The Ten Commandments redux and what comes next

Last week we finished going through the Ten Commandments. Here they are again,in a greatly simplified form.

No other gods.

No idols.

No blasphemy.

Keep the Sabbath holy.

Honor your parents.

No murder.

No sex with someone you're not married to.

No stealing.

No lying.

No coveting.

Next week I hope to start the Lord's Prayer.

The ninth commandment

16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

-- Exodus 20.16

A simpler way to put this is "Don't lie." I've always told my daughters that lying is the worst thing they can do to someone. It's one thing to do something wrong but lying is like spitting in someone's face while you do it.

And don't try to be technically honest while trying to deceive people. You might fool some human beings in this world, but you'll never fool God.

The eighth commandment

15 "You shall not steal.

-- Exodus 20.15, ESV

This is another commandment that's very simple and very straightforward. But what if I really need something? Don't steal. But what if somebody steals from me? Don't steal. But what if -- ? Don't steal.

You're not allowed an excuse. That's why they're called the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions.

The seventh commandment

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

-- Exodus 20.14, ESV 

This is very simple. Adultery is just sex with someone you aren't married to. Therefore, don't have sex with with someone you're not married to.

That's black and white. Only people make it complicated.

The sixth commandment

13 "You shall not murder.

-- Exodus 20.13, ESV 

While governments were given the right of capital punishment immediately after the Flood, and unintentional killing could be forgiven under the law, premeditated homicide has always been strictly forbidden. The murder of an image-bearer of God is extremely serious, and should be treated extremely seriously 

The fifth commandment

12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

-- Exodus 20.12, ESV

As with most things, it's easier to say what this commandment doesn't mean than what it does. The most important thing it doesn't mean, and the biggest misconception, involves obedience. Neither here nor anywhere else in Scripture are we told to obey our parents blindly. When you're young you should of course obey them, but when you're grown you're supposed to stand on your own two feet.

The fourth commandment

8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,  10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

-- Exodus 20.8-11

One day a week. That's what God wants. And it's not as if it's some grievous tax on our time. God didn't tell his people to spend the day crawling through frozen mud under barbed wire. He said to take a day off. It wasn't a day people couldn't work; it was a day they got to relax.

The third commandment

7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

-- Exodus 20.7, ESV 

This commandment, like the others, has less to do with following rules and more about how a person lives. I used to know someone who thought he was obeying this commandment because he always said "got-damn" and so was not breaking it. He was wrong, because God has never been about technical obedience. Instead, he loves people and wants them to love him back.