10 commandments

“The Ten Commandments”.

Commandment 1 “Though shalt have no other God’s before me”. Exodus 20:3.

There is a reason her why God says there shouldn’t be any other God’s according to Watson. God instead say’s there should be no other God’s before himself. Why is this, because he commands concerns all people and they are all being spoken to by name? This command is the foundation of all true religion. The worship of the one true God. The God’s of the heathens are all idols as opposed to God who is the one true God maker and sustainer of all creation.

All other things have nothing of deity in them except the fact that the true deity created them. To have God be God to us is to fear him as God. This takes faith not only to fear God but also to believe there are no other gods. To have God be God to us is to trust him as such as well. To have God be God to us according to Watson is to love him as well. Obedience follows and the path continues until all things are for God regarding the way we love our lives. Lastly, Christians are condemned who profess God to be their only God but o not live as if this was true. This is a vast majority, a people who claim to know him but never have known him as the one true God above all things.

Watson concludes this paragraph by saying that denying God this command is the highest form of perjury. It is important to realize this command, as universal being that God is the author and sustainer of all things.

Command 2 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any grave image…” Exodus 20:4

This is the worship of God but in a false manner. There should be no images set up for religious use or worship. To worship God as an image is both absurd and unlawful. The papist make the argument that the image is a medium by which God is worshiped but this is wrong and a breaking of the second commandment on all levels. There should be no iconographic substance in or around the house of worship or in the media. We are to walk by faith and not by sight awaiting the visions of the Lord resurrected but this is not a privilege we get yet.

Watson continues in his defense of the idea that Moses made an idol in the form of a bronze serpent. Hezekiah defaced this after the people began to use it for the wrong purposes. In no manner does this allow the setting up of images in church worship.

Idols lead to the practice of superstitions. Superstitions bring the wrong practices into the church and are stemmed from the presence of idols. In any manner any images are idols before God and is not accepted as true worship. There is a reason why images are not to be worshiped and that is because God is a jealous God. Another reason is it actually becomes contempt and hatred towards God. Watson shows how he would “hate his own soul if he did not see it loving God”, proving that the soul who sets up idols is a soul that hates God.

In all things regarding this topic we are to pray in the spirit of God because the spirit allows us to will and to do. It cannot be done in the right spirit but those who practice idol worship cannot know God and the truth is not in them.

Commandment 3 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”. Exodus 20:7

There is a negative expressed and an informative implied here. Throughout the scriptures we see the men of God giving proper reverence to his name and not showing any evilness of heart by the way they speak of him. There is also the argument similar to that of the first commandment that when we speak of God’s name but do not live by it is breaking the third command. Calling out to God in an unworthy manner, not for salvation but out of contempt is a breaking of this command as well. Praying to God in disbelief is also a wrong use of the name of the Lord according to Watson. Using the Lord’s name in vain and saying that it is just a bad habit is a terrible aggravation of sin. Watson goes on in this chapter to explain many different things that can be constituted as breaking this command.

Sometimes God punishes swearing and blasphemy in this life. This command is taken in faith for a number of reasons but the breaking of it brings consequences. It can also be argued that anyone who does this is in danger of hell fire for speaking against the savior in a manner that does not exercise truth or love. This chapter makes it clear that there will be eternal torment for anyone who goes down this road. The road of blasphemies against the holy. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. Hebrews 10:31

Commandment 4 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” Exodus 20:8

“This command has been engraved in stone by God’s own finger and would do us well to have it engraved on our own hearts” Watson

Six days man is to labor and do all his work and on the seventh he is to rest. What’s interesting about the biblical worked week is that it is 72 hrs. Most Americans complain about 40 and still work on Sunday. How far we have fallen from grace especially not to keep the fourth commandment in any manner. The seventh day is a day that is to be set apart for the worship of God.

It is a command first and foremost, it is to be taken seriously and it is to be copied from God’s own observance of it. God created all things from the word in six days and rested on the seventh. God has commanded a Sabbath, a day where he is to be worshiped as well as an appointed time and way in which to worship him.

The reason Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday is because that is the day Jesus rose from the dead. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. In the book of Acts we see that Sunday was a day for preaching and the breaking of bread.

It is important to note that this gives no warrant for idleness or laziness. The Christian man is to work before he rests. Prayer throughout the mans work week also sanctifies the Sabbath.

Lastly we are to attend upon the Lords day without distraction. Distractions hinder devotion. Treasonable actions in God’s presence are high treason and impudence. This is the most interesting factor for me regarding this chapter because I hadn’t thought about the distractions on the Sabbath. It seems that Christians lie most when they are singing praises to God on Sunday as others distract them. The perfect worship service according to C.S. Lewis would b that which all hearts are fixed on God.

Commandment 5 “Though shalt honor thy mother and thy father”. Exodus 20:12

Watson makes the argument that father here is regarding all authority and I would agree with him for the most part but I think this command was talking solely about the parents in another regard. Any Christian would have respect for authority to begin with or he is disobedient to the commands of God. Second, The father and mother are to be keeping the commands in order to raise a child up in the ways of the Lord. There is authority and spiritual fathers but I still think Moses was recording a command on parents alone touching on authority in other areas of the text.

They are to get respect and honor, honor in conforming to their doctrines and not resist ordinances or receive damnation according to Paul in Romans. Masters are to care and provide for their children, both spiritual and physical nourishment. Parents and children should seek the spiritual good of one another, which is a theme, touched on in Ephesians.

If you would have honor from your children you should set for them a good example. Children despise parents that live in contradiction to what they believe. How can a child honor a parent who is hypocritical in both word and deed? The child that honors the parent is a child who sees the things of God put into practice.

Commandment 6 “Thou shalt not murder”. Exodus 20:13

The sin of murder is forbidden in this commandment. This day implied is to preserve oneself and the life of others. It is a conscious choice to continue in life by living rather than taking ones own life or the life of another.

Watson goes down the list and gives many examples such as not injuring another; noticing life is the most precious thing, looking out for unadvised anger. Envy, Hatred, and so forth are all dangers and also breakers of the command we have from Christ to love one another.

Christ goes on to say that whosoever has anger in his heart for his brother is a murderer and so on. This is the command that most people try to justify by saying they have never commit it but they have in their hearts.

This command forbids private persons to shed the blood of another, unless of course it is in their own defense. Some would argue against just war but I am for just war. The problem becomes the ethical dilemma of what is just war but self-defense is just all the time. Watson says that the commandment does not prohibit a just war.

The chapter is concluded as he asks the question of how we can have our souls saved. The answer is by having them sanctified because only the pure in heart shall see God. 1 Peter encourages us to get our souls ready for holiness so we can shine as lights coming from darkness into the marvelous light. It seems common sensible to say that anyone who is sanctified would not hate his brother not take the life of another created in the image of God.

Commandment 7 “Thou shalt not commit adultery”.

The sum of this command is the preservation of moral purity. Marriage should be observed. Throughout history millions have married taking for granted that it is ordained through the one true God as the best means of life. Today people have been pushing the limits of the sacred regarding marriage having multiple partners and even partners of the opposite sex.

In marriage there are general and special duties. The general responsibility for the man is to rule and the woman is to care for the household. These are God ordained and good. Adultery is first a thought and than an action that leads to sin and than to death. Adultery breaks not only the command but in most cases two marriages. Paul said that man should take but one wife to deter him from adultery so he would not have to bear the great evil of it.

Adultery without repentance damns the soul. Man can spend much money on a woman that doesn’t belong to him and this damns the soul as well. Adultery destroys reputation and proverbs make it clear that the reputation is destroyed for a man’s entire life.

An adulterer can get a reprobate mind and a seared conscious if he continues on the path without divine forgiveness Romans 1. The man is to avoid the house of the adulterous as a sailor avoids a rock.

If a man’s soul is pure it will shine forth and he will have the wisdom and sanctification not to fall into such sin. Following this command and not even having thoughts of adultery or divorce will make a marriage as happy as it could be.

Commandment 8 “ Though shalt not steal”.

Similar in a way to the previous command this one instructs a man not to meddle with another mans property. There is an interesting verse in Ephesians were Paul says not only stop staling but also work so you can give away to the poor. If a man steals he has a high distrust of God’s providence. The command is based on faith, the faith to know God will provide all of our needs. The external cause is the solicitation of Satan. The Devil will make you think you need to steal or harm another in order to fulfill your needs. The temptation becomes greater at the point that a man papers to have nothing. The Bible promises that God will provide all needs even though it seems easy to steal.

Interestingly enough Watson touches on church thieves. It seems as if people are always feeling like the pastors are trying to get their money and in most cases they are, Today’s churches are more interested in bigger buildings than the proclamation of the gospel to the nations.

It seems to me that the worst form of theft is to rob the widow and the orphan. The command is that you should not afflict the widow or the fatherless. This is the sin that shrieks aloud and God will not turn his face to such a breaking of the 8^th command.

Command 9 “ Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

The tongue, which is to be an organ of God’s praise, has become an instrument of unrighteousness. It is unthinkable that something God gave could be used to create such a wildfire. James 3. The thing that is prohibited in this command is the slandering of ones neighbor. To bear false witness or sew discord against thy neighbor is not permitted. As the scorpion carried poison in the tail so a slanderer carries poison in the tongue. The tongue inflicts greater wounds than the sword. To pretend friendship to a man and than to slander him is a terrible act of wickedness. It is a slimy and detestable practice and is to be rebuked and looked down upon. We must not only not raise a false report but also not take it up. These are all ideas from the first page of Watson on this chapter. We can see how many illustrations we can get for such a command and why it is broken all to often against our benefit.

David says the fear of the Lord is clean, the tongue is not used to slander another and as we draw closer to God in holiness we do it less and eventually not at all. The mandatory part of the command is that we stand up for others when they are slandered by lying lips or if a man is defamed based on false witness. Lies and false witness can be a very dangerous thing to a man and could have very serious implications.

It is the responsibility to be an advocate for truth as Tertullian was in his apologetic for early Christians.

Commandment 10 “though shalt not covet”.

Of all the commands that Paul kept outwardly, the one that slain him was the sin of covetousness. Towards the end of his ministry he admits that he no longer covets and we can se God’s work in his life just before his martyrdom.

Coveting can be an insatiable desire of getting what this world has to offer and the desire to always have more than what you already have. It would seem that the man who has nothing would covet more but in most cases the man that has does the coveting. The man that is of the earth speaks of the earth and what’s all the earth has to offer him. The Christian should not covet that which God has given him. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? The command is to follow Christ with a cross and it is important to keep that in perspective when thinking about the things of this world. Now it must be pointed out that it is not as if God wants to deny us these pleasures but he knows the coveting will not satisfy us even if we were to get what we think we need. It is a very lonely place to have what you always wanted only to find out it is not Christ and it does not satisfy.

Some care so much for the word they do not care about the unlawful means they use to get what they believe they need. It is utter selfishness and ill repute.

Watson concludes with showing the only cure for covetousness and that is the great I AM. Without God is not possible to be cured of the human nature to want things that we cannot have or things that belong to other people.