WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS

by Betty Miller

If you have ever asked these questions, we think that you will be blessed by this in-depth look at the Ten Commandments. How did they come about? The Ten Commandments are the 10 basic laws that God commanded Israel to obey in the Old Testament. The laws were given to Moses by God, Himself. Moses was called of God to go up into a mountain and there God gave him these commandments so he could return and give them to the Israelites. They were written in tablets of stone by the finger of God. The story is recorded in Exodus 24:12-13:

Here are the Ten Commandments that God spoke and wrote for Moses to give to His people:

The Ten Commandments (KJV)
Exodus 20:1-17

Condensed they would read as follows:

Number 1: Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Beside Me

Number 2: Thou Shalt Not Worship Any Graven Images

Number 3: Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the Lord Thy God in Vain

Number 4: Remember the Sabbath Day to Rest and Keep it Holy

Number 5: Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

Number 6: Thou Shalt Not Kill

Number 7: Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

Number 8: Thou Shalt Not Steal

Number 9: Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness

Number 10: Thou Shalt Not Covet Anything That is Thy Neighbor's

The Ten Commandments Offer Guidance

If we want holy guidance we must study the word of God and find out what God has to say about life and human experience, so that we can be guided by His Word. Neither my opinion, nor anyone else's opinions are sufficient to solve the problems of humanity. The answers can only be found in God's Word. He is the creator of all things, and He has the answers for His creation. He is the Judge and final authority on every subject.

By keeping His Word and His commandments we will not stumble, but will have light on our pathway of life; therefore,  we should make it a priority to understand His ways. If you do not know the Ten Commandments, you are among a big company. Recent statistics state that the average Christian scored very low when tested for knowledge of the Ten Commandments. Most of us do not know the Ten Commandments, and many cannot even name three of them. That's really a sad commentary for Christians.

The 10 Commandments are the 10 basic laws that God commanded Israel to obey in the Old Testament. Since all believers in Christ make up "spiritual Israel," these laws are still valid for us to live by. Some people think that these precepts do not apply to Christians today as they are the Old Testament law. I have heard people make this statement, "Well that's the old law, we don't have to keep the old law." The Bible teaches that the Old Testament law is the foundation for the New Testament commandments.

We actually are called to keep a higher law under the new covenant. In the Old Testament they were judged on their deeds and their actions. The New Testament we are judged by what goes on in our hearts. The Bible deals all the way through the New Testament about what goes on in the heart of man. Jesus dealt with the heart attitudes of men. He always put His finger right on the motives of men. In the Old Testament men were commanded not to commit murder. In the New Testament the Bible tells us if we have hatred in our hearts for a brother we are guilty of murder even if we do not commit the actual deed.

1 John 3:15 says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

Let us see what the Bible says about the importance of knowing and keeping God’s laws.

In above verse, the Lord instructs us to "attend to" or to "pay attention" to His words. The commandments of God are His Words to us. They are life! The Bible says if we put God's Word into our hearts it will produce the blessings of life.

In computer language we understand the expression, GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out). If we put garbage into our spirits, that is what will come out. Likewise, if we fill our heart with the good things of the Spirit, that is also what will come out. Spiritually, as well as physically, "we are what we eat!"

In Matthew 12:34-37, Jesus lays out an important principle. Speaking to the Pharisees, He says: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by their words they shall be justified and by their words they shall be condemned."

Jesus said that we will either be justified or condemned by the words that we speak. Therefore, it is extremely important that we watch what comes out of our mouths. God wants His words of life and truth to come out of our spirit. For this to happen, however, we must read, study and receive the Word of God in our hearts. It can only come out of our hearts, if it has been planted there! If we do not take the time to study and know His commandments and His words, they will not come forth in our life.

God is doing many wonderful things in this hour; however, Satan is countering with his deception and counterfeits. Our world is becoming more volatile and changes are occurring rapidly. There are huge waves of satanic corruption coming against our culture. All over the world, we are faced with demonic filth that is paraded before us with very little shame.

A recent statistic, at the time of this writing, showed that in the United States, a crime is committed every three seconds and a murder is committed every half hour. Millions of children are victimized by kiddie pornography. There are hundreds of magazine titles dealing with child pornography, let alone the filth that is available through the Internet. Every year, there are a quarter of a million child abuse victims. An estimated ten per cent of the U.S. population is addicted to cocaine. There are millions of alcoholics in the U.S., and thousands of people die on our highways each year because of liquor, not to mention the other alcohol related deaths. Teen suicide and pregnancy are major problems as well as sexual abuse and rape. Millions of women around the world will be sexually abused this year.

I share the above statistics because there are some people who believe that the Ten Commandments are out of date, and are not relevant for today. If the Ten Commandments had been kept, we wouldn't have committed these sins in our nation and there would be no statistics to report such as this. Therefore, the Ten Commandments are not out of date today. They are very much in date and are needed today so that healing and wholeness can come to our world.

The Ten Commandments are actually broken up into two basic sections. The first four commandments deal specifically with our relationship with God. The last six commandments deal with our relationship with other human beings. It is important to note that the commandments that focus on God come first. If we keep the first four commandments, the next six will be easier to keep as well. Much of the world focuses on keeping the last six commandments; and they believe that because they are leading a "moral" life, they are acceptable before God. Treating our fellow man in a righteous manner is extremely important to God. However, the first four commandments are more important than the last six. They are the foundation of the law. God wants us to treat each other as we ourselves would like to be treated. However, we can only do that to the extent that we are like God, and we are only like Him to the extent that we know Him and love Him. The knowledge and love of Him is obtained through keeping the first four commandments.

In the time of Christ, there was much discussion in Israel about the law and how to fulfill it. Jesus made the answer very simple by focusing on two verses from the Old Testament that sum up the entire law.

Jesus’ answer was based on two scriptures from the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. According to Jesus, these are the verses that summed up the whole of the Law.

The first command deals with our relationship with God and second command deals with our relationship with others. Therefore we might say that the first four commandments are summed in the phrase that we are to "love the Lord with all our heart, soul and strength." The next six commandments are also summed up in one phrase; that we are to "love our neighbor as ourselves."

The Ten Commandments can be very simple for us to remember, if we know the concepts behind them: Love God and Love everyone else. If we keep these commands in the proper order and at the forefront of our heart and mind, we cannot go wrong. Love is the highest command and love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8). Love is the essence of the Law.

One may wonder why a study of the Ten Commandments are in order, if the Law has already been simplified to these two basic commandments. Why should we complicate the matter by adding a list of do’s and don’ts to such a beautiful and simple law of love? The answer is this: Do you already know how to love God perfectly? Do you know how to love others perfectly? Of course we don't without God showing us–although we eagerly anticipate the day when we will be just like Christ and then, having such love will come naturally to us. Until then, we must let the Spirit of God work within us and learn His ways and follow them. The essence of the Law is love, but it is the Ten Commandments that show us how to love. Without these commandments, the instructions to love would be very difficult to keep as everyone has a different idea about love. These commandments show us not only what love is, but also how we are to live by it in our everyday life.

His desire has been consistent from the beginning of the creation of man, and has been plainly stated in the Old Testament:

Again, in the following verse we see that God’s desire was for His law to be in our hearts, and not just an outward action. This verse speaks of the future covenant that God would make with His people, which was established in Christ. (Emphasis in following verses is mine).

There were many who lived under the Old Covenant, such as King David, who approached God with a New Covenant mentality. He knew that God desired more of him than merely keeping a list of rules. He wanted more than just a checklist to measure his righteousness and acceptability before God. He knew that God desired him to be an intimate friend and he wanted to know God in the same way.

Just as some under the Old Covenant lived with a New Covenant mentality; today, it is possible to have an Old Covenant mentality, even through one may be a Christian, and technically living under the New Covenant. Obeying the Law is not the end of the matter. It is only a vehicle to get us to the end of the matter, which is to enter into a mutual relationship of love and trust with God, where our hearts are consumed with love for Him. If we look at the law as the end of the matter, we will have the mentality of what we look like toward others, while God looks at our hearts and motives.  However, if our hearts and motives are pure, certainly our actions will line up with our hearts. Those who walk to be seen of men as good, while inside they are not, are hypocrites. God way is to write His law on our hearts and make us holy from the inside out.

I feel that it is necessary to interject a very important point here. God commands us to study His word. However, it is how we receive the word of God that makes all the difference in our lives. The Pharisees were known for their strict observance of the Law. They were very zealous for knowing and keeping the commandments of God, far more than the average Israelite. Yet, we find Jesus constantly rebuking them for their evil hearts.

Therefore we can see that it is possible to know the laws of God, but to no avail. We can study His word in-depth and still bear no harvest of righteousness. This is a sobering thought for all who wish to know the law and ways of God. We must be aware that the more we understand of His ways and righteousness, the greater the temptation we have to judge and condemn those who are not where we are. This is the temptation that the Pharisees fell into. They kept the outward law better than anyone in Israel, and yet they missed the entire point of it. Their lives were consumed with keeping the tiniest detail of the law and yet they broke the greatest commandments of love. Their self-righteous behavior indicated that the one thing they loved most was not God or even other people, but themselves. Let us learn from the mistake of the Pharisees. If we strive to obey these laws so that we may feel righteous and better than others, we have already broken them. If we strive to keep these commandments in an outward manner, while neglecting the inner principles of them, we are worse than a lawbreaker–we are a hypocrite.

What is one of the most despised and unattractive qualities that a human can possess? Wouldn’t we all agree that we hate interacting with someone who has a superior attitude towards us and the rest of the world? Whether they are right or wrong in their position matters little when all they have for others is criticism and condemnation. Those who treat others with contempt and arrogance are among the least liked people on the planet! This attitude is distasteful to God as well. He would rather be with one sinner who has a little humility, than one hundred "righteous" people who are prideful and intolerant of others.

Luke 18:10-14:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Self-righteousness always blinds us to the truth. The more self-righteous we are, the less of a true understanding we will have concerning who God really is. How else could it be that those who studied Scripture more than any others were the greatest stumbling blocks to those who sought the truth? How could it be that those who were most diligent in the Word, missed the author of the Word as He walked among them? Not only did they not recognize Him, but they violently opposed Him!

The Pharisees and lawyers of the day knew the Scriptures backwards and forwards. Yet, for all their study, they never saw the figure of Christ within the Scripture. In the following Scripture we see the accusation that Jesus makes against them. As we begin this study of the Ten Commandments, let us also take these words to heart, lest we also fall into the same trap as them.

I want to make a few quick points from this verse. First, we can see that though the Pharisees diligently read the Word, and believed that they had eternal life through it, they were deceived. The word of God did not actually abide within them. They knew the Word, but it did not live in their hearts. If it did, they would have recognized the Lord when He came amongst them. Jesus also pointed out that it was impossible for them to believe in Him, as long as they were seeking honor from each other, rather than God.

Let us decide, therefore, that we will not seek after the honor and praise of men, whether they be of the world, or within the walls of religion. Seeking such praise will always hinder our faith. We must never read the Scriptures in an attempt to discern how we may obtain glory or praise, but rather how God alone may be glorified. It is not merely knowing the Scriptures, but rather it is living by them that saves us.

It is noble to commit the Bible to our memory, as long as we do it for the right reason. But we must remember that playing with Scripture is like playing with dynamite. There is power in those words! The same Scripture that has the power to work for our life can also work for our death. If it is received wrongly, the very words that are intended to bring light, bring blindness instead. As soon as we mix our Bible Study with self-righteousness, we begin to have blurred vision. If we continue to mix these two, we will eventually be as blind as the Pharisees, who did not even know that they were blind.

The more exposure to the Bible that we have, the greater responsibility we have to walk in truth. If we use our knowledge wrongfully, we are worse off than if we had never heard it in the first place. Someone may ask, "Well then, wouldn’t I be safer never reading the Bible at all? That way I won’t have to be held responsible for my actions."

Actually, there is no safety in ignoring the Word of God. Ignoring it is even more dangerous. It contains the instructions to life, and tells us what will take place in the future. If we do not read those instructions, and understand those prophecies, how can we make wise decisions that will lead us to life? Lack of knowledge leads to destruction.

The wise person will take to heart the lessons of the past and consider the message that pertains to the future, so that he or she may find their own place and purpose in the world right now. The Bible is meant to bring light to our daily existence. It is the rod by which we may measure our heart. It is the message that shows us how to both overcome in this world, and to live in the next one as well.

Therefore we can see that the answer to this dilemma is actually quite simple. The only possible path that we are left with is to read and study God’s Word, with a humble and open heart to hear from God. We must be willing to drop all preconceived ideas, and acknowledge that the words we are reading are meant specifically for us (so often we apply the words of the Bible to others, when God wants us to look inside our own heart). Many have read the Bible, but have not been able to understand the message because their hearts were closed and dull.

If you want understanding, we are confident that the Lord will give it to you. He never holds Himself back from the one who truly desires to know Him. Before we go any farther in this study, let us pray for the guidance of the Lord:

All the way through the Bible, God deals with what goes on in the heart of man. Jesus especially focused His teaching on this issue. He always put His finger right on the motives of men. In the Old Testament, men were commanded not to commit murder. In the New Testament, Jesus further explained what this meant, by getting to the heart of the issue: hatred.

Because the heart issue is so important to God, in this study we will attempt to examine both the outward commandments, as well as the principals behind the commandment. We will also examine the internal motives that cause us to break them in the first place. God is calling us out of the world of slavery to sin, into a world of absolute freedom in Him.

In these verses, it says that God brought His people out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery or bondage. Egypt is a "type" of world and the devil. God will bring anyone who chooses to follow Him out of the bondage of sin and into God's freedom. Some of us have lived in bondage so long that we have a hard time adjusting to our new freedom. We are used to being in a cage, in a prison. Even after God brings us out it takes a while for us to operate in the freedom of Christ and learn the new laws of God and His ways.

Several years ago, we bought some chickens from a poultry farm. They were chickens who had lived their entire lives in a cage. We took them out to our ranch and turned them loose to freely run in the chicken yard and go in and out of the chicken house at will. As we placed them on the chicken house floor they didn't move. The poor little things had lived in cages all their life so they just stayed right in the chicken house. They didn't even know how to roost. They didn't even get up on the roost at night. They stayed huddled together on the floor. They were used to sleeping under a light because the poultry farmer kept a light lamp on them to make them lay more eggs. Men have devised ways to get the most out of everything, no matter if it's good for the animal or not. Because they were used to the light, they would sleep outside huddled under the moon on the ground.

They didn't even know how to drink water the regular way because they had only known to drink water out of a little bottle with a little red tip on it. They had always gone over and pushed that little tip and gotten their water out. Now, they had fresh running water yet they didn't even know how to drink. One of them almost drowned trying to learn how to drink. These chickens didn't know what freedom was. I don't know if they would have ever enjoyed their freedom without someone to teach them what to do. But we had some older chickens that were already there and after the new ones watched them for awhile they discovered a new way of living. Living with the older chickens for a time and learning from them they got liberated. Hallelujah! They found out that they could go anyplace in the barnyard. But it took them a while.

Humans are the same way. We are creatures of habit. We don't realize it, but we do things out of habit. God wants to break old habits and old things out of our lives that do not glorify Him. As soon as we become born again, the Holy Spirit will deal with various issues in our lives. We immediately begin to know and understand by the Spirit that certain things that seemed acceptable yesterday no longer can be tolerated. The Lord begins to mold us into the image of His Son and we see that our old habits are not fitting for God's kingdom or His house.

If somebody comes to visit our house and they have bad habits we will tolerate them on short-term basis. Out of the graciousness of our heart, we won't say anything. We will just put up with it and once they leave we will clean up behind them. However, if somebody comes to live with us, the rules are different. We may say, "Wait a minute. We have rules in this house. This is how we live here. We do not do these things in this house."

It's the same way with our Heavenly Father. When we come to God's house with some bad, filthy habits, He begins to show us the way out of bondage. Now that we are living in His house, the rules are different. God gives us commandments and rules so that we know what is acceptable in His house. If someone came to live in our own home with us, there would be certain rules they would be asked to follow. It would not be acceptable to throw the towels down on the bathroom floor. There would be certain things that we would expect of them. We would expect them to make up their beds when they got up in the morning. They would help with cleaning up the dishes, because we like our house to be neat and clean.

God likes His house neat and clean too. He says that those filthy things that we used to do are not acceptable in His house. That is the reason He gives us rules. The laws and commandments of God are given so that we might live a blessed life in this earth. God gives us these rules out of His love for us. As we study each of them, we will see how God designed them to be a blessing. His commandments come from His love for us.

When we first come into the kingdom, many of us don't know how to respond to this new freedom from sin. We have walked the old way for so long. We have bad habits and bad thought patterns. We are used to the old ways but God wants to show us a new way. This new way is by faith, walking in the Spirit and trusting God to break the old habits. He will certainly do it for anyone who desires to change. His power and grace are enough to transform us all.

As we begin this study of the commandments, let us remember that none of these come naturally to fallen human beings. These are not things that we all naturally do. That is why God repeatedly tells us to remember these commands. He knows how easy it is for us to forget them! We automatically respond to things in a certain way. However, God is saying to us, "I want to show you the new way by the Spirit, I'm going to give you My Spirit to break the old habits."

As we go through this study and see the principles of God behind these commandments, I believe that we will gain a greater appreciation of not only why these commandments were written, but also how to keep them in a way that pleases God. Jesus is our model in this endeavor, for He above all men, has kept the commandments of God in absolute perfection. He was the sinless One, the perfect sacrifice for our sin. His death and resurrection has opened a "new and living way" into the Holy place of God. This place is open, not to just a few saintly few, but to anyone who desires to enter therein.

Many, in their fear of becoming like a Pharisee, have thrown out much of the law and live with very low standards of holiness. Surely this reaction against legalism is not the answer. Self-righteous legalism and unholy liberty are both equally defiling and evil in the sight of God. Both send the wrong message to those who do not yet know God, and neither of these extremes can lead us, or anyone else, to Life. Both of these extremes oppose the work of the Cross and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Despite the failure of many who have gone before us to obtain the path of life, let us not be discouraged. God is calling us to press onward, in humility, holiness, and a burning fire of love for Him. The tools He has given us are more than abundant, and God’s power works strongly in behalf of those who seek Him with a pure heart. In fact, we will find that the more of ourselves that we give to the Lord, the greater ease we have in living and walking in His ways. As we yield to the dealings of the Holy Spirit in our life and as we seek to know and obey the word of God, we will achieve the most precious gift in the universe: eternal life with Lord of Life. His righteousness will be truly written on our heart, and we will share in His joy and freedom. Great peace awaits those who diligently give all that they are, that they may know the Lord of Glory, and obtain the priceless treasure of these few words taken from Matthew 25:21:

This is number one of a series of teachings about The Ten Commandments. We will be posting the additional studies soon.