As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

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Commandment #10 – No Coveting

Exodus 20:17

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

The NO IDOLS command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Jesus made mention of the last commandment, and in Luke 12 :15, He makes a very startling statement considering the land of plenty and success we live in.

How often have you heard of a friend or colleague “having made it”, of “being successful”, or “living the good life”?

Luke 12:15 – And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Consider the phrase “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”.  There is nothing worse than laying cheap guilt on believers, so I want to be careful to not condemn believers simply because they have a nice car or house.

This is an internal issue.  A covetous man can very likely be a very poor fella, but always wanting someone else’s “possessions”  A covetous man can very likely be a filthy rich man, never sharing or considering others.

The story of JD Rockerfeller always comes to mind when I think of covetousness.  He was on a television talk show decades ago, and the talking head asked him when he will have enough.  He simply stated “Just one more dollar”.

The covetousness in the old Testament was related to wanting other peoples wives, or calves or bowling balls.  Jesus is re-framing this command to include our own possessions.  That hurt!

The issue is focus, where do I find my life?  Am I wrapped up in the things I own?  Troubling question.

Rom 13:9 – For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Paul gives a summary verse, that covers the commandments for the believer.  This is a very appropriate verse to end this portion of the series.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Hope you will come back to visit, as we look at some of the verses that I leaned on early in my Christian experience, to justify my ignoring the moral code of God.

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As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

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Commandment #9 – No False Witness

Exodus 20:16

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

The NO LYING command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

We discussed the following verses in our previous post, regarding stealing, and the comments are readily applicable to the commandment of NO LYING.  The commands were given for many reasons, but I feel at this time, Jesus was using them to disclose the depravity, the darkness resident in our hearts.

Mat 15:19 – 20

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Paul reframes this commandment, again showing that we have the power to obey, we

Do not lie to one another.

Why Paul?  What motivating factor are you going to give us that will enable us to be truthful with one another?

At conversion, in repentance and faith, a great transaction happens. The new believer “puts off his old self”.  A new nature is implanted in the believer.  Life is sown in the believers heart and all things become new.  (I wanna discuss 2 Corinthians 5:17 at a later date – Don’t let me forget, eh?)

Notice that it is not simply, or better said, not only that the old self is put off, but that the new self has been put on!  Remember – nature abhors a vacuum, and the same is true in relation to the spiritual life.

The new self, whether it is referring to the Spirit of God, or a renewed/resurrected  spirit within the believer is beyond me.  That is for those fellas that get paid to think God’s thoughts.  For me, I’m simply thankful that He has supplied life, encouragement, strength, direction and the ability to tell the truth.

I no longer have to lie.  I have a choice to refuse to lie, to speak the truth to one another.

For those reading, if you see I am blind to a truth in our time together, this passage speaks to all.  If you have the “new man”, continue to grow in the knowledge of the Messiah, and do not lie to one another, but speak the truth. 

Thanks again for coming to visit.  Have a good day, and enjoy being with the “new man.”

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

This post will continue with

Commandment #8 – No Stealing

Exodus 20:8

You shall not steal

The NO STEALING command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Mat 15:19 – 20

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Jesus is teaching the populace the upside down nature of His kingdom, or in other words, how backwards we have the truth when it comes to relating to God and His rule in our lives.

This teaching starts off seemingly innocently in my mind. Dietary laws are of little to no influence in the culture I live in, other than for the sake of appearance and health. Religious observance of diet are essentially non-existent.

What has dietary laws got to do with stealing you may ask? The teaching started out with correcting the teaching of defilement. How and what to eat were massive influences within the Jewish culture, and rules upon rules were established to perform these rites.

But Jesus is defining the source of defilement. It is in me. All the food restrictions in the world won’t change that.

And theft comes out of my heart, my inner person. This defiles me. I defile me.

O wretched man that I am. How could I find any hope other than in the person of Jesus. I need an external Savior, some one other than I.

Rant #1

Note how Jesus deals with the Pharisses offence.

How often do I get upset about those who are obviously teaching error, and the victims they are feeding off of. The mercy and love of God is ever extending to all of us who have that “self” in us, that destructive defiling “self” resident in us. Yet, Jesus seems to dismiss the Pharisees, and their followers as being destined to the pit.

This passage is difficult for me personally. We are all blind to varying degrees, completely blind to the Messiah prior to conversion, and yet mercy was displayed. How can He dismiss these when the gospel reaches out to all?

The only resolve I have, in my current understanding, was that at this specific time and topic, when Peter brought this concern to Jesus, it had become obvious that the die was set, and the Pharisees were doomed, as a religious and political party. It may take 40 years for the nation to fall, but fall it would. The teaching of the Pharisees would evaporate, and those who clung unto their falsehoods would also be finished.

It is interesting that the Lord used the “root up” symbology, which hearkens back to the days of Jeremiah, when he was prophesying of the first destruction of Jerusalem.

Does Paul re-frame this commandment? I think this particular commandment is the one that helped me turn a corner on how the New Testament does not abandon the moral code of the ten commandments, but exalts the law, re-framing the code in the light of the gospel.

Ephesians 4:28

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Paul is most likely addressing a problem within the Ephesian church, that is, a possible thief that has not understood the ramifications of the gospel call on his life. God’s nature has not changed and His people, in reflecting that nature, need / want to conform to that nature.

Some times it is just a matter of teaching, that will provide the information to the believer in order to direct his/her life properly. I like to think this is what is happening in this passage.

Some young believer is still swiping stuff, having had the habit for possibly years, and yet now having acquired the new nature, is informed of the higher life. Provide for others, instead of taking from others.

It is encouraging to see lives changed by the gospel. This is a concrete response to the gospel .

Give don’t take – Its kinda a no brainer, since He gave and gave and gave.

Hey thanks for giving some of your time to consider the Bible with me. I look forward to your comments and will respond to each one as the day affords.

May God bless you and your loved ones.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

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Commandment #7 – No Adultery

Exodus 20:14

You shall not commit adultery.

The NO ADULTERY command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Jesus reinterprets the commandment for us and again the commandment is extrapolted to the inner life, the life that only God and you know about.

Matthew 5:27 – 30

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Jesus is telling me that lustful intent with the eyes is adultery in the heart.  That internal motivation is that which condemns the person.   In some specific way, adultery and lust is different from the other sins detailed in the decalogue.

Consider what the apostle Paul teaches

How does this relate to the Lord’s reference about the whole body being thrown into hell?

I have a friend who often states that it doesn’t hurt to look.  And he looks alot, a whole bunch.  I wonder sometimes how he relates to his wife?

1 Corinthians  6:9 – 10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Sexually immoral, adulterers, homosexuality.  Paul is emphasizing the sex!

Story Time

I used to work in a office where one of the fellas, a single man, had a serious issue with homosexuals, and in an effort to befriend me, he would sometimes make derogatory statements about gays.  He knew I was a believer, and for some reason thought I would find comfort in his ragging on the gay community.

I had just been considering the verses above, and eventually asked him if he and his girlfriend were living together.  Why yes Carl, of course.

Did you know buddy, that the Bible condemns fornication with the opposite sex prior to marriage?  You are in the same camp as a homosexual is in God’s sight.  Please understand that you need to clean your own room up before you tell someone else how dirty their room is.

Sex sells in this culture.  Don’t sell yourself.

By the way, I am still trying to understand the concept of marriage in the Bible.  If you have any direction in that regard, I would sure appreciate the help.

Thanks again for coming to visit.  Hope to hear from you and to see you again for our next topic.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

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Commandment #6 – No Murder

Exodus 20:13

You shall not murder.

The NO MURDER command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

From here on through the remaining ten commandments, the sermon on the mount becomes Jesus’ reinterpretation of the law. He will express the commandment, and then have the audacity to change it. See Matthew 5:22, where Jesus introduces His teaching with “But I say…”

Matthew 5:21 – 22

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Followers of the Messiah have been given the privilege of understanding from the teaching of the Lord while on earth. Without this teaching, I certainly would not have taken the murder command so internal, so “sensitive”, so all-encompassing. Without this teaching, I could honestly say I have met the commandments requirements, and could boast in my accomplishment (or lack of evil, at least).

Murder is associated with anger. Anger is the core problem. If you are an angry person, you are a murderer. Harsh equivalent, but the commandment against murder is extrapolated to it’s logical source and revealed.

Check out the next two verses where Jesus describes a time I was tithing in church, and during the tithing, remembered that someone has been offended by my actions. I didn’t tithe, but went to the person to ask for forgiveness. Don’t tithe if someone is ticked off at you. Clean up your relationships before practicing your religion.

Relationships over religion.

We must live in peace with all as much as possible.

Note that nowhere the verse mentions the offence as being something I intentionally did to the brother. It seems the Lord is describing a person that is so concerned about loving his brother, that he will assume he is responsible for his brothers perception of sin.

Story Time

A very long time ago, during a small group we were enjoying, a brother with a long white beard (Norman, if your reading this, thank you again for your wisdom) spoke of his estrangement from his daughter. He spoke of the pain, and how the daughter had been convinced of wrongdoing in Norman’s actions to her. He spoke of how his actions were blameless, but that in order to repair the relationship, he humbled himself and asked his daughter for forgiveness.

I was dumbfounded. But you were right in your actions Norman. You needed to stand on your convictions. You need to protect the truth. I yammered on for a few minutes until it occurred to me that relationship trumps religion. Check out the verse above, let it settle in your mind, and then watch the Bible teach it everywhere.

After that talk, I realized I needed to sit down with my children, whom I had tried to “religionize”, and humble my self before them. They were young adults, and I asked for forgiveness for all the real (and perceived) actions that had hurt them. Many things have occurred since then, and the Lord is constantly healing this family. I am so thankful for the relationships I have with my children.

1 John 3:15

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

John comes right out an says it. I have sometimes wanted to restrict the brother to being a believer, that is that if I hate a christian brother, I have no eternal life in me. But why do I constantly want to compartmentalize this precept.

Don’t hate.

It’s simple. Don’t hate.

It is against our (new) nature as believers in the loving God.

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Commandment #5 – Honor Your Parents

Exodus 20:12

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

The HONOR YOUR PARENTS command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Mark 7:9 – 10

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

Jesus used the 5th commandment to point out how the Pharisees dishonored the Word of God and found ways to gain from the religion they loved.

Traditions can be deadly!

Ephesians 6:1 – 2

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),

Paul again rephrased the commandment, stating that honoring is synonymous with obeying, and this attitude / action of the child is right, correct, upright and virtuous.

How often have you seen a young child throwing a fit and the parent seems helpless? Mind you, the scene speaks of the parent, not the child. The child is responding to a lack of boundaries the parent has set.

And the child is dishonoring the parent.

Of course, I feel Paul is speaking of children that are able to understand the word of God, and at that point in their life, they have the ability to honor their parent.

But I am very sad when I see a parent who has lost a child.

All the child needs are boundaries (and some of that good old fashioned love!)

2 Timothy 3:2

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Wow this verse needs little comment. To determine the loss of honor towards God in a society, look for disobedient children.

Have you called your mother and father lately? Give em a call, and do something kind for them.

Honor them.

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As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

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Commandment #4 – No Working on the Sabbath

Exodus 20:4

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The NO WORKING ON THE SABBATH command is NOT included in Jesus and the apostles teaching.  Nothing to see here folks – Let’s move along.

Hope to see you next time.

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As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

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Commandment #3 – No Dishonoring God’s Name

Exodus 20:7

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Matthew 6:9

Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

Jesus exalts the name of the Father, speaking of His holiness, and that is, that His name is holy.  Jesus is making a declaration in this prayer.  I can’t see a command.  Jesus loves the Father, intimately knows the Father and the holiness the Father inhabits.

It is interesting that Jesus says to “pray like this”..  Back in verse 7, Jesus is reiterating the relationship aspect of prayer.  Don’t heap up empty phrases…

That is awesome, you know, the phraseology.  How often I have prayed a prayer and walked away feeling like I have done my duty.  Said a lot of words, completing a duty I feel I have, and then walked away, feeling kinda proud of myself, for “my many words.”

I remember as a young believer, being out late at night, on a lonely street, walking and talking to Him.  For some reason, I decided to forget about all my requests, and just remind Him of His great qualities, His magnificent character, His unbounding love.  You know, I don’t remember how many words, or the time I spent.  I was simply realizing who I was praying to.

And I was content in prayer.

Philippians 2:9 – 10

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth

Always ask why the “therefore” is there for. Some action is taken and then the consequence of that action is described.

These verses give the consequence, that is that the name of Jesus be honored and worshiped.  But to have His name honored, surely the verses before describe a harsh command given, a strict law supplied, or a very serious threatening voiced.

No command.  No – He was crucified for our sins, and God the Father raised Him from the dead.  That singular action was performed in order that His name be honored.

James 2:7

Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

There are some who dishonor the honorable name by which we were called.  The rich.  Notice that the rich James is referring to are the rich that are attending meeting.  What?  And James is ticked off about the distinctions the church elders are making, favoring the rich.

The church elders have it all upside down.

Why are they favoring the rich who do not favor God’s name, and yet do not honor the poor man, who has been called by the honorable name of God?

A good take away from this post for today is to open your eyes to see those who are poor in the family of God and honor them.  Ignore the rich – they got their money…

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***By the way, how many of you recognized the symbol for therefore?

As mentioned in our introductory post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.

This post will begin with

Commandment #1 – No Idolatry

Matthew 22:37

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

The NO IDOLS command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.

There is a difference.

Please don’t miss the command to love here.  By the way, when was the last time that worked.  To command to love is not to love.  That implies the loss of free will, does it not?  And love requires the exercise of free will.  So is Jesus commanding to love?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Maybe He stating a fact, that is, after realizing what love God has for you, you shall love Him.  You will naturally respond to love by loving that one who initiated the love.

1Corinthians 6:9 – 10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul supplies a warning in the above verses, and it is interesting that he is speaking of the unrighteous, those folk within the church group who have not conformed to the Spirit of life which is the character of God.

Paul is seeking to communicate that self deception is deadly, (ie the lie that my character does not have to reflect the character of God, for God to accept me)  That non conformity to the character of God is a signal that all is not well.

Don’t hear me say that sinless perfection is required. Our acceptance is in the Beloved, in the Messiah.  Not possible in this life, if I understand 1 John 1:9 correctly.

But our acceptance in the Beloved means we have the Spirit of God, and that the fruit of the Spirit, the love joy peace will be evident in our lives.  It is the desire and growth of the believer into the character of Jesus that is the issue.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  The Spirit of God does not lead me into adultery, theft or idolatry.  That, my friends is the flesh!

1 Corinthians 10:14

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

1 John 5:21

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Both John and Paul relate to their audience, their brothers and sisters in the Lord, by framing this command in love.  Being beloved, I am more apt to listen to my brother’s warning.

Telling me to NOT have idols, tends to make me want an idol.

Wow Carl, are you saying the ten commandments were supplied only to stir up sin?  Did God provide the decalogue to create sin in us?

Rant #1

Lets consider some of what the Bible teaches about the law.

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Its been years since a friend and a brother challenged me to find the commandments for Christians. Sure glad he did.

Let me explain.

I was heading down a path that de-emphasized the moral code of the 10 commandments in a believers life.

Just love everyone Carl. That’s your obligation!

So many passages seemed to release me of the obligation to keep the law. (Read these passages quickly to maintain this thought!)

Colossians 2:20

…why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations

Ephesians 2:15

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

Romans 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

I hope you barely read those verses so that you can understand the conviction I had regarding the decalogues authority over my life.

No bondage, guilt, condemnation … What bliss!

Don’t get me wrong, there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. I suppose I was extrapolating that thinking into licence.

Anyone out there fall into that pit lately?

My brother wanted better for me and challenged me to study the New Testament, directing me to answer two questions.

1. Is each commandment included in Jesus or the Apostles teaching?
2. If so, was there anything different about the command as expressed by Jesus or the Apostles?

I learned a bunch and I’m thankful he challenged me. What follows are short blogs (unless I loose control!) of my findings.

Looking forward to discussing each of the commandments, starting in our next post. I feel I will gain understanding from others as we delve into the next post.

Hope to see you soon.

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