The First Commandment

You must not have other gods. (Exodus 20:3) Exodus 34:11-14

What does this mean?

We must fear, love, and trust God more than anything else.

If we do have some other concern stronger to us than our love for God, it is not so much that we are breaking God’s rules, but that we are not really in relationship with God.

The other concern—be it money, power, security, recognition, sex, or anything else—has become our god.

This god will have its own commandments at odds with God’s, and we will inevitably violate the word of God as we comply with this god’s requirements.

The only way we can correctly observe  the Ten Commandments is by having no other god than God.

The Second Commandment

This command is closely linked with the first, which says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Having other gods is idolatry.

Idol worship was rampant among the nations surrounding Israel.

Most of those nations had carved images to which they bowed, sacrificed, and performed various acts of worship.

Often that pagan worship involved infanticide and prostitution (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 23:17).

The Israelites were strictly warned to keep themselves separate from the pagan nations around them and to avoid any activities that resembled their vile worship rites (Leviticus 20:23; 2 Kings 17:15; Ezekiel 11:12).

God hates idolatry in any form (Deuteronomy 6:14–15; 32:21; Jeremiah 2:5; Leviticus 26:1).

It steals the attention and honor that belongs only to God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27).

In many nations today, carved gods and goddesses are still an obvious violation of this commandment.

However, the sin of idolatry is ultimately a sin of the heart.

An idol is anything we depend upon to meet the deep needs of the hear, love, security, worth, or significance.

When we seek to find identity and security in something besides God, we have made it an idol.

We often search for peace or identity through relationships, substances, money, or entertainment.

Addictions are forms of idolatry, as are a host of other worldly enticements that cannot ultimately satisfy us.

When we give ourselves to the pursuit of manmade gods, we are breaking the second commandment.

The Third Commandment

You must not misuse God's name. (Exodus 20:7)

What does this mean?

We must fear and love God.

We will not use His name to curse, swear, cast a spell, lie or deceive, but we will use it to call upon Him, pray to Him, praise Him and thank Him in good times and in times of trouble.

Instead of saying, “Wow!” people often use God’s name as an exclamation point.

“Oh my God! I got the job.”

While some people may think this sounds extreme, it is a clear example of what it means to take God’s name in vain.

The scriptures are clear: God’s name should be spokenreverently.

We should take His name seriously.

Don’t ever speak His name flippantly or with disrespect. Don’t use God’s name as a cliché, filler or figure of speech.

Be careful about speaking His name without even thinking about its importance.

Unfortunately, we have heard expressions like this so often, we have become accustomed to it.

We have been desensitized. But I find it hard to believe that God has been desensitized to people taking His name in vain.

Exodus 20:7 tells us that we are not to misuse the name of the Lord, our God.

That verse continues with a clear warning: “The Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.”

The third commandment should not be takenlightly.

Leviticus 24 says that a person caught taking God’s name in vain was to be stoned.

It was a capital offense. God wants us to know that His name is important.

When you misuse or disrespect God’s name, you are offending the creator of the universe.

God wants His name to be treated with respect.

The Fifth Commandment

You must honor your father and mother. [So that things will go well for you and you will live long on earth]. (Exodus 20:12)

What does this mean?

We must fear and love God, so that we will neither look down on our parents or superiors but we will honor them, serve them, obey them, love them and value them.

The commandment to “honor your father and your mother” appears often in the Bible. (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 15:4; Ephesians6:2,3) It involves four key actions.

1. Appreciate them. 

You honor your father and mother when you are thankful for all they have done for you.

You can show your appreciation by valuing their guidance. (Proverbs 7:1,2;23:26) The Bible encourages you to view your parents as your “glory,” that is, to be proud of them.—Proverbs 17:6.

2. Accept their authority. 

Especially while you are young, you honor your father and mother when you recognize the authority God has given them. Colossians 3:20 tells young ones: “Be obedient to your parents in everything, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.”

Even young Jesus willingly obeyed his parents.—Luke 2:51.

 3. Treat them with respect. (Leviticus 19:3;Hebrews 12:9) This often involves what you say and how you say it.

True, some parents at times act in ways that make it hard to respect them.

Even then, children can honor their parents by avoiding disrespectfulspeech and actions. (Proverbs 30:17)

The Bible teaches that speakingabusively of one’s father or mother is a serious offense.—Matthew 15:4.

3. Provide for them. 

When your parents get old, they may need practical support.

You can honor them by trying your best to make sure that they have what they need. (1 Timothy 5:4,8)

For instance, shortly before he died, Jesus arranged for the care of his mother.—John 19:25-27.

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Misconceptions about honoring one’s father and mother

1. Misconception: To honor your father and mother, you must let them control your marriage.

Fact: The Bible teaches that the marriage bond takes priority over other family relationships. 

Genesis 2:24 says: “A man will leave his father and his mother and he will stick to his wife.” (Matthew 19:4-5) Of course, married couples can benefit from the advice of their parents or in-laws. (Proverbs 23:22)

However, a couple may rightly decide to set boundaries limiting the involvement of relatives in their marriage.​—Matthew 19:6.

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2. Misconception: Your father and mother have ultimate authority.

Fact: Although God gave parentsauthority within the family, all human authority has limits—it never overrules God’s authority.

For instance, when a high court ordered Jesus’ disciples to disobey God, they replied: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” (Acts 5:27-29)

Likewise, childrenobey their parents “in union with the Lord,” that is, in allthings that do not conflict with God’s laws.—Ephesians 6:1.

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3. Misconception: 

Honoring your father and mother requires you to follow their religious beliefs.

 Fact: The Bible encourages us to test what we are being taught to see whether it is the truth.

(Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1)

An individual who does this may eventually choose a faith that differs from that of his parents.

The Bible mentions a number of faithful servants of God who did not follow the religion of their parents, including Abraham, Ruth, and the apostle Paul.—Joshua 24:14-24.

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4. Misconception: To honor your father and mother, you must share in traditional rites of ancestor worship.

 Fact: The Bible says: “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacredservice.” (Luke 4:8)

A person who worships his ancestors is displeasing to God. Moreover, the Bible teaches that “the dead know nothing at all.” They are not aware of any homage rendered to them; neither can they help or harm the living.​—Ecclesiastes 9:5,10; Isaiah 8:19.

The Sixth Commandment

 Thou shalt not kill.

(Exodus 20:13)

What does this mean?

Do not Murder!

We must fear and love God, so that we will neitherharm nor hurt our neighbor's body, but help him and care for him when he is ill.

The Lord wants people to be like Him, holy and righteous, which is an internal condition as much as it is external action.

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall notmurder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21).

Hating one’s neighbor, harboring the feelings and thoughts that can lead to murder is sinful as well, and is failing to live up to the righteousness of Holy God.

John the Beloved Apostle elaborated further on this internal state of sin, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Evil thoughts and intentions, even if they are not acted on, are sinful” (1 John 3:15).

The seventh Commandment

You must not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

What does this mean?

We must fear and love God, so that our words and actions will be clean and decent. 

This Commandment addresses relationships, sexuality, and encompasses both physical and emotional sin.

Adultery encompasses the many sins of the flesh, driven by uncontrolledpassions and lusts.

It often stems from other sins including covetousness.

It also is a violation of the body, which is God’s temple.

When God commanded people not to commitadultery, He was trying to protect their bodies, hearts, and souls.

The Eighth Commandment

Do not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

What does this mean?

We must fear and love God, so that we will neither take our neighbor's money or property, nor acquire it by fraud or by selling him poorly made products.  

Stealing occurs in many forms besides robbing someone.

Any time we acquire something of value from its rightful owner without consent, we are engaging in theft.

Misappropriating resources or funds for personal use is stealing. Using deception to make sales, gain market share, or raise prices is stealing because the deception means that whatever the buyer consents to is not the actual situation. 

The Ninth Commandment

You shall not bear false witness.

(Exodus 20:16)

What does this mean?

This means do not tell a lie.

Do not tell stories that are untrue about people.

When you tell a lie, you hurt yourself as well as others.

Soon people will not trust what you say.

The commandment specifically prohibits speaking falsely about another person, but it also shows us that we must tell the truth in every kind of situation.

Is issuing false or misleading financial statements a violation of the ninth commandment?

How about exaggerated advertising claims, even if they do not falsely disparage competitors? What about false assurances from management that mislead employees about impending layoffs?

In a world where perception often counts for reality, the rhetoric of persuasion cares very little for truth.

However, the divine origin of the ninth commandment reminds us that God cannot be fooled. 

The Tenth Commandment

You must not covet your neighbor's wife, servant, maid, animals or anything that belongs to him. (Exodus 20:17)

What does this mean?

We must fear and love God, so that we will not take your neighbor's cattle, take his employees from him or seduce his wife, but urge them to stay and do what they ought to do.

Coveting your Neighbors wife is adulatory!

We all desire pleasant things that we do not have – and these desires are not evil in themselves.

Further, there is nothing wrong with desiring to obtain property  that belongs to another, as long as we obtain the property by just means.

Also, if you admire a possession your neighbor has and you decide to spend your own money to purchase a similar possession for yourself, this is not coveting because you acquired it through just means. 

The problem comes when our desires exceed the limits of reason and drive us to covet unjustly what is not ours and belongs to another or is owed to him.

It is precisely this problem that the Tenth Commandment hopes to help us avoid.

Specifically, the Tenth Commandment forbids the capital sin of avarice, also known as greed or covetousness.

Avarice refers to an excessive desire, or inordinate love, for wealth, status and power.

It is characterized by a willingness to make the accumulation of these things the center of our lives. These things become the purpose for which we live for.