The Ten Commandments were sent by God, not just for the children of Israel in Moses’ day, but for us as followers of Christ, to obey the law of God.
Exodus 20 starts off with “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.” Knowing this, that God, the Comforter, Helper, Intercessor, brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt shows how wonderful and powerful He is, and therefore these commandments have been set before us to obey and follow, just like we are to obey and follow God.
The First Commandment
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (V3)
God has instructed us to personally know, glorify, follow, worship and recognise God to be the One True God - we are to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24), and that means to follow Him reverently, wholly and absolutely.
The Second Commandment
“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. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (V4-6)
God has instructed us worship Him, and Him alone - nothing or no one else. This can fall into worshipping money, celebrities, or anything that takes away our attention from God, our Redeemer. God’s Word tells us how we are to worship, through reading His Word daily (Joshua 1:8); meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2); sing praises to Him (Psalm 27:6); to worship corporately with others (Matthew 18:20); and by spreading the gospel so that others, too, can worship the One true God (Mark 16:15)
The Third Commandment
“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.” (V7)
The name of the Lord is holy (Isaiah 6:3) and therefore we should use it only to glorify His name. Many of today’s tv shows and films will take the Lord’s name in vain; people at your school or workplace will say “Jesus” or “God” in sentences that don’t reflect on worship or honouring the name of God.
The Fourth Commandment
“Remember the sabbath 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.” (V8-11)
Sundays are set aside in our home for worshipping God, publicly and corporately - this is not just something we do because the Bible says so, we as born again Christians worship together, through praises and messages from God, because God instructed us to do so (1 Timothy 4:13). We have been given six days to go to work, do our shopping, go to the cinema, eat at a restaurant. God wants us to set one day aside to solely spend with Him.
The Fifth Commandment
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” (V12)
I was always taught to honour my parents, and ashamedly I didn’t always do that, but God instructs us to because it pleases the Lord (Colossians 3:20; Proverbs 1:8). It is also the first commandment with a promise from God - “that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee”. Parents have a role in this commandment as well. They are to bring them up in as God instructs them to - conversing with them pleasantly (Ephesians 6:4); to teach them godliness (Proverbs 22:6); to love unconditionally like that Lord loves us (Jeremiah 31:3); and, bringing them up in respect of themselves and others (Titus 2:4-5), all of which are just a few of God’s instructions to parents.
The Sixth Commandment
“Thou shalt not kill.” (V13)
God wants us to preserve our lives and the lives of others - this means to stay alive. There are so many hot discussions around suicide, assisted suicide, abortion and murder. In times like these, we turn to God’s Word for advice and encouragement - our bodies are temples because God dwells there (1 Corinthians 6:19-20); God can mend our wounds, in His time (Psalm 147:3); God chooses when we die because He created us for His purpose and pleasure (Ecclesiastes 7:17; Jeremiah 29:11); God will judge those who take a life, whether it is through abortion or murder (Leviticus 24:17; Genesis 9:5-6). Through heartache, pain, wrong decisions and life-changing experiences, God remains the same, and for those who love Him, God will work those things out for good (Romans 8:28).
The Seventh Commandment
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (V14)
God instructs us to love one another intimately, through marriage. Jesus says that if someone lusts after another, they have committed adultery in their heart (Matthew 5:27-28). Marriage is a vow, not just legally, but in the presence of God, between a man and a woman (1 Corinthians 6:9; Isaiah 62:5; Genesis 2:22-24). We are to preserve our own bodies, just as much as everyone else’s (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5) through words, thoughts and actions (Ephesians 5:3-4)
The Eighth Commandment
“Thou shalt not steal.” (V15)
God commands us not to steal - this includes doing honest work (Ephesians 4:28), not committing burglary (Matthew 6:19-21), not committing fraud (Romans 13:7; Luke 3:13-14). Stealing can fall under kidnap because we are to love everyone (Mark 12:31). God instructs us not to be full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25), because God will supply our every need (Philippians 4:19) when we are struggling financially, physically, etc if we only ask and pray about it.
The Ninth Commandment
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” (V16)
God’s Word is an instruction book, for us to spread the gospel of God’s love for His people, but judgement and wrath to come for those who do not accept Christ as their Saviour. We are to tell and continue the ministry that Christ started on earth (Luke 3:22-23). Proverbs 6:16-19 says that God hates seven things, one of which is “a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren”. God’s Word says that a faithful servant of His will speak truth, yet the false witness will do the opposite (Proverbs 14:5).
The Tenth Commandment
“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.” (V17)
God wants us to love our neighbour, as this is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-39), therefore we should not desire what our friends, family, strangers have or attempt to gain or win anything that belongs to them. It creates hatred in your heart, leaving you still in darkness (1 John 2:9-11). “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” is the thoughts we should have towards our neighbours, for God created them to be loved (John 15:13).
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