The Ten Commandments
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LESSON 5: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
After the Medo-Persian empire conquered Babylon,
king Darius of the empire had ordered
that all Babylonian officials be executed, except for one man.
This “special person” was Daniel, servant of the Most High.
70 years ago, he was exiled from the kingdom of Judah to Babylon
and had to serve in the king’s court as a counselor for the kings of Babylon.
Daniel was well-known to have “an excellent spirit”. [27] Daniel 5:12, 6:3.
King Darius did not just spare Daniel’s life,
he even “thought to set him over the whole realm.” [27] Daniel 6:3.
When the officials found out that the king
was about to promote an old exiled geezer to be their boss,
oh they just couldn’t handle it.
So, they plotted a plan to trick the king
into signing a decree which will last for 30 days,
that whosoever shall pray to anyone or any god, except the king,
will be thrown into the lions’ den ([26] Daniel 6:7).
They knew Daniel was a godly man of prayer,
faithful and obedient to the commandments of God
that clearly forbid having any other gods,
worshiping and/or praying to anyone else except YHWH ([02] Exodus 20:3).
Just as they predicted, as Daniel heard the decree,
he even determined to disregard his own life
to demonstrate the importance of loyalty to God,
and Daniel could easily be caught on the spot praying to God
by a wide-opened window even – just like always.
When king Darius discovered that he had been dubbed,
and his best friend is about to be thrown into the lions’ den,
he tried every way possible
to rescue Daniel from the signed decree, but in vain.
The law of the king had already been issued, and there was no revoking,
and Daniel was still thrown into that pit of death.
However, God had interfered,
sending His angel down to shut the beasts’ mouths
and protect his faithful servant ([27] Daniel 6:22).
The prophecies of the Bible tell us that in the end time,
the people of God will again have to face the same choice as Daniel,
whose law to obey: men’s, or God’s.
Before we dive into the questions,
let us read through the Ten Commandments of God.
[02] Exodus 20:2-17: “I am YHWH thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
(1) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(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 YHWH 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;
and shewing mercy unto thousands
of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
(3) Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain;
for YHWH will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(4) Remember the sabbath day, to hallow it.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of YHWH 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 YHWH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day:
wherefore YHWH blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
(5) Honour thy father and thy mother:
that thy days may be long upon the land
which YHWH thy God giveth thee.
(6) Thou shalt not kill.
(7) Thou shalt not commit adultery.
(8) Thou shalt not steal.
(9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
(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.”
1. Can God’s law of the Ten Commandments ever be changed or abolished?
[03] Luke 16:17 It is easier for heaven and earth to pass,
than one tittle of the law to fail.
[19] Psalm 111:7, 8 All his commandments are sure.
They stand fast for ever and ever,
and are done in truth and uprightness.
[39] Malachi 3:6 I am YHWH: I change not.
The Ten Commandments of God
are unchangeable moral principles.
This law of the Most High King can never be changed
or abolished under any circumstances.
They are as unchanging as God Himself.
In the Bible, there are three times a human king (Herod, Ahasueru, Darius) issued a command
only to regret it later on:
they tried to revoke it but could not.
Now, if even the commands of mere mortal kings are unchangeable,
how can anyone presume that the eternal moral principles of God Almighty
– declared by His own voice and carved on rocks by His own finger – could be changed?
Can stealing, murdering, idolatry, etc… ever cease to be a crime?
Take a look at the parallel descriptions of God and His law, written in His Word:
|
Descriptions |
GOD |
THE LAW |
|
GOOD |
[03] Luke 18:19 |
[06] Romans 7:12 |
|
HOLY |
[23] Isaiah 5:16 |
[06] Romans 7:12 |
|
JUST |
[05] Deuteronomy 32:4 |
[06] Romans 7:12 |
|
PERFECT |
[01] Matthew 5:48 |
[19] Psalm 19:7 |
|
LOVE |
[23] I John 4:8 |
[06] Romans 13:10 |
|
RIGHTEOUS |
[02] Exodus 9:27 |
[19] Psalm 19:9 |
|
TRUTH |
[05] Deuteronomy 32:4 |
[19] Psalm 119:142,151 |
|
PURE |
[23] I John 3:3 |
[19] Psalm 19:8 |
|
SPIRIT |
[04] John 4:24 |
[06] Romans 7:14 |
|
UNCHANGING |
[39] Malachi 3:6 |
[01] Matthew 5:18 |
|
EVERLASTING |
[01] Genesis 21:33 |
[19] Psalm 111:7,8 |
The Law of God can not be changed
because they are the very descriptions of His own character.
From His own nature: loving, holy, honest…
did God create His Law to govern all intelligent moral beings.
The most exalted words in the Bible,
used to describe God Himself,
are used to describe His Law.
That is why changing them is as impossible as changing God.
2. According to the Bible, what is sin, in its simplest definition?
[23] I John 3:4 Sin is the transgression of the law.
[06] Romans 3:20 By the law is the knowledge of sin.
[06] Romans 7:7 I had not known sin, but by the law:
for I had not known lust, except the law had said, “Thou shalt not covet“.
[20] James 2:10, 11 For whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all.
For He that said, “Do not commit adultery“, said also, “Do not kill“.
Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill,
thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Very clear: “do not kill”, “do not commit adultery”, “do not covet”
are all direct quotations from the Ten Commandments of God in [02] Exodus 20:2-17.
The violation of any one of these Ten Commandments,
by definition, is SIN.
Satan hates the Law of God
and always seek to attack it because,
although it is not what saves us,
it points out to us our sins so we can repent,
and open our eyes to our need of a Savior.
3. Did Lord JESUS our Savior keep this Law of love, the Ten Commandments?
[04] John 15:10 I have kept my Father’s Commandments.
Despite many modern Christians joining the Pharisees
in accusing JESUS of breaking His Father’s commandments,
JESUS Himself declared that He had kept all ten of them flawlessly.
He is our perfect example in all things ([21] I Peter 2:21),
especially the indomitable spirit that refuses to compromise with sin,
even when He had to suffer for it.
What JESUS totally disregarded, however, are the laws of men
that the religious leaders made up and heaped upon His Father’s commandments,
like: “thou shalt not heal and relieve suffering people on the sabbath”.
These wicked and cruel rules of men,
which are so obviously contrary to Love and Justice,
are not only never decreed in the Bible,
but are also objects of our Lord’s most decided denunciations.
4. Apart from JESUS, is there anyone else in mankind who is without sin?
[06] Romans 3:23 For All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
Apart from JESUS, there is no one else
possessing a completely pure heart of perfect love.
All mankind has fallen.
Sinfulness roots deep even in our very nature,
and none of us can claim to be without sin, or not a sinner.
5. What is the inevitable result of sin?
[06] Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death.
If the Law of God can be changed or abolished,
JESUS wouldn’t have to die for us on the cross.
The very fact that He and His Father have no other way to save us
but to let a bunch of thugs humiliate and torture Him to death,
is a most decided evidence
proving how impossible it is for this Law to be changed or abolished.
6. Many people said that the Ten Commandments are no longer binding in the New Testament.
What did JESUS Himself say about this?
[01] Matthew 19:17 If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
[04] John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
[27] Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints:
here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of JESUS.
[01] Matthew 5:18, 19 Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so,
he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
To avoid any misunderstanding and twisting of words here,
the Lord had plainly declared the time when “all be fulfilled”
is after “heaven and earth pass”.
And heaven and earth, last time we checked, are still here.
JESUS didn’t mean that these commandment breakers
would still be in Heaven but would have a lower rank,
but He meant that the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven
would regard these individuals as the lowest kind of life form.
Simply because there is no greater wickedness
than after one deliberately breaks any of the commandments of God,
that person would even go on to TEACH others to do the same thing.
[01] Matthew 5:19 …but whosoever shall do and teach,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
We can see the New Testament Scriptures declare very plainly and clearly
how the true children of God will keep His commandments.
The world is currently in so many problems
because so many people are deeming
that obedience to the commandments of God is unimportant.
The Bible has this to prophesy to our age of degeneration:
“It is time for thee, YHWH, to work: for they have made void thy law.” [19] Psalm 119:126.
7. The prophecies of the Bible had foretold which power to be the one
that shall seek to change the Law of God,
pitting itself against these immutable precepts?
[27] Daniel 7: 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws.
This prophecy in [27] Daniel was referring to “the little horn” power,
later on called “the Anti-Christ” by the apostle John,
is infamously renowned for being the second most wicked evil power
right after Satan himself in the Bible.
How unfortunate and heartbreaking it is
that this power turns out to be none other than the Roman Catholic Church,
at least in organizational level,
despite the fact that there are many good believers and clergymen
who are faithful and true within her midst.
See again the study lesson “Who is the Anti-Christ?”
The Vatican did think to change the Ten Commandments of God:
they abolished the second commandment prohibiting the worship of idols,
then split the tenth into two commandments to make up for the number,
and lastly, they cut short the fourth commandment regarding the weekly rest day from 94 words down to 8 words.
It is one thing to ignorantly transgress the Law of God
simply because one never had the chance to know about it.
But it is a completely different thing
to knowingly defy the precepts of YHWH.
And if the Lord condemns even the largest Christian church in the world for attacking His laws,
He certainly will not hold back His denunciation
towards anyone else who would dare to do the same thing.
8. Does living under grace by faith mean
that it is no longer necessary to keep the Ten Commandments of God?
[06] Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin,
because we are not under the law, but under grace?
God forbid!
[06] Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid:
yea, we establish the law.
Shouldn’t those who have sinned and transgressed the Law of God,
after receiving forgiveness and pardon by the blood of our Lord JESUS Christ,
see that they now have a double weight of responsibility to “go and sin no more”,
and start living a life of obedience
to the Law they once deliberately trampled underfoot?
Coming to live under grace by faith
would therefore even establish in former sinners
a spirit of obedience to the commandments of God.
Thus means “we establish the law”.
9. Isn’t obeying the Ten Commandments extremely difficult?
How are we supposed to accomplish it?
[11] Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.
[06] Romans 8:3, 4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
[08] II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Of course, by our own strength,
we stand no chance against Satan
and his overwhelmingly powerful temptations.
But once a person died to the flesh and was reborn in the Spirit,
the Spirit will come and abide in that person,
and the indwelling presence in the soul,
of the One who defeated Satan with just a mortal human body,
completely turns the tide of battle.
The repentant sinner needs only to abide in Christ continually
and maintain a living and constant connection with Him,
and His Spirit will fan up a burning zeal in his heart
to live a holy life as the will of God dictates,
a zeal accompanied by power,
so much stronger than lust and the devil’s temptations,
making obedience possible.
With the power of the living Christ, Christians can overcome sins,
under the condition that they must daily make the decision
to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
This daily habit of leaning on the power of the Lord to resist temptations
will further unfold to the Christians
just how helpless we really are without Him:
we have to depend on Him full-time to be kept from sinning.
Without Him, our nature is just hopelessly rotten to the core,
to respond so readily to temptations and sins.
This is the very thing that the apostle Paul had realized ([06] Romans 7:21-25).
10. What exactly is the Old Testament? Why did it fail?
[05] Deuteronomy 4:13 And He declared unto you his covenant,
which he commanded you to perform,
even Ten Commandments;
and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
[02] Exodus 24:7 they (the Israelites) said: “All that the Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient.”
[19] Hebrews 8:8, 9 For finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
because they continued not in my covenant,
and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
The Old Testament is the Ten Commandments of God
written in 2 tables of stone,
functioning by the promise of obedience of men (WE will do),
and that is why it failed.
The problem with the Old Testament is in the inability of men to obey God,
not in God or His commandments.
They may make the promise of obedience from the sincerity of their hearts,
but it is just simply beyond their power
to follow through with what they promised.
11. What is the New Testament? Is it merely the Ten Commandments too?
[23] Isaiah 42:6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,
and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee,
and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.
[19] Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord;
I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.
The New Testament is no longer merely the Ten Minimum Requirements of God in letter form,
but the complete and perfect version of all His requirements
fulfilled in the life of one man,
an actual Being, given by God to mankind for a covenant,
and that Being is none other than Christ in you, the hope of glory ([12] Colossians 1:27).
The moment a person receives JESUS
to dwell and take control in his soul
by surrendering to Him in faith,
He immediately covers Himself
– including all His righteousness
and His spirit of obedience to His Father’s commandments – over that person,
and all of His victories over temptations and sinful tendencies
are that person’s to claim by faith.
Many people have born witness to this power of JESUS
in shattering sinful shackles of addictions:
when they came to Christ, they were addicted to drugs,
or alcohol, cigarettes, or pornography,
but when they surrendered to Him and believed,
a power overshadowed them
and the addiction was shattered on the spot.
That is a miracle of healing from the Lord,
activated by Him through the faith of those who received Him.
We must understand how JESUS Christ – the One living in us –
had utterly defeated all temptations and sins,
and place an implicit trust in Him
in order for that miracle to be worked out in our lives, daily,
as we keep our eyes on Him.
12. If Christ is such a perfection of righteousness and obedience to God,
can those who knowingly disobey the Ten Commandments
– which are the minimum requirements of God –
possibly be real Christians, having JESUS in them?
[23] I John 2:3, 4 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
[03] Luke 6:46 why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
How can we call ourselves followers of JESUS
if we still willfully fornicate, steal, worship idols,
or transgressing any of the Ten Minimum Requirements of God?
Obedience to God in general,
and obedience to His Ten Commandments specifically,
are not what saves us,
but it is a clear indication
showing whether a person has truly surrendered to the Lord.
True repentance is not merely being sorry for one’s sins, but also willing to make amends for the wrongs committed.
The sins we committed against the Lord, we have to apologize to Him.
The sins we committed against our fellow men, we have to apologize to the Lord AND to those we wronged.
And then as far as possible, we have to make matters right with Him and with others regarding all the damages we caused.
Stolen things must be returned, wrongs must be righted, damages must be recompensed justly, to the best of our ability.
There are many people professing the Lord in their mouths,
but their hearts are still unsurrendered,
refusing to set things right with the Lord and with their fellow men for the wrongs they have committed,
and are still fighting against His Ten Commandments.
The Bible plainly declares such to be unconverted and unsaved still:
they have not yet truly believed and surrendered to the Lord,
whether it is a believer, a deacon, a pastor, or even the Pope.
13. To the truly repentant sinners, what motivates them to obey the Law of God?
[23] I John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.
[06] Romans 13:10 Love is the fulfilling of the law.
[01] Matthew 22:37, 39 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…
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Love is the only right motivation for an obedient life.
The first four commandments are about our relationship with the Lord.
When we love Him, obeying them becomes a delight.
The last six commandments are about our relationship with each others.
When we love our neighbours, we will not do them any harm.
We will not render obedience to the commandments of God for the sake of being saved,
but for the sake of Love,
because we have been saved by His amazing grace.
14. What amazing benefits does keeping the Law of the Ten Commandments bring right in this life?
[20] Proverbs 29:18 He that keepeth the law, happy is he.
[19] Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law:
and nothing shall offend them.
The commandments of God aren’t prison bars
to prevent our happiness and limit our freedom!
They are protective barriers
that fence us from climbing over and falling off the cliff!
They are the blessings of God, the guardians of our happiness.
It is us, with our stubbornness,
that just love to go against the Creator’s principles of Love
to bring miseries upon miseries to ourselves and others.
Meanwhile, happiness, joy, peace, and a fulfilled life
await those who keep the Law of God.
No wonder why king David said
they are more precious than gold! [19] Psalm 19:10.
Every single one of them prohibited a certain sin,
of which trespasses automatically entail severe consequences.
For instance, the commandment “thou shalt not kill”.
It is not there to rob us of the joy of murdering other people,
but to protect us from being killed ourselves,
when our turns inevitably come.
It is thanks to this law being issued and enforced,
that we can enjoy the freedom to walk on the street
and not having to fear for our lives every moment!
Or the commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery”.
It is not there to rob us of the joy of fornication,
but to protect us from the hurt
that will inevitably come when this sin is committed.
How many babies have been murdered by abortion,
how many families have been shattered,
how many souls have been permanently wounded
because this sin is being committed
by so many people in this wicked and adulterous generation?
15. The Law of God is actually ordained to safeguard our very happiness,
and we ourselves were designed to function according to that law,
to build up a loving relationship with our Creator and with others.
If cars ought to function according to the instructions of the manufacturers,
aren’t we humans ought to yield obedience to our “Manufacturer” even more?
Appendix
I. The common misunderstandings of the New Testament.
There are two common misunderstandings about the New Testament.
1) Mistaking that the New Testament is still simply the Ten Commandments,
but written in the heart instead of being carved to rocks.
This is not true, because [23] Isaiah 51:7 plainly declares
that even in the time of the Old Testament,
the people of God have been those in whose heart is His law.
They did not need to wait until after Lord JESUS rose from the dead.
2) Mistaking that having the Lord dwelling in the soul
means one no longer needs to keep the Ten Commandments.
Truly, there is no other heresy of Satan
that can shake the whole Heaven in indignation than this one,
for it is an open insult to the entire life of perfect obedience,
full of sweat, blood and tears of the Son of God,
lowering His noble sacrifice down to a license to sin
for the wicked to continue wallowing in the mud of sins.
This heresy started to arise around the end of the 19th century,
when the Christian community began to realize
they have been misunderstanding
and disobeying one of the Ten Commandments of God,
and because they do not want to obey that one commandment,
the wicked sought to abolish all Ten
by making up this heresy and spreading it.
Before that time, churches across different denominations
were always in agreement in regard to the Christians’ responsibility to obey the Ten Commandments.
Both of these misunderstandings about the New Testament were incorrect views,
leading to a false conception of the journey to follow JESUS.
Obviously when He shall come to earth the second time,
His true church cannot possibly still be in the fog about this most basic truth of His Word.
II. Using the Ten Commandments as a witnessing tool.
Three very simple steps:
1) Showing to the listeners briefly that there IS a Creator God. Review the two lessons “The Vision of Ages” and “Evolutionism or Creationism” for needed knowledge.
2) Use the Ten Commandments to convict their conscience. Ask them the following questions:
– Do you consider yourself to be a good person?
– Let us test your evaluation of yourself: have you ever lied?
– Have you ever stolen something?
Perhaps a pirated movie or software?
– The Lord said: “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Have you ever looked at someone to lust?
– We have just been through only 3 of 10 commandments,
the moral law of God, and there are 7 left.
Now if God would just judge you squarely by the Law,
would you be innocent or guilty?
– Then Heaven or Hell?
Now, God does not delight one bit in people having to go to Hell,
because He loves human beings.
And it is because He loves us so much,
He was willing to pay a very costly price to do a certain thing,
so that you and I will not HAVE TO go to Hell.
Have you ever heard what it is that He did?
=> Explain the cross of Christ to them.
The principle is: “Grace for the humble, Law for the proud.”
To those who have humbled themselves,
admitting themselves as sinners, administer grace unto them.
But to those who lift themselves up as righteous,
thinking they need no Saviour,
use the Law to humble them down to their true condition.
The churches who abolished the Ten Commandments of God nowadays
do not know what powerful tool they have discarded
to bring sinners to repentance and faith in JESUS,
and thus their evangelism efforts,
instead of directly convicting people’s conscience by the Ten Commandments,
have changed into merry-making and songs-singing,
using fun and unholy interests as bait to attract and keep believers.
This is a terrible mistake,
that had to pay the price of repeated mass apostasy by believers,
right after they are disillusioned from seeking selfish interests
in this life from the Lord,
and realized that “all that will live godly in Christ JESUS shall suffer persecution.” [16] II Timothy 3:12.
While singing joyfully when coming to the Lord is absolutely right,
and we certainly can gain a lot of temporal benefits in this life,
even financial benefits,
all these things can never be allowed to occupy the position of true repentance
and the sincere desire to seek salvation for the soul,
to become the primary motivation to surrender to JESUS.
You must recognize yourself as a sinner before the Lord in order to stand in Him,
and to do that, you need the Ten Commandments,
which must be maintained as the Minimum Requirements of God that human beings must obey,
and can only find forgiveness for trespassing them,
and the power and the holy heart to love and obey them,
in Christ JESUS, the Son of the living God.
In the next lesson, we shall take a closer look into the Father-Son relationship between them,
and the method by which they will be with us
and empower us to defeat all sins and odds.
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