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In Exodus 20:1-17, God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments. These are ten rules which the Israelites were to live by in honor of God. These commandments are:
Do not have any other gods before Him
Do not make any graven images (idols)
Do not take the Lord's name in vain
Keep the sabbath day holy
Honor your father and mother
Do not kill (murder)
Do not commit adultery
Do not steal
Do not bear false witness (don't lie)
Do not covet anything of your neighbor
The Ten Commandments reflect the holy and righteous nature of God. They are also like a mirror that helps us reflect and recognize the sinful behaviors in our lives. They are the standard of living that God calls us to live by in order to be righteous in His sight. When people walk outside the commandments of God, they are living in rebellion against Him. Breaking the commandments of God is the very definition of sin.
Jesus told His disciples that if they loved Him they should keep His commandments; see John 14:15. Yes, Jesus also gives us commandments to live by, because He is the living Word of God and it is by His words that we live.
All of the commandments are important, but which is the most important of all? This was the question that the lawyer in Matthew 22:36 asked Jesus. He wanted to know if there was a commandment of God that he should keep above all. Jesus' answer was simple.
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus simply summarized the ten commandments into only two. When we look at the ten commandments, the first four focus on teaching us how to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We love the Lord when we choose not to worship other gods, don't disrespect His name, and honor Him in our daily lives, including the seventh day of the week, the sabbath day.
The last six commandments show us how to love our neighbor. Our neighbor is not just someone we live next door to. It's the stranger we pass by at the store; it's our friend we talk to on the phone; it's the homeless person on the street; it's the poor living in our communities. We mustn't neglect to love our fellow man. We show that love when we don't steal from the poor; when we don't lie to our neighbor; when we don't cheat on our spouses; and when we honor (respect) our parents. This is the biblical definition of charity in the New Testament; see 1 Corinthians 13.
The core foundation of any relationship is love, and without it, we cannot experience true friendship. Love is what God commands us to do; we are to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34
He showed us how much He loved us by sending His Son to die for us so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16). We should express the same love for God by keeping His commandments as well as loving our neighbors whoever they may be.
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