The Politically Correct Ten Commandments

The Politically Correct Ten Commandments

Dr. Russell K. Tardo

Scripture Reference: Exodus 20:1-17

1And God spake all these words, saying, 2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Commandment #1:

3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Commandment #2:

4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me; and keep my commandments.

Commandment #3:

7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Commandment #4:

8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: 10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Commandment #5:

12Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Commandment #6:

13Thou shalt not kill.

Commandment #7:

14Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Commandment #8:

15Thou shalt not steal.

Commandment #9:

16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Commandment #10:

17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

These are not called the ten suggestions, the ten pretty good ideas or even the ten guidelines. They are commandments and are representative of the entire Law. The Old Testament Law was given to Moses, the ancient lawgiver, and he wrote down the commandments as God gave them to him. There were actually 617 commandments and Moses wrote all of them but the ten stand as representative of the whole. When considering the Law, the ten are the ones most often thought of. The Law was comprised of moral, civil and ceremonial aspects and governed everything concerning the life of the Jew. It was Law given exclusively to them and given by direct revelation of God Himself. Consequently, it occupied a unique place in the lives and history of the Jewish people.

- The Law's Fulfillment -

The New Testament does not say that Jesus came to destroy the Law. It actually says:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. [Mat. 5:17]

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. He met all of its righteous demands through His perfect obedience and by becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. The Law required perfection which no human being was able to render so God Himself temporarily laid aside the independent exercise of His deity. He never ceased to be God but He clothed Himself in humanity; He became a man and as a man, lived a perfect and flawless life. As a man, God kept not just the Ten Commandments but He kept all of the Law's demands. He fulfilled them and then He actually volunteered to pay the penalty that the Law required for those who didn't fulfill its demands. That's why Christ died as a sacrifice for you and me. Only He could be our sacrifice because only He fulfilled all the righteous demands of the Law. Therefore, only He could die in our place. That's what Jesus did on the cross; dying in our place, the innocent dying for the guilty, the righteous dying for the unrighteous. He was the Law keeper in that He met all of its demands. We, of course, are the guilty, the violators, who have been made right and placed in right standing by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. His righteousness is now imputed to us by faith in Christ.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. [Rom. 10:13]

Now if any one by faith calls out to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin, salvation and life everlasting He will answer. Jesus alone is the giver of these things.