The Ten Commandments

An Overview

The Order of the Commandments – the Catholic and Protestant listings of the Commandments are

identical in what they require and forbid, only the numbering is different.

The Moral Law—Why do we still follow the Ten Commandments, when they appear to be part of the Old

Law? As we can see in the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, God gave Israel many different laws and

regulations that we do not follow today. The New Testament also tells us that we are released from the

“yoke of the law.” In order to understand this, it is important to realize that Israel had several different

categories of laws. There were the nation laws, that governed their lives as a nation and ceremonial laws

that governed their worship. These laws changed as Israel’s circumstances changed, and are no longer

applicable to us as Christians under the New Covenant. The Ten Commandments however do not fall into

either of those categories, they are in a category all their own. The Ten Commandments comprise the

“moral law,” the law that God said He would write into man’s heart. These directives apply to all people, in

all times, in all places, unlike the nation and ceremonial laws that were dependent on and changed with the

circumstances.

Love of God and Neighbor—The first three commandments pertain to God and our relationship with Him,

while the rest pertain to love of our neighbor.

Breakdown of the Commandments

1.) I am the Lord your God: You shall not have strange Gods before me.

The literal meaning of this commandment forbids polytheism, (the worship of more than one god),

and idolatry (the worship of false gods.) We must put the Lord first in our lives, not for His benefit,

but for our own.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

This commandment prohibits using God’s name for irreverent purposes. It also requires us to speak

with reverence of the Lord, his Saints, and holy items. To invoke God’s name is to invoke His

presence, and to invoke His name without attending to His presence is to call upon Him in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

This commandment reminds us to keep the Lord’s Day holy. For

Christians, this is Sunday. It is to be a day of rest, set aside for God

and family.

4. Honor your father and mother.

This commandment begins the second section of the Ten

Commandments, those that pertain to how we interact with one

another. Parents are due a certain amount of respect, just by virtue

of being a parent. Even children who cannot be around their

parents for necessary and valid reasons can pray for them from a

distance.

5. You shall not kill.

This commandment upholds the dignity of all human life from the moment of conception

until natural death. No one is to take another’s life. This commandment also has other

applications, such as unjust anger, emotional and mental abuse, etc.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

Just like the 5th commandment is not limited only to murder, this commandment is not

limited only to the act of committing adultery. It also covers lust, not guarding the

thoughts and eyes, and viewing other people as objects.

7. You shall not steal.

This commandment pretty is straight forward – we have no right to take what does not

belong to us, particularly things we do not need. This is altogether different from someone

who might take a loaf of bread from the store to feed their starving child – in that case it is

a need for survival. This commandment also covers such things such as bribery, charging

unfair amounts or defrauding workers, tax evasion, etc.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

This commandment forbids lying, or misrepresenting, the truth. Being truthful links us to

God in a very fundamental way – He is the origin of truth. Slander, gossip, calumny, and

other similar sins all fall under the umbrella of this commandment as well.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

To covet a person means to sinfully desire another person, which often takes its form in

desiring who/what we should not have. Some would argue that someone’s thoughts

cannot harm another person, but this ignores the fact that sin harms the sinner first of all.

Also, when we do not fight against sinful thoughts, they can easily become sinful actions.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

This commandment is very similar to the one before it, but pertains to goods rather than

people. This includes such things such as desiring things you have no right to, and envy –

wishing your neighbor would lose the things he has that you want.

The commandments were given to us by God out of love, and living them is one of the

ways we return love to God. We strive to be His holy people by living according to the

Rules He has given for our protection.

Mount Sinai, where God inscribed the Ten Commandments with His own finger on

tablets, and gave them to Moses.

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