To have plans for your future is good. God has plans for you too.
“For I know the plans I have for you, ”declares the Lord,“ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11
God gave each person the freedom to make their own choices (free will) as we advance on our life-journey. In the beginning God spoke the Words that created our surroundings and life itself. Later on God saw that man needed some help to live the blessed life that He intended and spoke the Words for living. These Words are the reference framework that enables us to live in the right relationship with God and with our fellow man.
God is the source of life. It therefor stands to reason that a successful life is best pursued by staying close to the source. It means getting rid of the barriers that brings separation between us and God. Anything that separates us from God is sin. This can be a number of things, but God gave humankind the Ten Commandments as the primary rules for avoiding separation from God (the source of life).
Jesus Christ emphasized that God’s commandments are eternal and will not pass away “…until heaven and earth disappear…”, Matthew 5:17-18 (also see Matthew 5:19). The Ten Commandments were read in church every Sunday when I was a child. In current times, the Ten Commandments are hardly ever read during most church services. Modern western culture as represented in the media of all forms show little resemblance to the principals on which society was founded upon.
Even many that regularly attend church are not aware of what is robbing them from experiencing the abundance, hope and future that God has intended for them. For this reason I felt led to author a short series of blog articles on the Ten Commandments: What it is about, why it is still relevant and its application in the spiritually booby-trapped society we live in today.
Fundamentals:
The Ten Commandments were personally handed over by God to His servant Moses (Exodus 20). They set out the basic spiritual and ethical norms applicable to all people. The first four commandments address humankind’s relationship with God and second six our relationship with one another.
The Ten Commandments illustrate God’s concern for all aspects of our lives, both natural and eternal. God sets out the standards in family life, relationships, sanctity of human life, sexual intimacy, property, speech and thought.
God’s goodwill towards us is consistent from birth to eternity. He intends for us to enjoy lives filled with hope and fulfillment, but also more importantly to be set free from the consequences of sin and gain eternity in His presence. To this regard, the Ten Commandments act as a mirror to our soul.
Mankind’s tendency is to lean so heavily on God’s grace that many miss the blessings of obedience (a necessity) in our lives.
The Gravity of Non-Compliance:
From spiritual and eternal perspective, to deviate by any degree from Ten Commandments is sin. Such action falls short of God’s standard of holiness. In addition it provides legitimate evidence for Satan(the accuser) to use in presenting his case in favor of the condemnation of the person involved.
In the Old Testament times (before Jesus), God put a sacrificial system in place mediated by the Levitical priesthood. God knew that it was impossible for His people to perfectly follow His commandments. Even though those who were committed to follow God’s commandments experienced blessing in their natural lives, they were still exposed to eternal condemnation.
Through the sacrificial system, God permitted His people to make reparations for the sins they have committed. Sacrificing an animal without blemish at great cost would cover a person’s sin for a year and allow them to receive the Lord’s blessing. The sins continued endlessly and so did the sacrifices.
The sacrificial system was symbolic of the gravity of sin and its consequences. When Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, He was presented as the ultimate and wholly sufficient sacrifice.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” –Romans 10:13
Jesus did not change what is Holy, but He did pay the price for our sins. Not only for a year but forever. Although we do not need to offer a physical sacrifice to God anymore, we still need to acknowledge our sins, repent from it and call on the name of the Lord.
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”, Acts 3:19
How do we know how to live a blessed life and what to repent for (in order to receive forgiveness), if we do not know the primary rules God gave us in the Ten Commandments?
We will look at each commandment in detail during future blog articles.
In short:
- “You shall have no other gods before me”
- “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything… You shall not bow down to them or serve them”
- “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain”
- “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”
- “Honor your father and your mother”
- “You shall not murder”
- “You shall not commit adultery”
- “You shall not steal”
- “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”
- “You shall not covet”
Have a blessed week.