Many religious people embrace the idea of loving others as themselves but remain blissfully unaware of how the Bible defines love. As a result, they do not understand the necessity of putting into practice the biblical principles that determine the success or failure of their relationships.
Establishing, developing and maintaining that personal relationship with the true and living God is the most important commitment we can ever make. That is the primary focus of the first of the Ten Commandments.
We don't realize how fragile our existence is, how constantly dependent on God's care we are.
The Second Commandment goes to the heart of our relationship with our Creator. What is the proper way to worship the only true God?
The Bible uses a variety of names for God. He calls things what they are, and He calls Himself what He is.
The use of God's name in a degrading or in any way disrespectful manner expresses an attitude of disdaining the relationship we are supposed to have with Him. Having a relationship with God demands that we represent Him accurately, sincerely and respectfully.
The Fourth Commandment, to remember the Sabbath, concludes the section of the Ten Commandments that specifically helps define a proper relationship with God—how we are to love, worship and relate to Him. It explains why and when we need to take special time to draw closer to our Creator.
The primary focus of the Fifth Commandment is the importance of learning to respect others while we are still children.
How can we honor parents or grandparents whose behavior is unworthy of admiration? How can we apply this commandment to them?
Who possesses the authority to take human life? Who has the right to make that decision? The emphasis in the Sixth Commandment is on the word you. You shall not murder! You are not to deliberately kill-premeditatedly or in the anger of the moment.
Unless the natural desires that attract us to members of the opposite sex are channeled exclusively toward a loving marriage relationship, the temptation to engage in sexual immorality can easily overpower our self-control. This weakness is the focus of the Seventh Commandment.
The Eighth Commandment safeguards everyone's right to legitimately acquire and own property. God wants that right honored and protected.
How important is truth? To fully appreciate the Ninth Commandment, with its prohibition of lying, we must realize how important truth is to God.
The last of the Ten Commandments—against coveting—is aimed directly at the heart and mind of every human being. In prohibiting coveting, it defines not so much what we must do but how we should think. It asks us to look deep within ourselves to see what we are on the inside.
Does it matter whether we obey the Ten Commandments? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could ask Jesus Christ if keeping the Ten Commandments is still necessary, especially to receive eternal life?
Jesus Christ and the apostles viewed the Ten Commandments as a necessary part of Christian living.
God's grace through faith requires a law that defines the sins that are to be forgiven.
Does this new commandment supersede the Ten Commandments and replace all other biblical laws?
