What should I do to live forever?
Keep the commandments
Dialogue between the Savior and the young man
(based on Matthew 19:17)
Every Christian must keep the commandments.
But what commandments are we talking about? What are God's commandments in Orthodoxy? How many commandments are there in the Bible? Let's figure it out together.
There are actually 21 commandments in the Bible.
There are 21 commandments in the Bible:
- God gave the 10 biblical commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai (Old Testament, Exodus 20:1-17);
- The 9 beatitudes were given by Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount (New Testament, Gospel of Matthew 5:3-11);
- 2 commandments, in which the Savior summarized the entire law of God (New Testament, Gospel of Matthew 22:37-40).
Commandments - laws of God
A commandment is the law of life that God gave to man. Therefore, the commandments are God's laws. God's commandments are in both the Old Testament and the New.
"Covenant" means "promise."
Man fulfills God's Law in order to receive the benefits that God promised. The Old Testament promised that the Messiah would come to the world, and the New Testament promised that the believer would have the Kingdom of God.
« Bible» "book" in Greek. The writings of the Old and New Testaments were so popular among traders in the Mediterranean region in the early centuries of Christianity that they were simply called “books.”
The Old Testament consists of 39 books:
- 5 books of the prophet Moses,
- 7 books about the history of Israel,
- 5 books of an instructive nature,
- 22 prophetic books.
The New Testament consists of 27 books:
- 4 books of the Gospel,
- 1 book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles,
- 21 Apostolic Letters,
- Book 1 of the Revelation of John the Theologian.
The 10 Commandments of Moses are the basis of the Old Testament
10 Commandments of Moses in Russian:
- I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, so that you may have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything in the sky above, or on the earth below, or in the water under the earth. Do not worship them or serve them; For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, and showing mercy to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
- Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who takes His name in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Work six days and do all your work; and the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: on it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
- Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
- Dont kill.
- Don't commit adultery.
- Don't steal.
- Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Exodus 20:1-17
The Ten Commandments of Moses are the basic rules of life for the ancient Jews. The first commandment of the Bible and the fourth were especially revered.
There were 613 mandatory rules in total. They controlled the entire life of the Old Testament Israelite. Many of the rules were everyday ones - for example, you can’t sit down to eat if you haven’t washed your hands.
An important place in the life of Jews Old Testament focused on the study and interpretation of the Pentateuch of Moses. God's laws were learned by heart.
Moses- one of the greatest prophets who lived 120 years. For 40 of these years he lived at the court of the Egyptian pharaoh and studied science. Then he lived away from people for 40 years and tended sheep. For the last 40 years of his life he was the shepherd of the Israeli people - he led them out of Egyptian slavery. God commissioned him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.
7 deadly sins - the most serious deviations from the commandments
Deadly sins:
- pride,
- envy,
- anger,
- despondency,
- greed,
- gluttony,
- lust, fornication
The Seven Deadly Sins are also called the cardinal sins. They include sins of a more private nature.
The 7 deadly sins are the most serious deviations of man from God. When a person does them, he becomes ill mentally and physically.
Deadly sins are not called “mortal sins” for nothing. A person dies due to alcoholism, drug addiction, and excessive fornication. If a person kills, he may be executed or killed for revenge.
11 commandments of Jesus Christ- rules of the New Testament
The commandments of the New Testament are 9 beatitudes and 2 more, which summarize all the previous ones. These 11 rules were given to people by Jesus Christ when he lived on earth.
They often write about the 12 or 10 commandments of Christ, but in fact there are 11 of them.
Beatitudes:
- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
- Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
- Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: just as they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Gospel of Matthew 5:3-11)
The Sermon on the Mount is called because Jesus Christ gave these commandments on the mountain.
Saint John Chrysostom says that the mountain was not chosen for preaching by chance. Away from the bustle of the city, the teachings of Christ were perceived best.
2 main commandments of the Bible: love God and neighbor
The Old and New Testaments approach breaking commandments differently.
One should distinguish between the TEN OLD TESTAMENT COMMANDMENTS given by God to Moses and the entire people of Israel and the GOSPEL COMMANDMENTS OF THE HAPPINESS, of which there are nine. The 10 commandments were given to people through Moses at the dawn of the formation of religion, in order to protect them from sin, to warn them of danger, while the Christian Beatitudes, described in the Sermon on the Mount of Christ, are of a slightly different plan; they relate to more spiritual life and development. The Christian commandments are a logical continuation and in no way deny the 10 commandments. Read more about Christian commandments.
The 10 commandments of God are a law given by God in addition to his internal moral guideline - conscience. The Ten Commandments were given by God to Moses, and through him to all humanity on Mount Sinai, when the people of Israel were returning from captivity in Egypt to the Promised Land. The first four commandments regulate the relationship between man and God, the remaining six - the relationship between people. The Ten Commandments in the Bible are described twice: in the twentieth chapter of the book, and in the fifth chapter.
Ten Commandments of God in Russian.
How and when did God give the 10 commandments to Moses?
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai on the 50th day after the exodus from Egyptian captivity. The situation at Mount Sinai is described in the Bible:
... On the third day, when morning came, there were thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud over Mount [Sinai], and the sound of a very strong trumpet... Mount Sinai was all smoking because the Lord had descended on it in fire; and smoke rose from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook greatly; and the sound of the trumpet became stronger and stronger... ()
God inscribed the 10 commandments on stone tablets and gave them to Moses. Moses stayed on Mount Sinai for another 40 days, after which he went down to his people. The book of Deuteronomy describes that when he came down, he saw that his people were dancing around the Golden Calf, forgetting about God and breaking one of the commandments. Moses in anger broke the tablets with the inscribed commandments, but God commanded him to carve new ones to replace the old ones, on which the Lord again inscribed the 10 commandments.
10 Commandments - interpretation of the commandments.
- I am the Lord your God, and there are no other gods besides Me.
According to the first commandment, there is not and cannot be another god greater than Him. This is a postulate of monotheism. The first commandment says that everything that exists is created by God, lives in God, and will return to God. God has no beginning and no end. It is impossible to comprehend it. All the power of man and nature comes from God, and there is no power outside the Lord, just as there is no wisdom outside the Lord, and there is no knowledge outside the Lord. In God is the beginning and the end, in Him is all love and kindness.
Man does not need gods except the Lord. If you have two gods, doesn’t that mean that one of them is the devil?
Thus, according to the first commandment, the following are considered sinful:
- atheism;
- superstitions and esotericism;
- polytheism;
- magic and witchcraft,
- false interpretation of religion - sects and false teachings
- Do not make for yourself an idol or any image; do not worship them or serve them.
All power is concentrated in God. Only He can help a person if necessary. People often turn to intermediaries for help. But if God cannot help a person, are intermediaries able to do this? According to the second commandment, people and things must not be deified. This will lead to sin or illness.
In simple words, one cannot worship the Lord’s creation instead of the Lord Himself. Worshiping things is akin to paganism and idolatry. At the same time, veneration of icons does not equate to idolatry. It is believed that prayers of worship are directed to God himself, and not to the material from which the icon is made. We turn not to the image, but to the Prototype. Even in the Old Testament, images of God are described that were made at His command.
- Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
According to the third commandment, it is forbidden to mention the name of the Lord unless absolutely necessary. You can mention the name of the Lord in prayer and spiritual conversations, in requests for help. You cannot mention the Lord in idle conversations, especially in blasphemous ones. We all know that the Word has great power in the Bible. With a word, God created the world.
- Six days you shall work and do all your work, but the seventh is a day of rest, which you shall dedicate to the Lord your God.
God does not forbid love, He is Love Himself, but He requires chastity.
- Don't steal.
Disrespect for another person can result in theft of property. Any benefit is illegal if it is associated with causing any damage, including material damage, to another person.
It is considered a violation of the eighth commandment:
- appropriation of someone else's property,
- robbery or theft,
- deception in business, bribery, bribery
- all kinds of scams, fraud and fraud.
- Don't bear false witness.
The ninth commandment tells us that we must not lie to ourselves or others. This commandment prohibits any lies, gossip and gossip.
- Don't covet anything that belongs to others.
The tenth commandment tells us that envy and jealousy are sinful. Desire in itself is only a seed of sin that will not germinate in a bright soul. The tenth commandment is aimed at preventing the violation of the eighth commandment. Having suppressed the desire to possess someone else's, a person will never steal.
The tenth commandment is different from the previous nine; it is New Testament in nature. This commandment is not aimed at prohibiting sin, but at preventing thoughts of sin. The first 9 commandments talk about the problem as such, while the tenth talks about the root (cause) of this problem.
The Seven Deadly Sins is an Orthodox term denoting basic vices that are terrible in themselves and can lead to the emergence of other vices and violation of the commandments given by the Lord. In Catholicism, the 7 deadly sins are called the cardinal sins or root sins.
Sometimes laziness is called the seventh sin; this is typical for Orthodoxy. Modern authors write about eight sins, including laziness and despondency. The doctrine of the seven deadly sins was formed quite early (in the 2nd – 3rd centuries) among ascetic monks. Dante's Divine Comedy describes seven circles of purgatory, which correspond to the seven deadly sins.
The theory of mortal sins developed in the Middle Ages and was illuminated in the works of Thomas Aquinas. He saw in seven sins the cause of all other vices. In Russian Orthodoxy the idea began to spread in the 18th century.
Ten Commandments of God
And God spoke to Moses all these words, saying (book of Exodus, chapter 20):
1. I AM THE LORD THY GOD; LET YOU HAVE NO OTHER GODS BUT ME.
Sins against this commandment: atheism, superstition, fortune telling, turning to “grandmothers” and psychics.
2. DO NOT MAKE YOURSELF AN IDOLM OR ANY IMAGE OF ANYTHING THAT IS IN THE HEAVEN ABOVE, OR THAT IS ON THE EARTH BELOW, OR THAT IS IN THE WATER BELOW THE EARTH; DO NOT WORSHIP OR SERVE THEM.
In addition to gross idolatry, there is also a more subtle one: passion for acquiring money and various property, gluttony, pride. " Covetousness is idolatry"(epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians, chapter 3, article 5).
3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
In vain means, without need, in empty and vain conversations.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; You shall work for six days, and do all your work in them; and the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.
In the Christian Church, it is not Saturday that is celebrated, but Sunday. In addition, other holidays and fasts must be observed (they are marked in the church calendar).
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and that your days on earth may be long.
6. don't kill.
This sin also includes abortion, striking, hatred of one’s neighbor: “ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer"(1st Council Epistle of the Apostle John the Theologian, Chapter 3, Art. 15). There is spiritual murder - when someone seduces his neighbor into unbelief and sins. " Fathers who do not care to give a Christian education to their children are child killers, murderers of their own children"(St. John Chrysostom).
7. Do not commit adultery.
Sins against this commandment: fornication (carnal love between people who are not in marriage), adultery (adultery) and other sins. " Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wicked people, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."(1st letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 6, art. 9). " Carnal lust in chaste people is kept in bondage through willpower and relaxed only for the purpose of procreation.”(St. Gregory Palamas).
8. don't steal.
9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any of his livestock, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Not only sinful deeds, but also evil desires and thoughts make the soul unclean before God and unworthy of Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ commanded to keep these commandments in order to receive eternal life (Gospel of Matthew ch. 19, v. 17), taught to understand and fulfill them more perfectly than they were understood before Him (Gospel of Matthew ch. 5).
He stated the essence of these commandments as follows:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. the second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself. (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, vv. 37-39).
THE HAPPINESS COMMANDMENTS
(excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount - Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5) with comments from the “Catechism” of St. Philaret (Drozdov)
Seeing the people, He went up the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
To be poor in spirit means to understand that we have nothing of our own, but have only what God gives, and that we cannot do anything good without God’s help and grace. This is the virtue of humility.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
The word weeping here refers to sorrow for sins, which God alleviates with gracious consolation.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meekness is a quiet disposition of spirit, combined with caution, so as not to irritate anyone or to be irritated by anything.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
These are those who, like food and drink, hunger and thirst for grace-filled justification through Jesus Christ.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Deeds of physical mercy: feeding the hungry, giving clothes to the needy, visiting someone in hospital or prison, welcoming a stranger into your home, participating in a burial. Deeds of spiritual mercy: turning a sinner to the path of salvation, giving to one’s neighbor helpful advice, pray to God for him, console the sad, forgive offenses from the heart. Whoever does this will receive pardon from the eternal condemnation for sins at the Last Judgment of God.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The heart becomes pure when a person tries to reject sinful thoughts, desires and feelings and forces himself to unceasing prayer (for example: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”). Just as a pure eye is able to see light, so a pure heart is able to contemplate God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Here Christ not only condemns mutual disagreement and hatred of people among themselves, but demands even more - namely, that we reconcile the disagreements of others. “They will be called sons of God,” since the work of the Only Begotten Son of God was to reconcile sinners with the justice of God.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
By righteousness here we mean life according to the commandments of God; This means that blessed are those who are persecuted for faith and piety, for their good deeds, for constancy and steadfastness in faith.
9. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven.
Those who desire bliss must be ready to joyfully accept insults, persecution, disaster and death itself for the name of Christ and for the true Orthodox faith.
“Although Christ describes the rewards differently, he brings everyone into the kingdom. And when He says that those who mourn will be comforted, and the merciful will have mercy, and the pure in heart will see God, and the peacemakers will be called sons of God, by all this He means nothing other than the kingdom of heaven” (St. John Chrysostom).
Other commandments of God (from the Gospel of Matthew):
Anyone who is angry with his brother without cause is subject to judgment (Matthew 5:21).
Anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28).
Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7) - commandment about prayer.
Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go there; because strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it (Matthew 7:13-14).
Before we begin our discussion on the topic of Christ’s commandments, let us first determine that the law of God is like that guiding star that shows a person traveling his way, and a man of God the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. The law of God has always meant light, warming the heart, comforting the soul, consecrating the mind. What are they - the 10 commandments of Christ - and what do they teach, let's try to briefly understand.
Commandments of Jesus Christ
The commandments provide the main moral basis for the human soul. What do the commandments of Jesus Christ say? It is noteworthy that a person always has the freedom to obey them or not - the great mercy of God. It gives a person the opportunity to grow and improve spiritually, but also imposes on him responsibility for his actions. Violation of even one commandment of Christ leads to suffering, slavery and degeneration, in general, to disaster.
Let us remember that when God created our earthly world, a tragedy occurred in the angelic world. The proud angel Dennitsa rebelled against God and wanted to create his own kingdom, which is now called Hell.
The next tragedy occurred when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and their lives experienced death, suffering, and poverty.
Another tragedy occurred during the Flood, when God punished people - Noah's contemporaries - for unbelief and violation of God's laws. This event is followed by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, also for the sins of the inhabitants of these cities. Next comes the destruction of the Israeli kingdom, followed by the kingdom of Judah. Then Byzantium and the Russian Empire will fall, and behind them there will be other misfortunes and disasters that will be brought down by God’s wrath for sins. Moral laws are eternal and unchangeable, and whoever does not keep the commandments of Christ will be destroyed.
Story
The most important event in the Old Testament is people receiving the Ten Commandments from God. Moses brought them from Mount Sinai, where God taught him, and they were carved on two stone tablets, and not on perishable paper or other substance.
Until this moment, the Jewish people were powerless slaves working for the Egyptian kingdom. After the emergence of the Sinai legislation, a people is created that is called to serve God. From this people later came great holy people, and from them the Savior Jesus Christ himself was born.
Ten Commandments of Christ
Having familiarized yourself with the commandments, you can see a certain consistency in them. So, the commandments of Christ (the first four) speak of human responsibilities towards God. The following five define human relationships. And the latter calls people to purity of thoughts and desires.
The Ten Commandments of Christ are expressed very briefly and with minimal requirements. They define the boundaries that a person should not cross in public and personal life.
First commandment
The first sounds: “I am your Lord, may you have no other Gods besides me.” This means that God is the source of all goods and the director of all human actions. And therefore, a person must direct his entire life to the knowledge of God and glorify his name with his pious deeds. This commandment states that God is one in the whole world and it is unacceptable to have other gods.
Second Commandment
The second commandment says: “Do not make for yourself an idol...” God forbids a person to create imaginary or real idols for himself and bow before them. The idols for modern man have become earthly happiness, wealth, physical pleasure and fanatical admiration for their leaders and leaders.
Third Commandment
The third says: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” A person is forbidden to use the name of the Lord irreverently in the vanity of life, in jokes or empty conversations. Sins include blasphemy, sacrilege, perjury, breaking vows to the Lord, etc.
Fourth Commandment
The fourth says that we must remember the Sabbath day and spend it holy. You need to work for six days, and devote the seventh to your God. This means that a person works six days a week, and on the seventh day (Saturday) he must study the word of God, pray in church, and therefore devote the day to the Lord. These days you need to take care of the salvation of your soul, conduct pious conversations, enlighten your mind with religious knowledge, visit the sick and prisoners, help the poor, etc.
Fifth Commandment
The fifth says: “Honor your father and mother...” God commands to always care for, respect and love your parents, and not to offend them either in word or deed. A great sin is disrespect for father and mother. In the Old Testament, this sin was punished by death.
Sixth Commandment
The sixth says: “Thou shalt not kill.” This commandment prohibits taking the life of others and oneself. Life is a great gift from God, and only it sets man the limits of earthly life. Therefore, suicide is the most serious sin. In addition to murder itself, suicide also includes the sins of lack of faith, despair, murmuring against the Lord and rebellion against his providence. Anyone who harbors a feeling of hatred towards others, wishes death to others, starts quarrels and fights, sins against this commandment.
Seventh Commandment
In the seventh it is written: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” It states that a person must be, if he is not married, chaste, and if married, remain faithful to his husband or wife. In order not to sin, there is no need to engage in shameless songs and dances, watch seductive photographs and films, listen to piquant jokes, etc.
Eighth Commandment
The eighth says: “Don’t steal.” God forbids the taking of another's property. You cannot engage in theft, robbery, parasitism, bribery, extortion, as well as evade debts, defraud the buyer, conceal what you have found, deceive, withhold the salary of an employee, etc.
Ninth Commandment
The ninth says: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” The Lord forbids a person to give false testimony against another in court, to make denunciations, to slander, to gossip and to slander. This is a devilish thing, because the word “devil” means “slanderer.”
Tenth Commandment
In the tenth commandment, the Lord teaches: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his field, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox...” Here people are instructed to learn to refrain from envy and not have bad desires.
All of Christ’s previous commandments taught primarily correct behavior, but the last one addresses what can happen inside a person, his feelings, thoughts and desires. A person always needs to take care of the purity of his spiritual thoughts, because any sin begins with an unkind thought, on which he can dwell, and then a sinful desire will arise, which will push him to unfavorable actions. Therefore, you need to learn to stop your bad thoughts so as not to sin.
New Testament. Commandments of Christ
Jesus Christ briefly summarized the essence of one of the commandments as follows: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The second is similar to it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the most important commandment of Christ. It gives that deep awareness of all those ten, which clearly and clearly help to understand in what human love for the Lord is expressed and what contradicts this love.
In order for the new commandments of Jesus Christ to benefit a person, it is necessary to ensure that they guide our thoughts and actions. They must penetrate our worldview and subconscious and always be on the tablets of our soul and heart.
The 10 commandments of Christ are the basic moral guidance necessary for creation in life. Otherwise everything will be doomed to destruction.
The righteous King David wrote that blessed is the person who fulfills the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. He will be like that tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in its season and does not wither.
Today, many Christian denominations believe that the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments) is outdated, therefore, with the permission of God, it was slightly “corrected” by the church. I hope you are convinced that the New Testament does not teach abolition everyone commandments of the Old Testament. Moreover, the ten 10 commandments are inviolable. To confirm this, let's pay a little more attention to them.
Let us remember that the ten 10 commandments were given to people two stone tablets. Attention: not on one, not on three, etc., but on two. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the commandments were divided into them as follows:
On the first tablet, the first four commandments reflected the relationship between man and God (Ex. 20:1-11):
1. May you have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, and showing mercy to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who takes His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days you shall work and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: on it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger. who is in your dwellings; For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day; Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
on the second table, commandments five through ten were intended to regulate relationships between people (Ex. 20:12-17):
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days on earth may be long.
6. Dont kill.
7. Don't commit adultery.
8. Don't steal.
9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
It is easy to see that the first of the two commandments specifically noted by Jesus in the Old Testament “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God...” is in tune with the teaching of the first tablet. Think about it, you cannot truly love God and at the same time have other gods (1st point), create idols, images, worship and serve them (2nd point), mention the name of God in vain (3rd point) zap) and not devote time to the Creator (4th zap). Indeed, God, through specific commandments, explained to believers how and in what ways people’s love for Him should be expressed.
Think about it, if there were no law, then each person could show his feelings towards the Creator in the way that seems right to him, but not in the way that pleases the Creator. Let us remember that the Lord compared Himself and His people to a married couple, where He is the husband, and the Israelites in the Old Testament, the church in the New - the wife (see Isa. 54:5, Jer. 3:1, Hos. 1:2, Eph. 5:25, Rev. 12:1,6, Rev. 19:7). Now imagine that the wife will treat her husband the way she likes, without being interested in the feelings and desires of her other half. Will such a marriage be strong and happy? Of course not. This is what we see in the example of the Israelites, knowing how they repeatedly deviated from God’s commandments. That is why the Creator included relevant instructions in the Constitution of His law - in the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments), showing believers how important Right show your love and respect for Him - spouse Your chosen people.
And the commandment of Scripture, called by Christ the second most important "Love your neighbor...", is close in spirit to the second tablet, as it teaches relationships between people. Look at what Jesus said to the young man when asked: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”:
Here we see an incomplete list of the conditions for inheriting eternal life, since among those named there are not many important commandments, including the most important: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”(Mark 12:30, see also Deut. 6:5, Matt. 22:37). It is obvious that Christ did not intend with this instruction to give exhaustive a list of saving commandments, but wanted to point out the need to observe Total God's law. Look, speaking about the conditions of the inheritance of eternal life, Jesus here quoted five of the ten 10 commandments of the Decalogue (Ex. 20:12-16) and other commandments of the law of Moses: in the Gospel of Mark - "Do not hurt"(Mark 10:19 - in the OT Lev. 25:17), in the Gospel of Matthew - "Love your neighbor"(Matt. 19:19 – in OT Lev. 19:18). At the same time, Jesus began the enumeration precisely with the ten 10 commandments of the Decalogue. This lesson of Christ clearly confirms His lack of desire to replace all the commandments of the Old Testament, including the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments), with one or two “generalizing” commandments. If Christ had such a goal, He would have said so. However, as we have already noted, Jesus constantly quoted the commandments of the Old Testament Scripture, including the ten 10 commandments, and urged people to keep them.
After Christ, the apostles continued to proclaim the Decalogue - the ten 10 commandments. Paul spoke reverently about 5th commandments: “Honor your father and mother, this is the first commandment with a promise: that it may go well with you, and that you may live long on earth.”(Eph. 6:2,3).
Paul also noted the connection between the second table of the Decalogue and the commandment that Jesus called the second most important in the law of Moses:
“The commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet the things of others, and all the others are contained in this word: love your neighbor as yourself» (Rom. 13:9).
In previous chapters we saw that many of the commandments of the Old Testament were fulfilled by Christ. However, the commandments of the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments) remained among those in force. Moreover, the ten 10 commandments are unchanged the law of God. In the chapter “God’s Law” we have already noted that in relation to the Decalogue the Lord in His Word uses only meaningful epithets revelation, covenant, testimony. We also compared the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments) with the Constitution established by the Creator. All this allows us to conclude that the ten 10 commandments of the Decalogue will not lose their relevance in the future - in the eternal life promised by God. There is plenty of evidence for this claim in the Bible, some of which we will look at now and some in later chapters of this book.
God himself is special singled out Decalogue (ten 10 commandments) from the law of Moses, thereby showing its immutability. Otherwise, why did He do it? Only ten 10 commandments were written personally by God (see Exod. 32:16, Deut. 5:22), only ten 10 commandments were not on scrolls, but on stone - an eternal carrier of information, and they were made twice (see Exod. 34:1, Deut. 10:1,2,4), only ten 10 commandments were constantly in the ark (see 1 Kings 8:9, 2 Chron. 5:10, Heb. 9:4), over which he appeared Lord (see Ex. 25:22, Ex. 30:6, Lev. 16:2, Num. 7:89). Let us remember that the law of Moses, written on scrolls, lay next to the ark (see Deut. 31:26).
The question of the importance of the ten 10 commandments can be approached from another angle. We will discuss the concept of “holiness” in detail later, but for now let’s analyze the text of the Bible for the holiness of the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments). According to the Holy Scriptures, on Earth there was only one saint the city of Jerusalem (see Neh. 11:1), in it there was one saint Mount Zion (see Ps. 2:6, Is. 10:32), on this mountain stood the only one on the ground saint temple of the God of Israel (see Ps. 5:8), in this temple there was sacred department (see Heb. 9:2), in it there is another department - holy of holies(see Heb. 9:3), and in this holy of holies stood saint the ark of the covenant (see 1 Kings 8:6, 2 Chron. 35:3). Next to the ark was a scroll of the law of Moses (see Deut. 31:26). What was the value of the Ark of the Covenant? Of course, what was important to God was not the casket itself, nor the stones lying in it, but the ten 10 commandments written on them. Thus, according to the Holy Scriptures, the center of everything saint on Earth was God's law, and its “epicenter” was Decalogue - ten 10 commandments.
The earthly temple and the commandments of the law of Moses associated with serving in it ceased to exist, having been fulfilled in Jesus. A current the commandments of God's law remain saints and to this day. And of course, first of all, the Decalogue - the ten 10 commandments. Let us remember how the Apostle Paul spoke about the commandments of God:
« The law is holy, And the commandment is holy» (Rom. 7:12).
Christians who belittle the importance of the Decalogue (Ten 10 Commandments) often refer to the words of the Apostle Paul from the 3rd chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (see below 2 Cor. 3:7), where he speaks of stone tablets as about deadly letters. In chapters "Sin and the Law", “The law embedded in the heart. Grace" We have already discussed the relationship between the commandments and sin. Indeed, the law of Moses “condemned” man “to death” according to the commandment “The soul that sins shall die”(Ezek. 18:4, see also Gen. 3:17,19, Heb. 9:22, Rom. 6:23, James 1:15). And the grace of forgiveness now justifies the sinner by imputing the righteousness of Christ to him (see 1 Pet. 3:18, 2 Cor. 5:21, Philip. 3:9, Rom. 3:21,22, Rom. 5:17, Rom. 10:4 and also chapter “Justification by faith. Faith and works"). Of course, in the letter to the Corinthians about lethality of letters The Decalogue speaks in the same sense.
If you carefully read this letter of Paul in its entirety, it will be clear that the apostle here is not talking about the abolition of the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments). He explains that, unlike in previous times, from now on there is not so much writing, but Christians themselves should be a living letter of the Lord, an example for other people: « You are our letter written in our hearts, recognized and read by all people; You show yourself What you are a letter Christ's, through our written ministry Not ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, But on the fleshy tablets of the heart» (2 Cor. 3:2,3).
Above, we have already talked about the law of God, which must be written in the heart, and about the new spirit of a Christian. That is, here Paul repeats the same thoughts, giving them a different form and accompanying them with new examples. The Apostle compares the Jewish clergy - ministers of the “letter”, with Christians - ministers of the “spirit” (see 2 Cor. 3:6), contrasting a system of numerous rules with a heart always open to the guidance of the Spirit of God. Therefore Paul says:
"If serving deadly letters, inscribed on the stones, it was like this nice that the children of Israel could not look upon the face of Moses because the glory of his face was passing away, is it not much more must be nice ministry of the spirit?» (2 Cor. 3:7,8)
"Service to Deadly Letters" here refers not only to the Decalogue (ten 10 commandments), since just above Paul mentions ink(see above 2 Cor. 3:3), with which the scrolls of the law were written. We are talking in general about the law of Moses, which pointed to the “killing” sin, in comparison with the grace of God revealed through Christ, which can justify the sinner and clear his from all untruth(see 1 John 1:9). The apostle calls the covenant made on Mount Sinai glorious (see 2 Cor. 3:7 above), while the New Testament, based on Jesus, more glorious than before. Paul goes on to emphasize this again:
"Transient nice, those more nice abiding"(2 Cor. 3:11).
However, not everyone accepted the spirit of the New Testament. Many Jews covered their hearts, which Paul went on to compare to the veil of Moses (see 2 Cor. 3:13-16). Then at Mount Sinai, after Moses recounted the words of the Lord to the children of Israel and his face shone, he covered his head with a veil so that people would not see the fading of the Glory of God (see Exodus 34:30-35). So now, with the coming of Christ, the Jews did not want to get rid of such a veil from their hearts, which did not allow them to see the fading of the glory of the Old Testament. Only from the hearts of those who saw the fulfillment of the law in Jesus was this veil removed.
Look, in the letter to the Hebrews it is described in detail that Jesus, in the form of a sacrifice and at the same time a High Priest, entered true the heavenly temple, in the image of which the earthly tabernacle was made:
"For Christ has entered not into man-made sanctuary, in the image of the true arranged, but in the most sky... He ... appeared to destroy sin sacrifice Yours" (