What are the Ten Commandments?

Answer

The Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue) are ten laws in the Bible that God gave to the nation of Israel shortly after the exodus from Egypt. They serve as a summary of the 613 commandments found in the Old Testament Law. The initial four commandments focus on our relationship with God, while the remaining six address our interactions with others. These commandments are documented in the Bible in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, and they are as follows:

1) “You shall have no other gods before me.” This command prohibits the worship of any deity other than the one true God, as all other gods are considered false.

2) “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This command warns against creating an idol, a visible representation of God, as no image can truly depict God. Crafting an idol to symbolize God equates to worshipping a false deity.

3) “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” This command instructs against using the Lord’s name in vain. It emphasizes the importance of treating God’s name with reverence, mentioning Him only in respectful and honorable ways.

4) “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” This commandment emphasizes the observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest andThe LORD created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” This is a directive to set aside the Sabbath (Saturday, the last day of the week) as a day of rest dedicated to the Lord.

5) “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” This is an instruction to always treat one’s parents with honor and respect.

6) “You shall not murder.” This is a prohibition against the premeditated murder of another human being.

7) “You shall not commit adultery.” This is a prohibition against engaging in sexual relations with anyone other than one’s spouse.

8) “You shall not steal.” This is a prohibition against taking anything that is not one’s own, without the permission of the person to whom it belongs.

9) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” This is a prohibition against testifying against another person falsely. It is essentially a prohibition against lying.

10) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This is a prohibition against desiring anything that is not one’s own. Coveting can lead to breaking one of the commandments listed above: murder, adultery, and theft. If it is wrong to do something, it is wrong to desire to do that same something.

Many people mistakenly view the Ten Commandments as a set of rules that, if followed, will guarantee entrance into heaven after death. In contrast, the purpose of the Ten Commandments is to compel people to realize that they cannot perfectly obey the Law (Romans 7:7-11), and are therefore in need of God’s mercy and grace. Despite the claims of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16, no one can perfectly obey the Ten Commandments «For there is not a just man upon

“Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”, (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The Ten Commandments show that we all have sinned “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;”, (Romans 3:23) and therefore, we need God’s mercy and grace, which are only available through faith in Jesus Christ.