The Ten Commandments: 1-5

The ten commandments are often referred to by people. Interestingly enough, they are not named as separate from the rest of the law, or numbered. The majority of people hold them as still binding. Numerous churches list them as official parts of their doctrine. Yet we know today that the laws given through Moses are not binding on us today (Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15). However, nine of these commandments are repeated in the New Testament. And the exception, the Sabbath, has a corollary in the New Testament (and it isn't Sunday). Let us consider each of these commands in turn, and then see what the New Testament has to say for us on these subjects.

First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
We see this same admonition to place God first in our lives in passages such as Matthew 6:24, 6:33, and I Corinthians 8:4-5). There is no other God, nor anything else, that should be of more importance to us than the Lord (Luke 14:26). We obey this commandment not because it was in the Law of Moses, but because it was given by Christ under the New Covenant.

Second Commandment: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)
Just as the Hebrews were commanded to not have idols, so are we (I Corinthians 10:14 and Galatians 5:19-21). We are given more explanation in passages such as Colossians 3:5 as to what God considers idolatry. Anything that we desire or elevate to a place higher than God, to us, is an idol. Not only are we to not bow before an object as a god, we are not to place anything in our lives in a position of being greater than the Lord.

Third Commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:6)
The Israelites were to take care when applying the name of the Lord to anything. We too are warned against improper speech, whether in oaths (Matthew 5:33-37, James 5:12), in purity (James 3:9-12, Ephesians 4:29-32), or in how we approach others (I Peter 3:15).

Fourth Commandment: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:7)
Many refer to the Lord's Day as the Christian sabbath. However, this is not the case. The sabbath rest of the Christian is referred to in Hebrews 4. Our sabbath is heaven. Until then, we must continue to do the work of the Lord. Just as the Hebrews were to work six days, and then the sabbath, we are to work until our sabbath: an eternity of rest with God.

Fifth Commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:12)
Honoring father and mother are as important in the new covenant as in the old. Christ taught this in Matthew 15:1-6. It is repeated in Ephesians 6:1-4. It is important to pay the respect and obedience to parents that we should.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the next five commandments. We remember, once again, that we do not hold to the ten commandments as found in the Old Testament. We instead hold to the teachings of Christ.