The Ten Commandments - tomorrowsworld.org

1 The Ten CommandmentsbyRoderick C. MeredithToday s modern society is in conflict over the Ten Commandments . Have they been done away by divine fiat or by mankind s marchtoward scientific knowledge? Should they be displayed in public places, or reserved for church? Are they a burden to enlightened people, or a blessing to those who obey them? King David said, Oh, how I love Your law! and called it perfect; the Apostle Paul called it holy, just and good; Jesus honored, magnified, obeyed, and commanded obedience to the Ten to most people, the Ten Commandments remain an enigma that has never been understood. This booklet explains plainly this inexorable living law, soon to become the basic law of tomorrow s peaceful, prosperous, joyful world!ContentsPage1 Preface2 The Keys to Understanding7 The First Commandment13 The Second Commandment20 The Third Commandment28 The Fourth Commandment36 The Fifth Commandment42 The Sixth Commandment49 The Seventh Commandment57 The Eighth Commandment62 The Ninth Commandment68 The Tenth Commandment74 The New Commandments of JesusTEN Edition , January 2012 2012 LIVING CHURCH OF GODTMAll rights reserved.

2 Printed in the booklet is not to be sold!It has been provided as a free public educationalservice by the Living Church of GodScriptures in this booklet are quoted from the New King James Version( Thomas Nelson,Inc., Publishers) unless otherwise noted. 1ore than 40 years ago, I had the privilege of writing thefirst edition of this booklet, The Ten Commandments . Itwas adapted into a booklet from a magazine serializa-tion, and was sent to hundreds of thousands who requested it overseveral decades. It has been out of print for more than a decade,but I have now updated it for Tomorrow s Worldviewers and sub-scribers. Even so, it is very much the same booklet as was firstoffered more than 40 years ago. This is no surprise, for it isdescribing the unchanging laws of God. As He said, For I am theLORD, I do not change (Malachi 3:6).Even secular scholars recognize that the very first Christiansbased their lives on following the great spiritual law of God theTen Commandments .

3 When they said, The Lord Jesus Christ, they recognized that the word Lord means Boss the One youshould obey! Jesus reminded them again and again of this vitalrelationship, as in Luke 6:46: But why do you call Me Lord,Lord, and not do the things which I say? It is my hope and prayer that you will study this booklet care-fully, and come to appreciate that God s law the very law thatwill be in effect during the soon-coming Millennium is a bless-ing for those individuals, families and nations that keep it, follow-ing the perfect example of our Savior, Jesus Christ. MPreface2his is a lawless age. Crime and violence are increasing at afearful rate because among millions of people there ispractically no respect for law or constituted authority,either of God, or of man! On the international scene, nations livein fear because they very well know that the so-called guaran-tees and treaties of peace are not worth the paper on which theyare written.

4 There is no law no respect for authority among thenations of the world. This is the world in which you live!The Real Source of LawMen have lost all deep respect for law because they have for-gotten the very sourceof all law and authority! Your Bible says: There is oneLawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy (James4:12). That lawgiver is Almighty God. In their modern search for aman-devised peace of mind or a religion that satisfies, menhave totally forgotten about the great God who rulesthis uni-verse! No wonder some of our young people the leaders oftomorrow have such a lawless attitude. One of the world s fore-most educators warned a group of military leaders of this veryproblem. He was the late Dr. Rufus von Klein Smid, former chan-cellor of the University of Southern California. He stated: I haveno quarrel with the present emphasis placed on science, but todaywe are paying for support of schools which act from September 1to June 30 as if there were no God.

5 Dr. von Klein Smid noted theThe Keys to UnderstandingT3 The Keys to Understanding absence of moral values in our youth resulting from this atti-tude. When you leave the true God out, there is no real standardof behavior left. The result is spiritual chaos and lawlessness andwretchedness in the human heart. In nearly all present-day reli-gious denominations, the tendency is to try to modernize and democratize God, and do away with His authority to ruleHiscreation and us, His creatures. There are very few truly God-fearing men left on earth today! Having made their imaginativepet god in their ownimage, men certainly do not stand in aweand deep respect of such a god. They do not fear their god. And they certainly do not obeythis creature of their own imagina-tion! Yet the real message of Jesus Christ was about the God whocreated this earth! His was the God who blessed men for obedi-ence to His laws and who punished for disobedience.

6 The JesusChrist of your Bible alwayspreached the gospel of the Kingdom ofGod (Mark 1:14; Luke 4:43). In modern language, He preachedthe happy news of the governmentof God the ruleof God. Hesaid: Repent, and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). Before youcan sincerely believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, andhave His shed blood cover your sins, you must repent. But repentof what? Repent of sin! What issin? Despite the contradictory ideas and generalizations of organizedreligious denominations, your Bible clearly states: Sin is the trans-gression of the law (1 John 3:4, KJV). Sin is breaking God s spiritu-al law the Ten Commandments . That is definitely and specificallywhat sin is! Before God will forgive your past sins, you must firstrepent of breaking His law! You must learn to fear and respect Godas the Supreme Ruler of this universe and as yourKing and , the wisest man who ever lived, was inspired to write: The fear of the LORDis the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs1:7).

7 This godly fear is by no means a personal dread, but a deeprespect and reverence for the great office and authority of God forHis divine power, His wisdom and His love. Without faith in such agreat and real God, mankind is incomplete. Cut off from the trueGod of law and order, mankind is purposeless, empty, frustrated,confused. The way out of modern man s emptiness and confusionmay sound trite or simple to some people. But it is real and it4 The Ten Commandmentsworks! It is simply that mankind must quit worshiping false must return to the God of the Bible, the God of creation,the God who rules this universe! Summarizing His way to the ful-fillment of man s desire for a happy, abundant and purposeful life,God inspired these words at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes: The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God, and keepHis Commandments ; for this is the whole man (Ecclesiastes 12:13,Moffatt).

8 Mankind is frustrated and incomplete without this living,vital contact with God walking His way, keeping His command-ments. Obedience to God s Commandments would bring peace andfulfillment and joy to all the nations and peoples of this earth. It isthe real answer to all of our problems, individually and is the way of life Jesus Christ is going to teach when He returns torule this world (Micah 4:2). Do You Really Understand god s Commandments ?Ancient King David was a man after God s own heart (Acts13:22). He is used as a type of Christ, and will rule directly underChrist over the entire nation of Israel in the soon-coming millen-nium (Ezekiel 37:24), when Christ will bring peace to this wrote: Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all theday (Psalm 119:97). David studied and pondered God s law allday long! He learned how to applyit to every situation in gave David wisdom. You, through Your Commandments ,make me wiser than my enemies (v.)

9 98). God s law showed Davidthe wayto go a way of life. Your word is a lamp to my feet, anda light to my path (v. 105). Throughout Psalm 119, Daviddeclared how he loved God s law, and used it as his guide in life. Do you? You probably do not. Most of you have been taughtthat God s law was done away or else you simply have not real-ized that it is the only way of life that will bring mankind truehappiness and joy. You have not realized that God s law reveals thevery nature and character of God Himself. And God commandsus: Be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16). Remember that the trueChristians, the little flock of Jesus, are described as those who5keep the Commandments of God, and have the testimony of JesusChrist (Revelation 12:17). And God gives this description of thecharacter of His saints: Here is the patience of the saints: here arethose who keep the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12).

10 If you are to be counted among God s truesaints who will escape the seven last plagues, you will have tohave this living faith this obedientfaith in Almighty Godthrough Jesus Christ living His life in you! You will have to under-stand and keep God s spiritual law as revealed in the TenCommandments! Please reallystudy this booklet, look up eachscripture quoted and live by His spiritual and holy almighty god of IsraelTo properly understand and feel the real impact of the TenCommandments, let us notice the setting in which they weregiven. Remember that Moses and the Israelites had preserved theknowledge that their God was the Creator of heaven and earth. Hewas the great rulerof the earth who had brought about the Floodin the days of Noah, their forefather. And now the true God, theGod of Israel, had delivered them from Egyptian bondage bytremendous miracles. He had brought them out of Egypt andthrough the waters of the Red Sea that rose on either side of themas a mighty wall (Exodus 14).