The Ten Commandments

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 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 nor serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me. But showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 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. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” – Exod 20:2-17

It’s good to write out all Ten Commandments exactly as they were originally recorded, because over time they have unfortunately been twisted, and people increasingly trust human opinion and tradition more than what is actually written in the Word of God.

The Ten Commandments:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. 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 nor serve them.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Let’s pay close attention to these Ten Commandments, especially the second one, which says not to make an image of anything and not to bow down to it. It’s an uncomfortable passage, but a necessary one, so that the truth of God’s Word can speak to us. We are not permitted to make images of anything and bow down to them. Let’s sharpen this commandment further by looking at another verse, so there’s no ambiguity:

“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or any fish that is in the water beneath the earth, and take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.” – Deut 4:15-19

It must be emphasized, however, that no human being (apart from Jesus) was ever able to fully keep the whole Law and all Ten Commandments contained in the Bible. Today, too, no one is able to accomplish this apart from the work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Only by being born again of the Holy Spirit do we become new people, capable of living by such a standard. The apostle Paul gave us a different list: a list of the deeds of the flesh — the old man — and a list of the fruit that flows from a life transformed by the Holy Spirit.

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law [under the commandments]. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” – Gal 5:18-25

All these deeds, just like the Ten Commandments, can be divided into those that concern our relationship with God and those that concern our relationships with other people. In fact, God gave Moses two tablets inscribed with commandments. Yet most of our transgressions actually concern our relationships with other people. The Lord Jesus said that of the whole Law, two commandments matter most.

1. Love God with all your heart
2. Love your neighbor with all your heart

“Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all? Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:28-31

Love itself is the fulfillment of the Law and its righteousness. A relationship of love is what God expects from us — not merely obedience to dry laws and rules! The commandments are still relevant and important, but if we try to keep them without love, we will fall short of what God actually wants from us.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” – 1 Cor 13:1-3

“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” – Rom 13:10