Lesson 25
Understanding the Ten Commandments
AMBASSADOR CHRISTIAN COLLEGE‐ Dr. Keith Slough
INTRODUCTION What Every Christian Should Know About LAW AND GRACE
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EARLY THE WHOLE CHURCH WORLD IS CONFUSED about the Biblical teaching concerning Law and Grace. Some have said the Law of Moses is "done away." Others say only the ceremonial laws were "done away." Others say our "justification" (or righteousness) is achieved in a mixture of Law and grace ‐that we must have both to be justified. Each of these theories is wrong. A prayerful reading and understanding of the book of Galatians shows each of these ideas of men to be in error. Rather the Bible teaches that we saved wholly by Grace and Grace alone! ‐not a mixture of our works of the Law and God's grace combined! Our ''justification'' (also translated "righteousness") is imputed to us by God's grace (Romans 3:21‐6:23). Grace refers to "unmerited favor" or "unmerited blessing." This word "unmerited" means undeserved ‐ something you did not earn from your own works. God imputes justification (or righteousness) to us ''without the deeds of the Law" (Romans 3:28). But some have twisted this to mean we are now free to transgress the Law, or to neglect obedience to the Law! They think the Law has been "destroyed,” "done away," "abolished," or "made void" when faith came into the picture. This idea contradicts the plain statement of Scripture. Notice: "Do we then make void the Law through faith? God forbid: yea, we ESTABLISH the Law"! (Romans 3:31). This Greek term translated "make void" is also translated as "abolish" elsewhere in the New Testament. It is true we are saved by grace alone through our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8). But we are created as Christians not to be free to break the Law, but for "good works"! (verse 10). This has not been understood. Some say, "No we are not free to transgress the Law for that would be sin (I John 3:4). However the Law was nailed to His cross and where no law is, there is no transgression! (Romans 4:15). Therefore we are not transgressing the Law when we fail to keep it, for the Law no longer exists." That is utter nonsense! Since transgression of the Law is "sin" are they saying that sin does not exist? For if the Law has been "done away" then SO HAS SIN!! For sin cannot exist when no Law exists to break! (Romans 4: 15). In fact, the only way to do away with sin is to have it washed away by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord! To do we must repent of our sins and be converted (Acts 2:38 and Acts 3:19). So the Law has not been "done away" but bas been ESTABLISHED through faith in Christ! The whole theme of the book of Galatians is how we arrive at justification. The Galatian Christians were trying to "earn" their justification by keeping the Law. This nullified the grace or God. Paul explained ‐that they had received justification when they accepted. Christ. Now we
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need to keep the Law ‐not to be justified, which comes from God's grace ‐but to show our love to God. For we demonstrate our love when we are "fulfilling" the Law! (Romans 13:10, 1 John 5:2‐3, 2 John 6, and John 14:15). We are "under grace" where our justification is concerned, but we must keep the Law to show our love to God.
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Jesus said, If Thou Wilt Enter Into Life,
Keep the Commandments Do you OBEY Jesus Christ? Or have you been deceived into thinking that one, two, or more of the Ten Commandments have been "done away"? It is time to come out of the world! It is time to come out of the deception! This lesson shows how to understand each of the Ten Commandments. Jesus said not a single jot or title would pass away from the Law! THESE are the Ten Commandments that Jesus Christ COMMANDED His followers to OBEY! Do you? JESUS SAID, “IF THOU WILT enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS”! (Matthew 19:17). He then spelled out to "which" commandments He was referring. The various sects of His day had their many traditions and customs ‐commandments originating with men. But Jesus quoted from Exodus 20 ‐the chapter that gives us the TEN COMMANDMENTS. It was God's commandments that Christ commanded us to keep! Someone will ask, "But did Jesus mean that we should keep all of the commandments?" The Biblical answer is absolutely Yes! Notice what Jesus' own physical brother wrote, years later after he was ordained as the leading apostle of the Headquarters Church of God in Jerusalem: "For whosoever shall keep the WHOLE LAW, and yet offend in one point [commandment], he is guilty of all"! (James 2:10). Notice this word ''point'' is written in italics and therefore does not appear in the original inspired Greek text but was supplied by the translators. The implied meaning is actually "commandment" as the Law is made up ‐not of "points" –but the Law of God is made up of COMMANDMENTS! Notice the next verse for proof. Verse 11 actually quotes from the TEN COMMANDMENTS! James says if we keep all the commandments but just one ‐break anyone of the Ten Commandments, while we keep the other nine, then God considers that we are guilty of having broken the WHOLE Law! Obviously then, more than 30 years after the cross, the TEN COMMANDMENTS were still in force. And according to James, all the commandments (yes, even under the New Covenant) are still in force! Of course! Christ said He did not come to destroy ("do away," annul, abolish, etc.) even so much as the smallest jot or title of the Law. That means that ALL the Law of God is still in force. Why then don't the churches of our modern world keep all the Ten Commandments? Why do they modify some to really say something else and totally abolish others? They have no answer. Now let's examine each one of the Ten Commandments and see what they really mean, and
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how we should obey them. The First Commandment From Mt. Sinai, God thundered the Ten Commandments to His people. The mountain quaked as human beings heard the voice of God! You can read each of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. God initially introduces Himself as the very God who led them out of Egypt into freedom. The first commandment God gave them is: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Imagine if the whole world obeyed only this one commandment ‐ if no one ever worshipped or put anything ahead of the true God in his affections, adoration, and worship. Today most Americans place television as the number one activity in their home to the detriment of family relations with spouse and children. The reading of God’s Word usually does not even rank in the top 10 of personal priorities. The favorite TV show comes first. Sometimes it is sports, and sometimes silly (and usually vulgar) "sit‐coms" displaying every lewd form of juvenile stupidity imaginable. But reading the Bible? Family prayer? "We don't have time for those things," will be a common answer in most American households today. Have we put something ahead of the true God? Anything or anyone you put ahead of God causes you to violate (transgress) this first commandment. While most Americans don't actually worship other deities (the Moslems and Hindus in America of course do) professing Christians usually put amusements at the top of their priority list. Jesus thought of God constantly. The Bible tells us plainly that He never sinned (or, transgressed the Law, I John 3:4). First Peter 2:22 says that Jesus Christ "did no sin." In order to live that kind of life, He had to have put God first in His thought life as well as His actions. Isaiah 42:21 states that the Messiah would "MAGNIFY the Law, and make it honourable." How did Jesus magnify the Law? In what is called the "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus quoted the Law and then explained the true way to keep it. He expounded on its true meaning. One of the ways we obey the first of the Ten Commandments, according to Jesus, is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). This is what it means to have no other gods before the Eternal God, the Creator. Also this commandment of Jesus SUMMARIZES the first four of the Ten Commandments. Jesus then added a second commandment that SUMMARIZES the last six of the Ten Commandments. He said, "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (verses 39‐40). You see? These two commandments summarize what God is teaching us through the Ten Commandments.
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The Second Commandment "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image or any likeness of any thing that IS in heaven above [including God the Father or Jesus Christ Himself] or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth..." (Exodus 20:4). The next verse adds that no one is to bow down (that would include kneeling) before any such IMAGE. When I was in Manhattan some years ago I visited St. Patrick's Cathedral. While there I saw an assortment of statues (graven images) and witnessed the pitiful spectacle of human beings actually bowing down and kneeling to these IMAGES! God thunders, THOU SHALT NOT! Notice also that the second commandment (which is totally left out of the quoted Decalogue taught by the Catholic Church) forbids even so much as having images. Are "images" limited to only "graven" images (or, engraved Images as we would say today)? Decidedly not! Notice again what God said. He also added, "or any likeness"! (verse 4). Well meaning and sincere artists have drawn what they assume to be likenesses (pictures) of Jesus and sold them to Christian bookstores where well meaning professing Christians purchase them to display these IMAGES in their homes! This is a flagrant violation of the second commandment!! God inspired Moses to write in Deuteronomy 4:15‐16 that we are specifically not to make any image or similitude of GOD!! And he was referring to the one true God! Read these verses very carefully and see that he was not talking about "other" gods. That was covered in the first commandment. The second commandment deals with making images of the true God. This would include either God the Father or God the Son. Why do most churches break this commandment? Why do they have no regard for God's Law? In all fairness to the churches they break this commandment (and others of the Ten Commandments) because they have been deceived into believing that the Law of God was "done away" when Christ came! It is because they simply do not believe what Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:17‐19! How tragic! In creating images of what the think Christ looked like they have created a totally FALSE CONCEPT of all effeminate, weak, shamefully long‐haired man that no father would dare allow his daughter to date (if he had any say about it at all!)! Jesus did not look like the false IMAGES you have seen in today’s church. These churches are SINNING against God by even having such images! And the images portray a false concept of Christ. Now can you see one of the reasons why God forbids us the make images of Him? The Roman Catholic Church took the statues of Apollo, Hermes, and the other so‐called “gods” and brought into their churches these images and told the faithful Catholics to accept these IMAGES as representations of Jesus! Artists then painted likenesses of these heathen STATUES into portraits‐ which some of you have even now hanging on your living room wall! God told Israel that they were not to keep the images of other “gods” in their land. He knew
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that they would do the very think the Gentile Italians did in Rome! They would use these pictures to represent the true God, thereby creating a completely false concept of what God looks like. Notice what God commanded Israel: “Then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and DESTROY all their PICTURES, and destroy all their molten IMAGES…” (Numbers 33:52). If you have “pictures,” “likeness,” or “images” of some artist’s conception of what he thinks Christ looked like, God commands you to DESTROY such pictures! Will you obey the second commandment? The Third Commandment "Thou shalt not take the NAME of the ETERNAL thy God in vain: for the ETERNAL will not hold him guiltless that takes HIS name In vain (Exodus 20:7). From past lessons you have learned that one of the Hebrew names given in Scripture for God is the word YHWH. While no one word translates this name perfectly into English, French, or Spanish, the closest term in these three languages that translates it perfectly is "the ETERNAL." In the Spanish and French Bibles it is so translated. In most English Bibles the word is left un‐translated and following the Jewish custom the word "LORD" in all capital letters is given. Taking God's name in vain can be done no matter which name of God you use. Any term that is used for God such as the words, God, Lord, Almighty, Jesus or Christ, or any other words that identify God, should never be used either in profanity or simple slang. What does the term "vain" actually mean? Something is "vain" when it is useless, empty, or futile. If we use God's name as a simple by‐word filler in our conversations, then we are not using His name with the reverence it deserves. And of course some people when they become suddenly angry begin to curse and swear and use God's name to damn this or that thing or even a person. This is a vain (useless or empty) way to use the name of our Creator. It is not a small sin. It is one of the "big Ten" of all God's commandments! While there are smaller commandments, statutes, judgments, ordinances, etc. found in the Bible, the largest and most important ‐ as well as the most well known ‐ of all God's Law is the TEN COMMANDMENTS! Reverence for God's name constitutes one of the major Ten Commandments. In what is called the "Lord's Prayer," one of the first things Jesus mentions is to "hallow" God's name. Believe it or not Preachers are some of the worst offenders of this third commandment! They many times are heard to say, "My..." and then exclaim the name of their Creator as a mere, useless vain by‐word! (I am especially thinking of Pentecostal TV preachers!) Also the name of Jesus Christ must be included in the third commandment, as He is also God the Son! On TV and in the movies, and unfortunately, in TV sermons the Holy Name of “Jesus” is used as a mere expletive (with an explanation mark after it). Whereas many of us would say, “Man!” or some such explanative, they tend to use Jesus’ name in vain right in the pulpit! These ministers
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either don't know that what they are doing is sin or they just don't care. After all, they believe the Law is now "done away!" It isn't. Jesus said it wasn't! And they are sinning to use our Lord's name in such a flippant way for "filler" when they don't know what else to say. No loving husband would dare use his wife's name in profanity, or even as a useless by‐ word. His love and respect for her would prevent him from doing it himself or allowing anyone else to do it in his presence. Yet he may show disrespect to his very Maker and God by using His name in a vain way. Another way people take God's name in vain is by slurring His name. Where do expletives such as "gosh,” "gol" or "golly" and "Gee" or "Gee Whiz" come from? Look up these words in Webster's dictionary. You will see these are so‐called "euphemisms" of the NAME OF GOD. The devil has deceived people into thinking they can SLUR God's name and are not therefore taking His Name in vain. Would your wife or husband care if you took their name, dragged it in the mud, so to speak, and slurred its pronunciation in order to use it as a by‐word? Of course not! These slang words should be avoided as surely as we avoid using the word "damn" with the name of the Creator! Listen and understand: the only time you and I should use God's name (and this includes Jesus' Name as well) is when we are either praying to Him, or reverently speaking about Him. No other use can be condoned! Finally, jokes that use the name of either the Father or the Saviour to get a laugh is BLASPHEMOUS and should be shunned as one would shun the fires of Hell! Repent of this horrible sin and begin obeying your Saviour to "KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS"! (Matthew 19: 17). The Fourth Commandment "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the ETERNAL thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work" etc. You can read the fourth commandment in its entirety in Exodus 20:8‐11. This is the most neglected and ill treated of all the Ten Commandments by those who profess to be Christians! Since they have been deceived into thinking ''the Law is done away," they work any time they wish, and even in some cases work seven days a week, feeling they now have "liberty from the Law." Yet the Sabbath is an important commandment to insure good health and longevity as well as spiritual refreshment. God gave the Sabbath to mankind as a tremendous blessing! I once knew a man, probably in his 30s, who had purchased a grocery store and to save money, he worked the day shift himself rather than hire someone else to run it. He never took a day off, working seven days a week. He felt he could not give up the money. However the Sabbath is likened to a "paid vacation." God will see to it that you can actually
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be more productive the six days you do work, if you will honor Him and rest on the Sabbath! This man should have honored God. As a result of working seven days a week, I believe for a number of years, he eventually strained the relationship with his wife and family (never having the time to spend with them). His wife divorced him. He lost his wife, his beautiful house, and really his entire family. Soon thereafter, without a single day of rest every week, he lost his health and died of exhaustion, a relatively young man! How utterly tragic! And all because he didn't know to keep God's fourth commandment and honor God by keeping God's Sabbath! The fourth commandment tells us when the Sabbath was made. It was not made in Moses' day, but rather when God made man ‐ in the Garden of Eden. That original seventh day God rested on is called "the Sabbath day." Notice Exodus 20:11. "Wherefore the ETERNAL blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it"! What does "hallowed" mean? It means He made it "Holy" ‐ set apart, from the first six days of the week. Notice the account of this in Genesis 2:3. "And God blessed the seventh day, and SANCTIFIED it"! Notice God "sanctified" the seventh day ‐ set it apart ‐ as Holy from the other days of the week. Therefore the Sabbath was created during Creation Week ‐ not in Moses' day. Some say the Sabbath was only created for the Jews. But the Sabbath was created nearly 2000 years before the first Jew was ever born! If the Sabbath was made when the first man and woman was made then we must conclude that the Sabbath was therefore made for MAN ‐ not just for one race or ethnic group! Notice what Jesus Christ said about the fourth commandment: "And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for MAN"! (Mark 2:28). The Greek word translated "man" here means MANKIND! The Sabbath was given to all mankind when God created it and gave it to the first man! The Sabbath day was intended for Adam and ALL his descendents! Yet today deceived ministers even in our most reputable denominations teach their people that the Law was "done away"! How utterly ignorant! Jesus rested every Sabbath and attended worship services then which was His customary practice (Luke 4:16). Peter taught that Jesus is the Example to the believers (I Peter 2:21). After three‐and‐one‐half years Jesus' disciples continued to rest on ''the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles taught them "as his manner was" on the Sabbath day (Acts17:2 and Acts 13:4244). When Christ returns to set up His Kingdom, "all flesh" ‐ all human beings ‐ will worship the Lord" from one Sabbath to another" (Isaiah 66:23). This is why the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament, "There remaineth therefore a KEEPING of a Sabbath to the people of God"! The "people of God" under the New Covenant are those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. James 2:10 reminds us that to break anyone of the Ten Commandments, that, under the
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New Covenant, God judges us as guilty of breaking ALL the commandments! To transgress the Law of God is SIN! (I John 3:4). This does not mean it is wrong to worship God on every day and all days of the week ‐ in fact we should – or at times to vacation and rest on another day in addition to God's Sabbath. But we must never substitute our own day for His day! The Last Six Commandments The first four of the Ten Commandments define the Love of God. The last six of the Ten Commandments define how to love our neighbor as ourselves. Since the first four com‐ mandments are the most misunderstood, more space was given to each of them. The last six commandments are basically self explanatory. But we are still commanded by. Christ in Matthew 19:17 to obey all ten of God's commandments! (See also Romans 13:9). The Fifth Commandment Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the ETERNAL thy God giveth thee. The wording in Deuteronomy 5 which also contains a list of the entire Ten Commandments, adds, "that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee" (verse 16). The apostle Paul reiterates this fifth commandment for New Covenant believers thusly: "Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2‐3). That is the promise‐ that you may prolong your life! If everyone obeyed this one commandment, he likely would never break the remaining five commandments. This commandment teaches respect for authority, which begins with the Home. J. Edgar Hoover once said, “A child that is taught to respect the laws and authority of his parents will have little trouble respecting the laws of the land. It is juvenile delinquency which is born from disrespect and dishonor to parents which usually starts a child onto a life of crime and eventual imprisonment or loss of their own life!” It is well known that many criminals grew up in broken homes where they did not respect and honor both parents. This commandment includes grandparents as well, and by extension it teaches respect for our elders and all in authority. In oriental cultures where this commandment is strictly observed, there is little crime, for all members of society ‐ even adults at any age respect their elders. Compare this to the United States where our children grow up, sometimes even in church families where they hear that ''the law is done away" and that therefore obeying the Ten Commandments are not important any more. How tragic that some heathen cultures obey
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this commandment more so than western nations where Christianity dominates! Also by extension the fifth commandment includes our Heavenly Father as well as our earthly father. We must address God as "Father' and give Him honor accordingly. This means we are to obey Him without question, realizing that to even question God's command is to show disrespect. But if a child is not taught this principle of honor, then he will not easily transfer this to his honor for God! Obedience to the fifth commandment facilitates one's relationship to God. That relationship must be a Father‐child relationship, built on faith, trust, love, and obedience. But if this is not taught in the home from childhood, later it is harder for an adult to learn to honor his heavenly Father. Thus the commandment to honor our earthly parents naturally transfers to our worship and honor of God. Now do you see what it is vitally important that we obey the fifth commandment? The whole world would reap the benefits (including the professing Christian culture) if they would obey just this one commandment! The Sixth Commandment Thou shalt not kill. The Hebrew term here actually means to commit murder. Notice this is the exact way Jesus quoted it in Matthew 19:18. After honoring our parents, we are to honor the lives of other people by considering their lives sacred. Murder is deliberately taking the life of an innocent human being. It does not include the killing of animals. Nor does it include capital punishment as God has commanded that if a person commits murder (taking the life of an innocent person) the civil authorities are to punish such an individual by putting him to death! (Genesis 9:6). "Murder" therefore would certainly include taking the innocent lives of the unborn! Can any murder be more heinous than the deliberate killing of an innocent baby? (For additional scrip‐ tures concerning this subject see Psalms 79:11, Proverbs 24:11‐12, Proverbs 31:8, Exodus 21:22‐23, Exodus 23:7, Jeremiah 7:6, Jeremiah 19:4, Jeremiah 22:3, 17, and Ezekiel 22:4+12). Some of these scriptures deal with paying someone to take the life of another human being! In America at the present day, every day an average of 4,000 little babies have their lives systematically taken from them! Scripturally speaking this is murder, plain and simple. There is no room for debate on this. But just as God has allowed and even commanded capital punishment, so fighting in wartime is allowed (see Jeremiah 48:10). When God commanded Israel to take over the heathen cities in Canaan, He commanded them to exterminate certain tribes of morally corrupt heathen and idolatrous people. This is not murder, but is considered wartime which is allowed by God. But to take innocent life is most certainly murder and is strictly forbidden in the Word of God.
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The Seventh Commandment Thou shalt not commit adultery. God gave this commandment to preserve the sanctity of the Home ‐to protect the Home. Husbands and wives who violate this absolute Law of God and Law of marriage end up in emotional distress, ill health, divorce, and sometimes death. Little children grow up in broken homes and sometimes have broken lives that require personal counseling when they are young adults. The penalties many times are shared by every member of the family. While God can forgive any sin, He thunders THOU SHALT NOT! Now think: If the Law has been "done away," or abolished, as most churches teach, then it is no longer a sin to commit this act! That's true! The apostle Paul said, "For where no law is, there is no transgression"! (Romans 4:15). Sin is the transgression of God's Law (I John 3:4). If anyone of the ten commandments was modified, changed, done away, altered or abrogated at the cross, then all of them were (James 2:10). Can any thinking person say that it is no longer a transgression ‐ no longer a sin ‐ to be unfaithful to one's spouse? Obviously no true Christian could think such a thing! However I myself have heard this very thing preached from the pulpit!! I actually heard a minister preach that having an extramarital affair is no longer "adultery" and is no longer wrong! ‐that it is no longer a sin! Jesus said, "Beware of FALSE PROPHETS"! Anyone who says the Law was "done away" should be suspected of being a false prophet! The Eighth Commandment Thou shalt not steal. If only this one commandment was universally obeyed it would change the world! The penalty for stealing is paid by all of us. Shoplifting causes retail stores to increase their prices to pay for the unpaid items that thieves steal, and to pay for expensive security systems. The apostle Paul wrote: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good" ‐why? Paul answers, "that he may have to GIVE to him that needeth"! (Ephesians 4:28). By becoming givers we overcome the sin of stealing! Borrowing without repaying is stealing. Cheating is also a form of breaking the eighth commandment and is therefore sin! Neglecting to pay our TITHES to God's Work is specifically referred to as robbery where God is concerned (Malachi 3:8‐9). If you are not paying your tithes regularly, you are a thief! And we must render our tithes exactly as God commanded ‐to His Work ‐not to false prophets who preach doctrines not supported by the Bible! Nor are we to "share" our tithes (God's tithe!) with the poor. To do so is stealing from God because unless you put God's tithe where He commands you to, then He does not receive it, and you are
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stealing from God. The New Testament shows the tithe that once supported the Old Testament Ministry is now intended to support the Gospel Ministry! (I Corinthians 9: 13‐14). If you are not paying God His tithe according to the New Testament, then God considers you a thief. You have STOLEN from God and therefore are a sinner before God. The Ninth Commandment Thou shalt not bear false, witness against thy neighbor. In a court of law today, bearing false witness carries penalties of perjury. And the penalties can be very severe. In the spirit of this law it includes every form of deliberate deception or lying. Parents who LIE to their children about Santa Claus to supposedly observe the birthday of the One, who taught that we should keep God's commandments, are sinning! ‐ transgressing the LAW! Such supposedly "harmless" lies nevertheless constitute deception! Deliberately deceiving an innocent person is a LIE. Churches that continue to teach the myth that Jesus was born in the dead of winter at the time of the old religious festival known as the Saturnalia on December 25th are LYING to their congregations because nearly all of them know better. They KNOW it is not the birthday of Jesus, yet they perpetuate this LIE in order to keep their own traditions, thereby laying aside God's commandment forbidding deception! (see Mark 7:7‐ 9, 13). The Bible plainly teaches that Jesus was to be buried a full three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40) yet the church world is so steeped in their manmade traditions (inherited from their mother church, Rome) that they continue to teach the outright lie that Christ died on so‐called "good Friday" and rose on the pagan Babylonian festival day of "Easter Sunday." He didn't! And anyone who can read Matthew 12:40 knows three days and three nights cannot be counted from Friday sunset to Sunday morning at sunrise!! These false religious traditions are LIES from Satan, to deceive the world! Christ commands us to COME OUT of the world and specifically out of Babylon! (Revelation 18:4). It is time to stop LYING about Jesus Christ ‐ saying He was born on December 25th, that He died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday, that He was weak, effeminate and wore long hair which the Bible says is a shame for a man to wear! (I Corinthians 11: 14). It is time to stop lying to children and to each other. God commands us to speak the truth. The Tenth Commandment Thou shalt not covet ... anything that is thy neighbor's (to covet means to desire). While it is not wrong to rightly desire our needs to be met, we are not to desire another's possessions. "Covetousness" is an obsession to have things. Jesus said, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he posses‐
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seth" (Luke 12:15). Getting out minds on having many things, becoming materialistic, rather than putting first the Kingdom of God in our lives (Matthew 6:33) is covetousness and is therefore sin ‐ for it breaks the tenth commandment of God! Having our hearts on what we can get rather than on serving God is simply getting our priorities wrong. It can never lead to happiness. Jesus said seek God's Kingdom and all the things we need will be supplied. Just like that! ‐He provided a cure for covetousness. Read Exodus 20: 17 for the full wording of the commandment. We are not to covet or desire anything that belongs to our neighbor, including his house, his wife, or his livestock. Even though Jesus did not quote the tenth commandment in Matthew 19:17‐18 when He quoted a sampling of the Ten Commandments, His simple directive to ''KEEP THE COM‐ MANDMENTS" necessarily includes this commandment as well as ALL the commandments according to James 2:10. Coveting, lust (inordinate affection) and illicit or wrongful desires of any kind fall under the tenth commandment. By overcoming covetousness and becoming givers we can have a greater blessing! (Acts 20:35). We must imitate God and become givers. Your Next Step When you received and confessed Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), you were accepting Him as "boss or ruler" over your life. Jesus said, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say"? (Luke 6:46). If we call Him "Lord," then we are required by Him to the will of God the Father! (see Matthew 7:21). God's will is that we KEEP the Ten Commandments. If we call Jesus "Lord" then we are required to obey all ten of His Father's Commandments, even though practically the entire religious world ignores one or more of them! We are not to follow the world. We are not to follow men ‐ not even sincere religious men. We are to follow Christ as our Example (I Peter 2:21, I John 2:6)‐not men. But most people follow other people ‐the majority opinion. Now that you know the Truth, what will you do? Jesus said God's Word is Truth (John 17:17). You have seen the Truth of God's Word. But because most people do not have "the love of the truth" (ll Thess. 2:10) they will refuse to meditate on this knowledge, pray about it, "prove all things" and begin obeying what they have proved! What about you? How much do you love God? How much do you love His Truth? Are you willing to step out of the traditions of men and begin truly obeying His Ten Commandments? Or will you, like a bloated dead fish, float downstream, taking the easy way? Will you choose the wide road that leads to destruction? Or will you choose the "strait and narrow" road that leads to life? If you will enter into eternal life, said Jesus, keep the commandments. You can throw this Bible lesson in the trash
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and reject the truth God has shown you, or you can fall to your knees and ask God's forgiveness for having broken and transgressed His Law which is sin and repent and turn from your disobedience. You can confess I John 1:9 and ask God to cleanse you from all unrighteousness – all your sins ‐in Christ's blood (verse 7), repenting from a lifestyle of disobedience. Or you have the choice to ignore this Truth and continue following the traditions of men, thereby making your church worship vain (useless) (see Mark 7:7‐9). It is up to you. God is waiting to see what you will do. But be forewarned. If you reject this Truth, He may not open your mind to see any additional Truth. Why should He do so, if He has seen that you will not obey the Truth He has already given you? The decision is yours.
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Personal from Keith Slough What must we do to inherit a GREAT REWARD from Almighty God? We no longer need be left in the dark about this important subject. Jesus Christ tells us exactly what we must do to inherit the greatest reward possible in His Kingdom. Read this personal letter from Keith Slough to all students of this Bible Study Course!
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REETINGS DILIGENT Bible Student! I want to do something unusual and write to all our students this personal letter, to encourage each of you to continue in God's Word. Don't quit. Jesus said to those who believed on Him, people like you and me, "If ye CONTINUE in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed"! (John 8:31). Are you continuing in His Word, or are you letting the Truth you are learning slip away? James, the physical brother of Jesus wrote, "But be ye DOERS of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves"! (James 1:22). It is not enough to "hear" the Truth of God. God commands us to do His Word. For example, since you have learned the Biblical laws of prosperity, have you put them to work for you? Are you obeying them (as taught in Lessons 9 and 10)? I tell you that these truths are life changing! But only if you DO them! They don't work merely by reading about them in this Bible Study Course. You are about to learn the deeper things of God, and have already started learning things you never learned or even heard about in church. Yet, if you have taken the time to actually "prove all things" from the Bible, you have seen these things proved! To give you just a few brief examples, and to refresh your memory about the things which you have learned, you have seen the proof that Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40) and you now know that the religious tradition of Christ having died on so‐called "good Friday" and having been resurrected on so called "Easter" Sunday morning which most of us inherited from the "mother church" (the Roman Catholic church) is clearly wrong. Rather He clearly died on Wednesday and was raised from the dead at the end of the Sabbath (what we call Saturday evening). He did not rise from the dead on Sunday morning! Yet how many churches continue to observe an "Easter Sunrise Service" to supposedly com‐ memorate this event?
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You have seen that the religious tradition of Christ having been a never‐smiling, weak and effeminate, whispering weirdo who couldn't afford a haircut, is clearly wrong (I Corinthians 11:14). You have learned that His crucifixion did not occur in the Roman Catholic tradition of A.D. 33 (when the Passover occurred on Friday) but in the year A.D. 31 when the Passover occurred on Wednesday ‐the very day of the week on which He died. You have seen proof of His deity (which some of the cults deny). You have seen proof that Christ commands us to keep God's Ten Commandments, though the majority of churches, believe it or not, say the Law is "done away." Their teaching is shocking in the light of Scripture! It is not enough to merely "learn about" the truths of God. We must embrace them! We must learn to LOVE God's Truth, because we love God! Jesus said we must do the will of God the Father ‐ not call Him "Lord" only in a religious fashion (see Matthew 7:21). People go to church, sing in the choir, serve on committees, want in many cases to "run the church," or in some way to control the church. In verse 23, Jesus will say to them, "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work INIQUITY"! This word "iniquity" in the Greek, means to be "without law." They do not keep God's Law, yet they call Jesus "Lord"! They want to control what the church does, yet are not willing to really surrender their lives to the will of [the] Father which is heaven" (verse 21). Do you understand? Many believe they only need profess Jesus as Lord, but that they do not have to obey Him. What foolishness! Jesus said, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Have you been guilty of this? It is a sad fact that many church goers pay little attention to the Ten Commandments and to the plain instructions found in the New Testament from both Jesus Christ and His apostles. Now what does God expect you to do in order to earn a great reward? Jesus tells us plainly in what is called the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:17, He tells us to “keep the Commandments”! Though some people today assume one or more of the Ten Commandments have been altered, modified, abolished, done away, etc., Jesus said they haven’t been and won’t be, at least until the last prophecy of Heaven and Earth passing away, has been “fulfilled” (Greek: “come to pass”) (verse 18). Then He proceeds to tell us how to inherit a GREAT REWARD in the Kingdom of Heaven as opposed to merely being given a small position in the Kingdom. Notice verse 19 carefully: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called GREAT in the kingdom of heaven”! Do you see? God will give some greater rewards than others based on their relationship to the Law of God! Now to be saved, we only need to believe that God raised Christ from the dead, and to acknowledge and confess, from the heart, the Lordship of Jesus (Romans 10:9‐10). If we then obey Him as Lord to the best of our knowledge, then we are doing the best we can do. It does not mean we will lose our Salvation because we do not have a great understanding of the Las when we break the Commandments in ignorance. The Bible tells us that God “winks at” (or
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overlooks) ignorance. But when knowledge is given, then we have a greater responsibility. You now have a much greater responsibility, perhaps even more so than your Pastor because you now know Truth he himself did not learn in the seminaries of the world. God has indeed “winked at” our ignorance for a season, “but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Now that you know you are to keep the Ten Commandments, have you repented before God for breaking them, following the traditions of men? Have you been a “follower” of your denominational tradition rather than a true servant of Almighty God? Have you trusted a Sunday School Quarterly to teach you the Truth of God while neglecting to read your own Bible? Have you depended upon the Pulpit Ministry in your church to lead and guide you into all Truth without really “searching the Scriptures daily” (proving all things) to see whether those things you are learning are really the Word of God? (Acts 17:11). The majority of professing Christians have not taken the time to read and really STUDY the Bible. They trust their church to teach them what they need to know. It seems to never dawn on them that maybe their church may not know as much as it ought to know. Yet you can get the truth directly from God in your own prayer closet, reading the Word of God on your knees. But most Christians are too busy to do it. And this is why they do not understand the Word of God! The apostle Paul gave a stern warning t Christians living in the Last Days! (see Thessalonians 2:1‐3). He said because some at the End Time would not truly love the Truth they would PERISH! (verse 10). Notice he did not say they did not “receive” the truth. The world has not received the truth. They don’t have it. But any Christian who has a Bible has access to the Truth of God, for Jesus said God’s Word is Truth (John 17:17). But because they have not also received the love of the Truth, therefore they will be deceived by the “son of perdition” –called the “beast” in Revelation 13 and referred to as the “Antichrist” by Bible students! Will you be one of those who will be deceived in the last days because you did not love the truth and did not embrace it when it was presented to you? This is a dire warning! The majority of profession Christians are spiritually asleep in the last days (Romans 13:11). When the events described in the Book of Revelation are suddenly thrust on them, will they have enough “oil in their lamps” (Matthew 25:3+5). To get them into the first resurrection when Christ returns to “catch away” His saints to be His “bride” and to participate in what is called the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb”? How much do you love God? How much do you really love His Truth? Do you love His Truth enough to really repent of breaking even the least of the commandments and to begin now, today to start keeping the commandments as Jesus tells us to do? While you have learned a great deal of Bible knowledge in this Study Course, you will notice that as you continue these lessons they are getting deeper into the Truth of God. There are only about 10 lessons more and you will have finished the Bible Study course. And the last 10 or so lessons contain some of the most astonishing TRUTHS of God you have ever been taught. Knowledge is a dangerous thing if ignored. Jesus said, "Take heed what ye hear: with what
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measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you" (Mark 4:24). In other words, if you measure out your time, spending only 10 minutes a day studying the Word of God, then God will only give you 10 minutes of Truth. If you spend an hour or more a day, then you can receive more truth. How much of ourselves should we really give to God? And then Jesus added, "…and unto you that hear shall more be given"! (verse 24). If you are willing to really "hear" these truths now, then you are opening the door for Christ to share more truths with you at a later time! There is much more to learn besides at you are learning in this Bible Study course. But if you do not hear the things presented here ‐hear them in the sense of truly "hearing" with your heart enough to repent of sin the transgression of the Law ‐ and begin obeying new Truth as it is given to you, then why should God give you additional truth? Notice the next verse. "For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath"! (verse 25). Christ will then allow Satan to take away the seed that has been sown into your heart before it can take root (see Mark 4:15), if you do not cherish the Truth of God when you learn it! Therefore it never produces "fruit" in your life. God's truth is very precious! Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Why? If God called them why would He end up choosing only a few of the ones He called? Simply because few respond to the call! God is possibly calling you to a GREAT REWARD in the Kingdom of Heaven! However if you neglect these truths and let them slip away (Hebrews 2:1) then you will not receive the great reward God called you to have! How tragic!!! Don't let this matchless priv‐ ilege pass you by! You have been given an opportunity to learn God's Law, from the greatest of the commandments to the least commandments in this Bible Study course! Receiving a love for God's Truth now will allow God to eventually CHOOSE you to be in a high position as a king ruling over multiple cities in His kingdom in the 1000‐year Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ! But if you reject the Truths you will learn in this Bible Study Course, refusing to repent of breaking God's Laws ‐His commandments ‐and to begin to accept and obey His commandments, and not only break even the least of His Laws but "teach men so as well," then even though you did receive the free gift of salvation, when you are caught up to meet the Lord at His return, you will be called the least in His kingdom! (Matthew 5:19). You will be among the lowest of those who are there, though saved by grace. What God is Offering YOU I Understand: God offers us two things. First He offers us the free gift of Salvation. No works are required! We believe on Jesus Christ and confess Him, from this moment forward, as Lord over our lives then, He will save us and birth us into His Kingdom. But the second thing He offers the saved is an opportunity at qualifying for a reward. Jesus said He would give out these rewards at His coming. Notice. "...and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his
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work shall be"! (Revelation 22: 12). Did you catch that? While salvation is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8‐9) the reward is determined solely by our works! ‐what we did, the life we lived ‐ after we were saved! I want to encourage each of you to truly pray for understanding, committing your lives anew to obedience to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Be willing to do whatever He commands you to do. Ask God to reveal new truth to you. The Holy Spirit is the teacher of the church (I John 2:27). No matter how plain I try to make the Truth of God so you can comprehend it, none of you can understand it except it be given you from above (Matthew 16:17). This is why you must pray for understanding. But secondly, you must pray in willingness to OBEY what God reveals to you. If you are not willing to obey new truth that is given to you, fearing it might contradict what you have always believed or assumed, then write or call immediately to CANCEL your subscription to this Bible Study Course! Knowledge of God's Truth is dangerous if you have no intention of obeying God! I warn you in all seriousness, it would be better for you never to know the deeper truths of God than to learn them and then reject them (n Peter 2:21) and if you find yourself loving the praise of men more than the praise of God (John 12:43). I warn you, it would be better for you to be left in ignorance. For after you have received the Truth of God, He then will hold you accountable for the Truth He has revealed to you. If you neglect or put off making a decision about what you will do with these truths, then your very hesitancy itself is a decision to REJECT the truth God has so graciously given you. You are then in a real sense rejecting God Himself! But if you humbly receive and accept all the truths which you have found in the Bible, after having searched the Scriptures and having proved all things, then the rewards Jesus Christ has for you are GREAT! God will be watching you, as you continue to learn His truth, and will be waiting on your decision. I also will be interested to know if you will be obedient to the Truth of His Word. May the Lord open your heart to sincerely obey even the least of His commandments and to teach men so, that you may have a GREAT REWARD!
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