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Exodus 20:1-6 (KJV)1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt He did so by Grace. Israel was supposed to love and follow God. Yet over and over again Israel rejected the love of God, blaming Him and His chosen Moses any time life was difficult.

So God gave His Israel the Law.
The Law was not given to a Spirit filled loving people.

The Law was added, according to the Apostle:

Galatians 3:19 (KJV) …. It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made …

The Law was added because of TRANSGRESSIONS. What transgressions? Transgressions against God. Transgressions against your fellow man. The Law was a diagnostic tool to show what God’s standards were, and how far short Israel fell from that standard. The Apostle said:

Romans 5:20 (KJV) Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

The Law is like a mirror showing humanity as it is. The Apostle said that …

Galatians 3:22-26 (KJV) But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

The Law of God was never given to save anyone. Israel was saved from Egypt without the Law. The Law was given to establish order over a spiritless and rebellious people. The Law was given to keep order in God’s Israel. Not all of Israel is Israel, just as not all the Church is the Church. The Law was not given to Spirit Filled faithful believers. The Scripture says:

1 Timothy 1:9-10 (KJV) Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers ^{sexually immoral}, for them that defile themselves with mankind ^homosexuals, for men-stealers ^enslavers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

The Law is not made for a RIGHTEOUS person, a person who loves the Lord Jesus, who follows after Him. The Law was made for the UNRIGHTEOUS, for the person who is not saved by faith. We who are Christians walk not by the Law but by the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:1-4 (KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

God Gave The Law To Teach Mankind Grace

God gave the Law – beginning with the Ten Commandments – to Moses. The Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone. The Law was given to Israel to teach Israel that they needed the Lord. Every one needs to love the Lord. Moses loved the Lord, but the Law was not made for Moses, nor for any righteous saved by faith person in Israel. The Law was delivered to teach the unbeliever that there is a God Who made them. The Law was delivered to the faithless to let them know what is most valuable in life. The Law was given to the disobedient to show them what God’s standard is. The Law starts out with God’s declaration:

Exodus 20:1 (KJV) And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

I am the God that made you.
I am the God Who designed you.
I am the God Who gave you life and liberty.

We enjoy spectacular liberty in these United States, a freedom that many people in many nations around this world wish they had. We live in such a way that even our poor people are rich in comparison to the poor of other countries. It is God Who made this great Nation. It is God’s people who founded this nation.

The Ten Commandments Teach Our Need
To Love God And Love Others

The Ten Commandments that have been ordered out of courthouses, schools, and public places are the basis of our legal system today. The Ten Commandments are divided into two parts.

The first FOUR commandments direct us to LOVE GOD.
The last SIX commandments direct us to love others as we would be loved.

We Desperately Need FIRST To Love God Without Reservation

It is significant that the first four Commandments focus on loving God. A person without God first in his or her life is likely to be very self centered, selfish, narcissistic. A person without God is declared to be foolish. The Bible says:

Psalms 14:1 … The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

If there is no concept in the mind that there is a Great God and that one day we shall answer to Him then a person becomes a free agent, immoral, without any ties to humanity. People ask why so many school shootings are occurring in America today. I tell you it is because we have removed the Ten Commandments, a diagnostic tool to point the unbeliever toward Christ. Look at the Commandments.

• The First Commandment is

Exodus 20:1 (KJV) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God is to be first and foremost in your life.
YOU are not God.
Your STUFF is not God.
There is but One God, and He is.

You shall have no other gods besides the God Who has revealed Himself to you. A Christian doesn’t have to be told this. A person who is walking in the Spirit knows that the most important relationship you have is to your Lord. He is first.

There are no other gods besides Him.
He saved me. He bled for me.
He suffered and died in my place so that I could be His son by adoption.
God has but one Begotten Son, Whom He gave to die for us.

Galatians 4:4-6 (KJV) But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

If you live in the Spirit then your daily walk is to say with the Prophet:

1 Samuel 3:10 (KJV) …Speak; for thy servant heareth.

We have life because God gave us life through His Son.
We are sons because God gave us His Son.
We are His for life because God indwelt us with His Spirit.
We have eternal life because we go Him Who is eternal and unchanging.

• If we put God first, it is natural that the Second Commandment would declare:

Exodus 20:4-6 (KJV) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

While Moses was on the mountain receiving the Law from God Israel was in the valley breaking this Commandment. They took their jewelry off and, melting it down, turned it into a golden calf to worship. If you are saved by faith you have no desire to worship any God other than He Who saved you. Yet in our world today there are many who wear the cloak of Israel and the cloak of Christianity but who worship false gods. They take their money and use it for things which are shameful. They do not honor the Lord as the Scripture commands,

1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV) Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

God saved us, and God is not glorified by us when we worship:

money
power
fame
sex
science

Oh, there are many false gods in the world today. Many make their own bodies false gods, and declare abortion – the murder of the innocent – to be righteous. Others glorify sex in any form as acceptable because – as they say – “at least they are happy”. We are not to bow down to the golden calf nor to anything that does not glorify our God. He is worthy. He alone is worthy. If He is worthy we will bow to Him and only Him.

• Glorifying God, the Third Commandment declares that our lips shall speak only praises to Him.

Exodus 20:7 (KJV) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Our lips shall honor our God. Our prayers and our praises will magnify His name. God is worthy of all praise:

Revelation 4:11 (KJV) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

We dishonor God when we address Him in vain. We should cry out to Him as children. We should praise Him and thank Him. We should honor Him in our families, and speak well of God to our friends and neighbors. When a proposed Christian begins to speak well of Darwin and so called Evolutionary Science you are dishonoring the Lord Who made all things in Six Days, and Rested on the Seventh. The Scripture declares that God created all in six days:

Exodus 20:9-11 (KJV) Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

• Which brings us to the Fourth Commandment, the Day of Rest

Since God made all things in six literal days and rested on the seventh literal day, the Law declared that Israel was to rest on the Seventh Day. The Seventh Day Sabbath is the Fourth Commandment of God. It was a day set aside to honor God, to rest, and to remember all the good that God did for us.

I have been asked why we as Christians now do not rest on the Seventh Day but the First Day of the week. My response is two-fold. First,

Romans 6:14 (KJV) …. ye are not under the law, but under grace.

The Law was given to the disobedient and the lawless, but not to the righteous person. Israel was given the Law. We worship on the First Day of the Week because this is the Day that Christ rose from the grave (see John 20). The early Church started to do it’s Communion and worship on the First Day of the Week:

Acts 20:7 (KJV)  And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

And offerings were collected on the First Day of the week:

1 Corinthians 16:2 (KJV)  Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Being under Grace there is no mandate that we worship on any particular day. But the community of believers called the Church should meet at least once a week to look upward and worship the Lord Who saved us. God must be loved with all our hearts.

If God is loved first, then we will love others best.
If we love God in word and deed, we will love others.

The Apostle said:

1 John 4:19-21 (KJV)  We love him, because he first loved us.  [20]  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  [21]  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Why is there racism in our world today? Because racists do not love God. Why is there sexual sin in our world today? Because that sinner – homosexual or heterosexual – does not love God. Why is there the legalized murder of babies in our world today? Because the woman who allows such things does not love God. Every sin that man or woman commits, no matter how big or small, is because of our rejection of God. He alone defines morality. He alone sets the standard.

The Law Demands We Love Others
As We Would Be Loved

If you love God, you will love your Father and Mother:

Exodus 20:12 (KJV)  Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

This commandment reminds us that God designed the family to be male and female, and that the children born of this union are supposed to honor those two who gave them life. If a child is not taught to honor their parents, then that child will grow up to be a bad citizen. Order and respect for authority are taught by the parents – or NOT taught by the parents. This commandment also destroys the progressive nonsense that teaches that a child doesn’t need a father. The child is taught by father AND mother. My heart goes out to mothers who are forced to raise their children alone because the father was a deadbeat. Children need their parents – regardless as to how politically incorrect this statement is today.

Those who are raised to be good citizens keep the sixth commandment:

Exodus 20:13 (KJV)  Thou shalt not kill.

Which is the Hebrew ra-tsakh’ or “You shall not MURDER”. The Bible mandates killing when people do murder. Noah and his descendants (of which we are):

Genesis 9:5-6 (KJV)  And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.  [6]  Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

It is a CAPITAL OFFENSE to murder someone, and the Bible mandated death for murder as well as for other grievous God dishonoring crimes. The Sixth Commandment prohibits murder, the unlawful taking of a life, because every life is precious. Every life is created in God’s image.

The Seventh Commandment:

Exodus 20:14 (KJV)  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Prohibits sexual sin in which the marriage vows are violated. The Eighth and Ninth Commandments:

Exodus 20:15-16 (KJV)  Thou shalt not steal.
[16]  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Prohibit taking that which does not belong to you from your neighbor. And the Tenth Commandment:

Exodus 20:17 (KJV)  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Addresses the heart. We are not to dwell on what our neighbor has in comparison to what we have. The Bible says

Hebrews 13:5-6 (KJV)  Let your {way of life} be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  [6]  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

If you are a Christian walking with your Lord you know that you are called to love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. The questions we should ask of ourselves before doing anything toward our neighbor is:

Does my action honor the Lord Jesus?
Is this something Jesus would assist me in doing?
Would I want what I am doing to another to be done to me?
Is the glorious Gospel of Grace promoted by my actions?
Are my actions loving and respectful of God and others?

There are many who profess salvation by faith in Christ but are not saved. Like the Pharisees they look good externally. But Beloved, I repeat the words of my Lord Jesus when He was asked what was the Great Commandment in the Law. He replied:

Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV ….. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor. as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Love God with all that you have. Love your neighbor as yourself. This is the foundational teaching of the Law our schoolmaster. BUT – you say – I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS. You can’t do it. But God can do it in you. You need Jesus in you lives. You need to realize you are sinners, and so very much need the Savior. Call upon Him. Trust in Him.