboration in the Bible on this commandment, but in this time of confusion and the Devil’s “Do-Good” religion, we must explain that all killing is not murder. Joshua 6:21, 10:28, 10:39-40 “… just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.” I Samuel 15:1-3, God commanded His people to kill the enemy in battle. This was HIS decision, to protect His people and to destroy those who had reached maximum degeneration through unbelief.

Genesis 9:5-6, Numbers 35:30-31, Leviticus 20:2,9-16,27, Matthew 26:52, Romans 13:4. Capital punishment is God’s command, to remove the criminals and perverts from among His ‘holy’ people. It is HIS decision, for protection of the race.

God gave life to the human soul. Only God has authority to remove that life. In matters of warfare and capital punishment, He has delegated authority to governments, but we as individuals are forbidden to make the decision or perform the act that deliberately ends another person’s life. That’s murder.

7.      Exodus 20:14 “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.”

Sex with a person who is not your spouse. Fornication destroys intimacy in marriage. Intimacy in marriage is necessary for strength and unity in the marriage, which is a demonstration of Christ and His Church. A strong, solid marriage fortifies the home against demonic attack and infiltration; protects the children. Adultery is like “cozying up” to Satan. He’ll tell you it’s o.k. He’s a liar.

8.      Exodus 20:15 “YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.”

Individual ownership of property is a divine right. No one has the right to take property that belongs to someone else. Stealing is sin just like adultery is sin. Just because a thing is easy to get doesn’t make it o.k. to take it.

9.      Exodus 20:16 “YOU SHALL NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR.”

No false testimony. This involves destruction of character, like number 3. Slander. It is vicious and evil. It would be better to harm someone physically than to destroy their reputation. Physical wounds heal. Sometimes soiled reputations never recover.

10. Exodus 20:17   “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” 

Coveting is the desire to have the things, even the people, that belong to someone else. It means to envy the person who has what you want. “As a man thinks, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). Coveting corrupts the soul. It is the basis for all overt sins. If you covet excitement and “signs,” you will place other gods before the Lord Jesus Christ. If you covet tangible evidence of God, you will set up idols to serve. If you covet a reputation as a great Christian, you will take God’s name in vain (falsely, for selfish purposes). If you covet your neighbor’s spouse or things, you will steal, cheat or commit adultery to acquire his, or something better for yourself.

How do we know what sin is? We know because God spelled it out for us, to show us our weaknesses and failures. To show us our need for a Savior.

And then He sent the Savior. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Formula For Freedom

The Ten Commandments

God’s Formula for Human Freedom

After 400 years in Egyptian bondage, God knew Abraham’s descendants were ready by now to become His own people; His witness to the world. They needed to be separated from Egypt (symbolic of the world), set apart unto God (identified as God’s people), and TRAINED to know GOD’S WAY and to obey only Him. They needed a strong leader, which He gave them in Moses. They needed written instructions for living, which He gave them in the law. It is of supreme importance that God’s Word to His people was WRITTEN. That way, it could be preserved throughout the generations exactly He Himself gave it. And it has been. There is a satanic conspiracy to create doubt about this among believers, but God’s own Word defends itself in Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35, Revelation 22:19 and other passages. This is for our personal assurance as believers in Jesus Christ, so that we can always have complete confidence in the unchanging Word to meet our needs. Don’t waste time arguing with unbelievers about this (they’ll bring it up!); simply challenge them to READ it for themselves. When they do read it, they soon get a taste of Its convicting power which brings them face to face with the awesome Gift of Christ!

So God gave His law to His people through His servant, Moses. God Himself wrote the first ten commandments on the tablets of stone that He told Moses to bring. Those got broken when Moses threw them down in anger against the Israelites when he found them partying around a golden calf on his return from the mountain. Then God wrote them again, in another set of tablets. God’s mercy endures forever. We’re going to find that a large part of the law He gave them contained commandments against the very thing Moses found them doing around the golden calf (idol worship, fornication, drunkenness).

1.      We are not to make a religion out of the Mosaic Law, because:

A.     The Law cannot save: Galatians 2:16, 3:10

B.     The Law cannot give life: Galatians 3:21

C.     The Law cannot provide the Holy Spirit: Galatians 3:2

2.      We are to be aware of the Mosaic Law, because:

A.     It sets forth the perfect standard, God’s standard.

B.     It reveals the true character of man: we’re sinners.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law, therefore, is to show us the contrast between God’s perfect righteousness and our total helplessness apart from the perfect work of Christ.

The Ten Commandments are known as the Moral Code of the Mosaic Law. This code deals with our relationships to God (1-5) and our relationships to man (6-9), with one given as a judge of our innermost desires (10)! This one is the real clincher. People can know of our actions in worship, in obedience to parents, truthfulness, etc., because these are overt acts. Only God can know that we COVET! Only God’s Word can reveal to us that to covet is sin!

The Ten Commandments are a code that protects the rights and property and families of the human race. God’s Formula for Human Freedom.

    Commandment-         The Issue                 The emphasis           N. T. Reference

      scripture

1. Ex. 20:3          Whom to worship        the unity of God              Mark 12:29
2. Ex. 20:4-6       How to worship           the spirituality of God      John 4:24
3. Ex. 20:7          Spirit of worship           reverence for God         Matthew 5:34
4. Ex. 20:8-11     Rest & remembrance   thanksgiving to God      Mark 2:27
5. Ex. 20:12         Parental Authority       order and long life         Eph. 6:1
6. Ex. 20:13         Sanctity of human life                                 I Jn. 3:15, Mt. 5:22
7. Ex. 20:14         Sanctity of  marriage                humanity’s        Matthew 5:28
8. Ex. 20:15         Sanctity of property                   bill of                I Cor. 10:24
9. Ex. 20:16         Sacredness of character            rights               Eph. 4:25

1        10.   Ex. 20:17         Evil of illicit desire       corrupts the soul.           Romans 7:7
                                                                     basis for all overt sins.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;  the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”

Deuteronomy 12:28 "Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well  with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 12:32 “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”