RUSHWAVE: Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

Chapter 14: How Man Violates God’s Law

Man continually breaks the Ten Commandments even when they are limited to outward acts.

It is exceedingly important to let God Himself define what constitutes violating the Ten Commandments. He Himself is the author — they originated in His mind. Only He has the authority to define those works that constitute violating His prohibitions. We therefore must let scripture constrain our understanding of the Ten Commandments.

Consider the command “Do not murder.” Murder is by definition the unlawful taking of a human life. But what exactly constitutes the unlawful taking of a human life from God’s perspective? The only way to make such a determination is to search the scriptures. But in scripture God Himself regularly prescribed the execution of certain people, so obviously the command does not mean “never under any circumstances take the life of another human being.” So just as we let scripture define what breaking the commandment does not mean, even so we let scripture define what it does mean.

The testimony of scripture is the Ten Commandments are violated in the following ways.

You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Do not deny My existence. I am the almighty, eternal, personal God who created all things. Do not claim I do not exist, or that I am some impersonal, mystical force.
- Do not hold that there is more than one God. There is only one God, and I am He.
- Do not regard the False gods of other religions. Do not give attention to the false teachings of My nature, character, and will that are inherent in false religions and movements.
- Do not allow anything to take the place of honor and allegiance I am due. Whether it be your spouse, parents, children, family, or friends, do not make pleasing them or maintaining a relationship with them more important than pleasing and maintaining a relationship with Me. Do not make money, fame, a career, a status, a privilege, a pleasure, or even your own life more important than Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- Do not make any physical representation of me to worship. Nothing created by your hand captures My image, nature or character. I am Spirit, and am not mystically present in any man-made object.
- Do not regard any object in My creation worthy of worship. I created the sun, the moon, the stars, and everything on earth, but I exist outside My creation.
- Do not regard Me as being comprised of any element or having any form. The heavens and earth cannot contain Me, and I exist in an incomprehensible way you cannot understand.
- Do not worship Me in a way I have prohibited. Worship Me in ways I have prescribed, not in ways I have denounced.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Do not falsely swear. Do not invoke My name to attest to something you know is untrue, or to make a vow you have no intent to keep.
- Do not frivolously or frequently swear. Do not invoke My name to attest or vow rashly, carelessly, or without deliberation. Let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” “No.”
- Do not fail to keep a vow you have made to Me. You are to keep your word.
- Do not use My name profanely. Do not speak of Me abusively or with contempt.
- Do not use My name flippantly or casually. My name is to be spoken reverently, seriously, and thoughtfully.
- Do not falsely represent Me. Do not tell others something is My will or plan when it is not.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Remember to routinely set aside one day a week to engage in spiritual activities. Contemplate spiritual truths, sing worshipful songs, engage in spiritual discussions, encourage one another to obey Me, reflect on the splendor of My creation, and gather together as a community to worship. Set aside a whole day for this purpose.
- Remember to routinely set one day a week to rest from work and secular pursuits. Do not continually give yourselves to the affairs of this life. Take one entire day to rest. The sabbath was made for your sake, not for My sake.
Honor your father and your mother.
- Obey your Parents. When as a child your parent gives you a direct command regarding chores, curfew, language, or anything else, you are to obey. Do not defy them.
- Respect your Parents. When you address, interact or respond to your parents, you are to conduct yourself in an honoring manner. You are not to be rude or strike them.
- Maintain a relationship with your parents. Do not withhold the affection and communication they are due. Do not become estranged from them.
- Care for your Parents. As your parents grow old and increasingly infirm, do not fail to secure their wellbeing.
You shall not murder.
- Do not with premeditation take the life of another human being when I have not prescribed it. Do not out of greed, personal vengeance, or some other illicit desire kill someone. Vengeance is mine; I will repay.
- Do not commit Euthanasia. Do not end the life of another on the basis of their perceived quality of life. It is not a right I have granted.
- Do not have an Abortion. Do not take the life of the most vulnerable among you — the life of the one whom I Myself have formed in the womb from conception.
- Do not commit Suicide. I determine when your life is to end; it is not your right to make that decision.
You shall not commit adultery.
- Do not Rape. Do not through intimidation or force engage in sexual relations with another person.
- Do not commit Adultery. Do not engage in consensual sex with a person other than your spouse.
- Do not commit Fornication. Do not engage in consensual sexual relations apart from being married to that person.
- Do not commit Incest. Do not have sexual relations with someone to whom you are closely related.
- Do not engage in Homosexuality or Lesbianism. Do not have sexual relations with the same sex.
- Do not engage in Bestiality. Do not have sexual relations with an animal.
You shall not steal.
- Do not commit Burglary. Do not break into a person’s home to take something they own.
- Do not fail to return property to its rightful owner. Return anything you have borrowed. And if you have found something, and you know who owns it, return it to the rightful owner. To keep it is a passive form of stealing.
- Do not Swindle. Do not obtain money or property by deceptive means. Do not disguise the defects of an object so as to misrepresent its sale price. Do not make false promises so as to secure a sale. Do not use a false balance and thereby deprive the buyer of the true weight or quantity.
- Do not Extort. Do not obtain money or property by blackmail or intimidation. Do not threaten another person so as to gain their possessions.
You shall not bear false witness.
- Do not commit Perjury. Do not make false statements in the context of a judicial proceeding.
- Do not make a False Accusation. Do not make a false, damaging statement about another person.
- Do not Gossip. Do not heartily engage in unconstrained conversation that tears down other people.
- Do not fail to come forward with the truth. If it is in your power to correct a false testimony, then correct it.
You shall not covet.
- Do not Desire to Possess something I do not permit you to Possess. If something belongs to someone else, you are not to crave to illicitly possess it.
- Do not Desire to Do something I do not permit you to Do. If I have prohibited your doing a particular thing, you are not to crave to do it.

These commandments provide an overview of the standards by which mankind will be judged. When in a previous chapter it was noted God’s verdict of mankind is “There is none righteous, not even one … there is none who does good, there is not even one … destruction and misery are in their paths,” that was primarily based on how man measures up against these commandments.

It is for God to define what constitutes a violation of His Ten Commandments — it is not for you to apply your own definitions. Your understanding of His mind must be drawn from the scriptures, which is His word. Examining the scriptures reveals numerous ways you have violated the Ten Commandments, even when those commands are limited to an outward, visible sense.

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

Learn more ...