The TEN Commandments

1. I AM THE LORD THY GOD, THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.
2. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.
3. REMEMBER THOU KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY.
4. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.
5. THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
6. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
7. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
8. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
9. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE.
10. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S GOODS.

We all remember those, right? God gave Moses the 10 commandments, and down the mountain he came. Moses comes down, see the Israelites goofing around with a golden calf and before he can even read the commandments to a single man, he smashes them to the ground. The tablets the commandments were written on were broken. There's a reason for that. Later God tells the commandments to Moses and Moses rewrites the tablets.

There's symbology here. God writes the first set of tablets with His own fingers (Genesis 32:16). Moses comes down and immediatey breaks them. God's Law for man is immediately broken, before they can even be read (man is born into sin - Romans 5:12,13).

But, God calls Moses back up and dictates the commandments to Moses, who copies them onto new tablets with his own hand. The symbology here is that while the commandments were already broken, they were still valid and hadn't changed: God wasn't going to write them again. Man (Moses) would have to struggle to keep the commandments (Moses having to rewrite them). But they were already broken. So, if the symbology was real to God (and believe me, nothing is by accident with God), then what does that mean about the commandments?

Here comes the label of heresy from traditionalists, but I don't care. God's word means more to me than damned tradition.

Adam sinned and sin entered into the world so that all men were sinners. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12) Adam's fall brought sin into the world and caused us to be born into sin. That is the symbology of Moses breaking the commandments. Before he can even tell the Israelites, the commandments are broken. The Greek word there in "all have sinned" for sin is hamartano. It means, simply, "to miss the mark."

What does it mean to "miss the mark?" Well, look at it with a basic sense of logic. We are told by God what we have to do in the form of the 10 commandments. But they're already broken because of Adam's sin. We're all born sinners. So we've already failed to keep the commandments. We've failed to perform for God. Here's some scripture to illustrate that: "For by the deeds of the law (working to keep the commandments) there shall NO flesh be justified (saved from Hell) in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin (the commandments are a schoolmaster)." Romans 3:20. If we "work" to keep the commandments, we "earn" a reward. Just like working at a job. When you work for God, He owes you in return. So, working to keep the commandments does what? Well, here's some more scripture: "Now to him that worketh (tries to keep the 10 commandments) is the reward (payment for your works) not reckoned of grace (free gift of salvation), but of debt (God owes you something for working)." Hmm, well, what does God pay you then for trying to keep the 10 commandments? More scripture: "For the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23. "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law." Romans 5:13 The 10 commandments were the schoolmaster that taught us sin - the failure to keep the commandments of God, as further symbolized by Moses immediately breaking them. The commandments brought sin to all.

God cannot really give us death for trying to keep the commandments, can He? Sputter in indignation all you want, but He most surely does and will. Want to see the symbolism behind my contention? If the Law (10 Commandments) bring death, then surely the scriptures symbolize it somewhere? Yes or no? God symbolizes everything. So the answer is: you betcha. The commandments were housed in the Ark of the Covenant. It was a box with a lid that contained the Law. Do you know that the box is supposed to represent Jesus? The lid is called the mercy seat. It covers and contains the law that only ONE man was ever able to keep. Who was that man? Do I really need to ask that question? Only Jesus could keep the commandments. Jesus kept the commandments and then died so that our sins would get heaped on him and get the reward they were due: death! God pulled a spiritual switch. Jesus kept the commandments. Then, as a symbol of the scapegoat  - the symbolic Jewish practice of "giving" all the nation's sins to the goat and then driving it away for forgiveness - Jesus took our sins and paid the penalty for sin, which is death. We are now bought and paid for.

But let me get back to the death thing. God symbolizes man's contact with the commandments and the resulting death penalty with a very severe example. At a certain time in the Israelite history, the Ark was taken by Philistine looters. Its presence curses the looters for seven months and the Philistine King finally says, "holy crap, get this thing outta here. Send it back!" The Ark is sent back by cart and a couple of cows with no driver. It wanders into an Israelite town named Bethshemesh. The town idiots all gather around it and decide they want to see inside - to where the commandments are hidden. Let me just pick up with the direct quote. "And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men..." 1 Samuel 6:19. So what happened? Do you really need me to spell it out? Man took off the covering of the ark (Jesus) and looked upon the law without the mercy-seat covering of Jesus. The result? God killed fifty thousand. Man met the law without Jesus and the verdict was DEATH.

The Law, the Ten Commandments, are DEATH.

Trying to keep the Ten Commandments gets us... what? Come on, don't know by now? Trying to keep the Ten Commandments gets you DEATH. When you try to keep them, God acknowledges your works. But the Law brings sin and the wages of sin is... you know the word.

So how are we saved? Faith. God has been looking for people all throughout history that would trust Him. Here's some scripture: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" Romans 3:24. Justified (to be made righteous) freely (not having to work for it) by His grace (free gift of mercy) through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (Jesus dying and taking our sins with Him when He died). "For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect." Romans 4:14. So, if even ONE idiot can be saved by trying to keep the ten commandments, then the death of Jesus was a waste of time!

Just to repeat, one more time: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us..." Galatians 3:13. Christ died to redeem (pay for our sins) us from the curse (what curse? DEATH DEATH DEATH) of the law.

Trying to keep the ten commandments is a sure way to get DEATH.

I thank God that my faith saves me. The Greek word for faith is pistis. We translate it as a noun in English, but in the Greek it is a verb: to faithe. Basically, it means to act upon a belief, sustained by confidence. It is an action verb. It requires effort. The Greek word pistis has an antonym: apistis. It is the exact opposite of pistis. God chose to inspire these words for a purpose. There is either pistis or apistis. There is no other. You are either faithing, or not. Think in terms of a car. You have drive, neutral, and reverse. To understand pistis, take the neutral out of your car and you have the concept for pistis. You're either going forward or backward with God. If you aren't faithing, you're going backwards - away from God.

"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: ²¹ That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20-21.

"But-but-but!" No butts. There is no "but" with Jesus. Jesus died and paid the price. We who faithe are saved. No buts. "But-but-but! Yes Jesus died, but we still have to keep the ten commandments!" BZZZZT. "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" Galatians 3:1-3. There's more. If you try to keep the law, you are bound to keep the whole law. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Galatians 3:10. The curse of the law is DEATH and if you try to keep even one, you're bound under the curse to keep them all! Did you know that the ten commandments aren't all of them? Did you know that there's somewhere around 600 laws to keep, not just the ten? I guaran-damn-tee you (the reader) right now you are breaking the law of God. How? Try this: "...neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee." Leviticus 19:19. I'll bet you that unless you're sitting there naked, your socks or underwear breaks God's law. Most socks are polyester cotton mixtures. Most underwear are mixtures. Mixed-fiber garments are a no-no.

Let me close by quoting my favorite verses. "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:4-5. Let me dissect that for you, just to hammer home the message. To him that worketh not (to him that doesn't even TRY), but believes on God that justifies the ungodly (keeping the ten commandments is probably pretty "godly" while someone like me who doesn't even try is probably pretty UNgodly), his faith (Who's? Mine? Or the one who works? Remember, if you work to try to keep the ten commandments, you aren't faithing and Jesus died in vain. Works = God owes you wages, not grace, and the wages are.... DEATH) is counted as righteousness.

Guess what? I'm a sinner who doesn't even try to keep the 10 Commandments, and God sees me as pure. God sees me as righteous while he sees the poor idiot thinking he needs to keep the ten commandments as filthy (Isaiah 64:6). Thank God that my faith in Jesus brings me peace with God! Peace = cessation of againstness. I am no longer at odds with God, being a sinner under the curse of the law. No, God looks at me now and sees Jesus, instead.

THAT is the "good news" of the gospel. We are free! Free from what? Free from the curse of the law. Jesus saves me, ungodly sinner that I am, with the free gift (grace) of salvation.

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