The Scriptures, also known as the Bible, The Word of God, or God’s Word, are divided into two sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Scriptures is God’s inspired Word for life profitable doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Ten Commandments are laws that apply to God’s mandates to live a perfect in righteousness. Anyone who opens a Bible can find the Ten Commandments written in the Old Testament, the second book. To find the Ten Commandments in the Bible, we look for the second chapter of Exodus 20, verses 2 to 17. The review of the Ten Commandments is in the fifth book of the Bible, Deuteronomy chapter 5, verses 6 to 21.
Indeed, we continuously try to stand on firm grounds to live in righteousness; we recognize that we were born into a sinful nature and grew into it throughout the years. However, it does not mean we cannot stand firm in God’s grounds to change our destiny according to God’s will and purpose. We must learn and adapt accordingly, praying to be safe from committing unlawful sins, transgressions, and iniquities.
In other words, to know ourselves better, we must read, learn, and meditate on the Word of God to lead us always through trials, tribulations, temptations, transgressions, wickedness, and iniquities committed in our generations and from past generations beyond the fourth generations.
For instance, if we know that in the book of Exodus chapter 20, verse 13 says: “You shall not murder,” we should avoid doing so as it will be a transgression of the Scriptures and a sin to God.
Consequently, shame, guilt, remorse, and many other forces of darkness can cloud our mind, soul, body, and strength that belong to our Almighty God. Therefore, the chapter shows us how the Scriptures tell us to avoid this unlawful sin experience and instead follow up with His commandments to keep in righteousness, avoiding falling for a despicable and abomination act that will follow us during our lifetime.
God’s Word is so comforting that it shows and guides us to think and discern our rights or wrongs. It takes us to meditate on it, refraining from unlawfully violating the commandments and the Scriptures.
Reflecting on the commandments and regulations can bring a lot of remorse and regret for things we should never have done. However, it is necessary to read the Bible more often and remember the chapters of Exodus and Deuteronomy. So do not hesitate; read either one or the other frequently to be safe and in agreement with God.
Let us meditate for a second on these commandments:
We shall have no other gods (deities, images) before our Father God. As simple as it sounds. It acknowledges that we should not be praising other gods but the only powerful, faithful, merciful, compassionate, and majestic God Almighty YHWH. He is The Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent God.
We shall not make carved images in its likeness for ourselves, in heaven, on the Earth beneath, or under the waters. Our Father God is jealous of our praises and actions toward other lower gods or deities that could take His place in our minds, hearts, souls, and spirits.
We shall not take (misuse, swear, misinterpret, and misrepresent) the name of the Lord, our God, in vain. None of us want our words to be used ungodly and unjustly. Therefore, refrain from using God’s name in vain.
God says we should honor our Fathers and Mothers to make our days longer on Earth. So yes, our parents deserve respect, consideration, and love for all they have done to bring us to life and through it to this day.
We shall not murder because we are sinning, causing our spirit to groan and moan for what we have done. Undoubtedly, this is a heavy spine we could carry in our hearts for the rest of our lifetimes if we are capable of hurting someone to the point of taking away their breath. Although God loves us and loves the world more than we can ever think or imagine, and yes, we may doubt God, which is a sin. However, He sends his only beloved Son into the world, not for condemnation but salvation (John 3:16).
We shall not commit adultery, which makes us feel guilty of committing unfaithful and aggravated crime actions alone or in conjunction with another person to others.
We shall not steal. When we have robbed something from someone, our mindset is not the same anymore; we feel the guilt of such actions, which could be devastating for our future with God if this is not corrected.
We shall not bear false witness against our neighbor’s house. May God help us not to fall into disobedience to His command and to exhibit extremely reproachable lawless behaviors.
We shall not desire our neighbor’s wife, husband, partner, or anything from that house, land, or farm. Whatever our neighbors have, we must not build jealousy, envy, and evil desires to have the same things. We do not know how or by what means it was acquired, so do not fall into greedy ambitions and desires.
One more thing to remember is that the Sabbath is a Holy day for the Lord. However, in many countries, due to government calendars and laws, we have to work and also have other obligations to fulfill, but we can dedicate time to meditate on God’s Scriptures and spend all the time or some time with God. Whatever our government, school, work, or personal calendar is, we must find time for God. We should stand firm and take a solid position to honor God and accommodate our daily time to praise and worship our God. We only need to enter our secret place to honor our Abba-Father God.
Finally, we must read and meditate on the Ten Commandments, think about their application, and avoid any life-changing behavior due to falling into sin and unlawful transgressions. However, we know that because the love of our God is deep to the world, He has given us His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16.) Let our mind, soul, and spirit rest assure that our God is there to forgive us if we come boldly to confess our sins to Him. These sins and transgressions wash away when we believe and transform our lives to be more in His image.