How did we come to legalise immorality? Do we think we are God?
We have got it wrong – terribly wrong. Not man, but almighty God determines what is good/right and what is evil/wrong. He did that once and for all when he gave the moral law, the ten commandments. He commands our obedience to His law. He holds us personally account-able to it. It is the standard by which He will judge us
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Surely, then, we need to get to know the ten commandments – and soon! We find the ten commandments in the Bible, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. In the first four commandments we learn our specific duty toward God. In summary, these are:
1. You are to have only one God, the true God of the Bible. You must know, love, and worship him exclusively.
2. You may not represent God by any kind of image, nor may you worship him through any kind of image. God is not a creature. God determines how we must worship.
3. God forbids you to take his name in vain by cursing, swearing, or using his name in any disrespectful way whatever. Almighty God is to be highly respected and honoured.
4. God commands you to keep his Sabbath day (Sunday) holy. It is set apart by God for his special worship. It is not yours to use for your own work or recreation. It is the day to worship God and hear His Word preached.
God requires not only external obedience, but obedience of the heart. “Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Anything less is sin.
These first four commandments are foundational. They show that our FIRST relation and duty is to God. They convince us that we are NOT a law unto ourselves. They impress the fear the Divine Lawgiver and Judge upon our hearts. They warn us that we can never disobey God with impunity. They establish one true and unchanging basis for morality, law, and justice among men.
But above all, when we are compared with God’s law, we learn that we are not what we ought to be, we are sinners.
Rev C J Connors