The Ten Commandments
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 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 the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
“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 your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” – Exodus 20: 1-17
Last week’s Chapel Speaker was Rob Bradley III, Chairman of the BTA Board of Trustees. Mr. Bradley spoke to the student body about the Ten Commandments and the importance of following them in the Christian life. The first five are vertical commandments; they are commandments that teach us how to have an optimal relationship with the Lord and those that have authority over us. The second five commandments are lateral commandments; they are commandments that teach us how to have optimal relationships with our peers and neighbors. Of course, no one can keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, but God is quite strict about them.
The reason for this, as the Heidelberg Catechism says, is so that “throughout our life we may more and more become aware of our sinful nature, and therefore seek more eagerly the forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ” and “that we may be zealous for good deeds and constantly pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that He may more and more renew us after God’s image, until after this life we reach the goal of perfection”. The Ten Commandments give us the basic guidelines of how to lead a holy life – what a gift! The Lord gave us these life instructions so that we can live a life of freedom.
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