What About The Law Of God (The Ten Commandments) Series

Centuries ago, God wrote His law in stone, and you’re still supposed to keep it today! It’s absolutely true that violating any part of God’s law always brings negative consequences. As crime overruns our cities, doesn’t it make sense that for peace and safety we need to obey the laws of the land? Well, this same principle applies with God’s law - the Ten Commandments - in our own lives too! They aren’t called the ten suggestions, ten recommendations, or the ten greatest ideas. Since so much is at stake, you should take a few minutes to seriously consider your responsibility.

1. Did God Himself really write the Ten Commandments?

"And he gave unto Moses ... two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." "And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." Exodus 31:18; 32:16.

Answer: Yes, the great God of heaven wrote the Ten Commandments on tables of stone with His own finger.

2. What is God’s definition of sin?

"Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.

Answer: Sin is breaking God’s Ten Commandment law. And since the law of God is perfect (Psalms 19:7), it covers every conceivable sin. It is impossible to commit a sin that is not condemned by at least one of God’s Ten Commandments. The commandments cover "the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13. Nothing is left out.

3. Why did God give us the Ten Commandments?

"He that keepeth the law, happy is he." Proverbs 29:18. "Keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee." Proverbs 3:1, 2.

Answer: A. As a guide for happy, abundant living.

God created us to enjoy happiness, peace, long life, contentment, accomplishment, and all the other great blessings for which our hearts long. God’s law is the road map that points out the right paths to follow in order to find this true, supreme happiness.

"By the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20. "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Romans 7:7.

God’s law is His road map to happy, abundant living.

B. To show me the difference between right and wrong.

God’s law is like a mirror (James 1:23-25). It points out wrongdoing in my life as a mirror points out dirt on my face. The only possible way for a person to know if he is sinning is for him to carefully check his life by the mirror of God’s law. Hope for this mixed-up, sinking generation is found in God’s Ten Commandment law. It tells where to draw the line!

"And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes [commandments] ... for our good always." Deuteronomy 6:24. "Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes." Psalms 119:117, 118.

C. To protect me from danger and tragedy.

God’s law is like a strong cage at the zoo, which protects us from fierce, destructive animals. It protects us from impurity, falsehood, murder, idolatry, theft, and many other evils that destroy life, peace, and happiness. All good laws protect, and God’s law is no exception.

Special Note: The eternal principles of God’s law are written deep in every person’s nature by the God who created us. The writing may be dim and smudged, but it is still there. This means, of course, that you cannot find true peace unless you are willing to live in harmony with your inner nature, upon which God has written these principles. We were created to live in harmony with them. When we choose to ignore them, the result is always tension, unrest, and tragedy--just as ignoring the rules for safe driving leads to serious trouble.

4. Why is God’s law exceedingly important to me personally?

"So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:12.

Answer: Because the Ten Commandment law is the standard by which God examines people in the heavenly judgment. How are you measuring up? It is a life-or-death matter!

5. Can God’s law (the Ten Commandments) ever be changed or abolished?

"It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17. "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Psalms 89:34. "All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever." Psalms 111:7, 8.

Answer: Absolutely not! The Bible is very clear on this point. If the law could have been changed, God would have immediately made that change when Adam and Eve sinned instead of sending His Son to die in the sinner’s behalf to pay the penalty of the broken law. But this was impossible, because the commandments are not laws in the sense of rules or regulations that have been enacted. They are revealed principles of God’s holy character that will always be true as long as God exists.