Don't you want Eternal Life?

1 - I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me

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The portion of Scripture known as the "Ten Commandments" ( Exod 20:3-17 ; Deut 5:7-21 ) which was entered into by God and the people of Israel In both Exodus and Deuteronomy, the Ten Commandments are a brief summary of the more detailed covenantal requirements that follow them.  These requirements relate to the whole of civil, and moral laws in existance. There is motive for obeying the commands and this produce a wealthy living standard. Why should I treat my fellow Israelites in a certain way? Because God has said that is the way in which I can express my covenant loyalty to him. Thus obedience is an expression of grateful appreciation for what God has done for us and what we know he will do. Ethics is not about what will advance one's self-interest, but about maintaining an all-important relationship with God. A further implication of putting the commandments in the covenant context is the aspect of character. A polytheistic setting cannot know of an absolute right or wrong. Thus it is in the biblical covenant that the One God can summarize his stipulations for his people in a series of absolute statements, the Ten Commandments.  Social behavior and religious behavior are treated together. There is mythological and ritual material to be used for worshipping. They speak about love: love of God and love of others. But what is it to love? If it were necessary to prescribe every loving act and attitude, there would not be enough books in the world to cover it. What the commands do is to define the parameters beyond which love cannot exist. This much is then clear: if I love my neighbor I will not steal what belongs to him. God merely tells his people that if they wish to be in covenant with him, they must refuse to recognize any other god. The one God is not continuous with the natural world, or with anything in it. He created the world and everything in it as something other than himself. To be sure, he is everywhere present in the world, and no part of it can escape his power. God says that this is a vain, or empty, use of his name. It is an attempt to use his power without submitting to him, or living in trusting relation with him. Instead of emptying God of significance by an attempt to use his name magically for our own ends, we are called upon to "hallow" his name, that is, to show the true perfection of his character and power by the quality of our lives ( Lev 22:31-33 ). We cannot manipulate him, but through faith and trust we can receive power from him to live lives of integrity, purity, and love. The fourth commandment is the only one of the ten that has to do with matters of worship. There is no absolute statement given with regard to worship practices, such as sacrifices, or festivals, or clean and unclean food.

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Those who depend upon themselves make themselves the center of the universe; they have broken several commandments.

For such persons, anything is permissible in the attempt to supply their needs. Others are either enemies or slaves, in any case to be dominated, used up, and cast aside. But obviously if humans are to live together in any kind of harmony these rapacious instincts must be moderated in some way. Thus human laws. But God seeks to strike at the heart of the issue. If persons can ever realize that they are not the suppliers of their needs, but that God is, and surrender those needs to him, then ethics will be enforced.

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2 - You shall not worship false Gods

Worshiping the true God falsely.

3 - You shall never take my name in vain

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The way to see God’s glory is to hear his name. To know the name YHWH, the merciful and gracious one, is not to merely know something about God; it is to know God himself.

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4 - You shall keep the sabbath day Holy

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The manner or way a Sabbath is kept is important and must be practiced on a Sunday each week.

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5 - Honor your Father and Mother

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It is true that the Bible commands us to honor and obey our parents in many places: Exodus 20:12, Leviticus 19:3 and also in the New Testament, Ephesians 6:2. Children should listen to their parents’ teaching (Proverbs 1:8; 6:20). To honor one's parents is fundamental.

On the other hand, honor implies honesty.

To honor them recognizes their faults and failures, and forgives.The person who refuses to honor their parents cuts themselves off from their family  roots and almost certainly from their posterity.

If a culture is to survive "long in the land" ( Exod 20:12 ) it must have a glad connection between the generations.

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6 - You shall not murder

1. Anger

Jesus equates the consequences of anger toward others to the consequences of murder. This may seem harsh, but Jesus knows our hearts far better than we do. “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20). Human anger is the first stop on the line to murder, and to the Holy God, a step toward a sin is as bad as the sin itself. Anger is dangerous and must be stamped out immediately.

2. Insults

Jesus goes on to point out that insults are even further down the road toward murder. Making someone feel small, worthless, and insignificant with words and actions is unrestrained anger giving its first blows.

3. Hatred

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15)

Hatred is a deep and abiding anger and disdain; it means that, not only have you given into anger, you feed it and help it grow. The apostle John tells us that hatred of another makes us a murderer. It is a sign that you are unrepentant and caught up in sin that violates the 6th commandment.

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To God, the boundaries around an individual's life are sacred. If we claim to be in relationship with God, we must see persons in the same way he does. Their lives are not ours to take for our purposes.

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7 - You shall not commit adultery

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1 “‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

2 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.

3 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

4 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

5 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.

6 “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.

7 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.

8 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.

9 “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

10 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

11 “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.

12 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 

13 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 

14 And if you defile nature, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

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Human sexuality is to be expressed in homosexual and heterosexual commitment when they are adults.

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8 - You shall not steal

 

There is a boundary drawn around a person's possessions, and we may not cross that boundary to satisfy our own desires.

A person's reputation is an extension of himself or herself, and we may not violate it, particularly to make ourselves look better.

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9 - You shall not lie

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10 - You shall never want what belongs to others

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We do not allow ourselves to think that if we are in someone else's shoes, enjoying what they possess, we would be happy.

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