The Ten Commandments

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This doctrine is taken from Exodus 20 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

At this point, we may want to examine...

The Purpose of the Ten Commandments

1.     The commandments were designed by God to show that man was a sinner, that he did not measure up to God's standards, and that he needed a savior. Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator [Moses], until the seed should come on the scene [concerning] whom the promise had been made...But the Scripture concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to the faithful ones (Gal. 3:19, 22).

2.     We have been kept under Law temporarily, which would lead us to Christ, until the doctrine of salvation came to us. Before the coming of the doctrine, however, we were kept under law, having been embraced and under subjection to the doctrine which should afterwards be revealed. Therefore, the Law has become our tutor [our school bus] taking us to Christ (Gal. 3:23–24).

3.     The Ten Commandments provide for us a basic freedom code; a code of law for all man to live under. It provides a framework for behavior. Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are delegated by God. Therefore, he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves...For because of this, you also pay taxes, for [these rulers] are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them; tax to whom tax [is due]; custom to whom custom [is due]; fear to whom fear [is due]; honor to whom honor [is due]. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, You will not commit adultery, you will not murder, you will not steal, you will not covet—and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, You will love your neighbor as yourself (Rom. 13:1–2, 6–9)

4.     The Ten Commandments cannot provide salvation Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? No way! For if law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed hae been based on law (Gal. 3:20). [We keep] knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (Gal. 3:16).

5.     The Ten Commandments do not even define sin (although by them our sinfulness is revealed). As we will see in the examination of each commandment, such as the prohibition of murder and adultery, that God's definition of right and wrong are much more extensive than what is contained in the decalogue (for instance, Matt. 5:21–28 Col. 3:5–10).

Obviously, this doctrine could be blown up considerably.

This doctrine was originally found in Gen. 12 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) and later placed in Deuteronomy 4 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

The Ten Commandments

1.     Most of the Ten Commandments are designed for believers and unbelievers alike; including the exactitude given them by Jesus Christ.

2.     Although the Ten Commandments were given specifically to the nation Israel, they also provide an outline for the preservation of freedom in an nation.

3.     The first 4 commandments provide a basic spiritual code and the final 6 commandments provide a freedom code for believers and unbelievers alike.

4.     Paul tells Timothy: Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. Understanding that the law is not laid down for the just [believers] but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane [all categories of unbelievers and out-of-fellowship believers], for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted (1Tim. 1:8–11). This tells us that portions of the Mosaic Law are applicable to all mankind.

5.     Therefore, the Ten Commandments are a freedom code which describe what freedom is within a national entity, which is divine institution #5. In other words, these commandments protect me from you and you from me. These final 6 commandments also codify the Godly concept of private property.

6.     The first 3 commandments define the legal relationship between God and man, and are discussed in the complete doctrine of the laws of divine establishment.

7.     Commandment #4: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you will labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you will 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.” (Ex. 20:8–11). This was a law to the Jews only, although there is application to us. Virtually all civilizations have a 7-day week, which is based upon God’s restoration of the earth in 6 days (whether they admit to this or not). This is because all civilizations have their original foundation in a 7-day week.

8.     The final 6 commandments define the relationship between men within a national entity, which are the essence of a code which provides freedom, protects property rights, and protects and preserves divine institutions #1–4.

9.     With the 5^th commandment, we begin to get into the laws of divine establishment, which ought to be carried over into all nations and civilizations. Commandment #5: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Ex. 20:12). Here, the relationship of the family is codified for all time, and the nation which obeys this commandment is assured of a longer continuation of the nation in which he is in. Paul affirms this commandment and adds that this is the first commandment associated with a promise of blessing from God (Eph. 6:1–2). This law is for all dispensations, and a nation which disobeys this is a nation which is on its way down (Communist nations which attempt to brainwash children from a very young age and which even turn children against their parents is in direct violation of this commandment).

10.   Commandment #6: “You will not murder.” (Ex. 20:13). This was one of the first commandments given to man after the flood (Gen. 9:6, where man was responsible to punish those who murdered with death). Murder represents the ultimate in the removal of another person’s ability to make free will decisions. This is an attack upon divine institution #1, and depending upon that status of that person, possibly divine institutions #2 and #3 as well.

11.   Commandment #7: “You will not commit adultery.” (Ex. 20:14). Adultery is forbidden in Rom. 7:2–3 and Heb. 13:4. It is an attack upon divine institutions #2 and #3. Marriage and family are divine institutions, which adultery can destroy.

12.   Commandment #8: “You will not steal.” (Ex. 20:15). Paul writes, in Eph. 4:28: Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. This commandment tells us that we have a right to own property. Private property is protected by Scripture. Sharing that property is a matter of free will.

13.   Commandment #9: “You will not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Ex. 20:16). Paul says that the law was designed for liars and those who perjure themselves in 1Tim. 1:10. Going to court can deprive a person of their volition or of their property; therefore, God expects us to tell the truth in court.

14.   Commandment #10: “You will not desire to take your neighbor's house; you will not desire to take 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.” (Ex. 20:17). This commandment is repeated in the New Testament. Jesus said to them, "Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses." (Luke 12:15; see also Eph. 5:5). If a nation respects commandments 8 and 10, then there will be no welfare state and no socialized anything. Obviously, there would be no communism. These things are attacks upon private property.

15.   Commandments 6–10 represent establishment law for any orderly society and apply to both believers and unbelievers alike. When a society turns away from these laws, that society is crumbling from the inside.

16.   There are principles from the Mosaic Law which are brought into national law. Again, Paul wrote to Timothy: Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. Understanding that the law is not laid down for the just [believers] but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane [all categories of unbelievers and out-of-fellowship believers], for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted (1Tim. 1:8–11). The law is designed for many categories of unbelievers, and these are all associated with their personal sins.

Taken from Psalm 2 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

McGee, even prior to all the court action against the display of the Ten Commandments in and around courtrooms, made a few related comments:

Attacks Made Against the Ten Commandments (from J. Vernon McGee)

Also, “Let’s cast away their cords from us.” The Ten Commandments are cords. When somebody accuses me of saying that we don’t need the Ten Commandments, they are wrong. We are not saved by keeping them—I tried it, and it won’t work—but I’ll say this: God gave them, and He gave them to protect mankind. They are thrown out the door today, and right now we are experiencing lawlessness in this country because of the fact that crime is not being punished. There has been a terrible toll of lives that would have not been sacrificed had laws been enforced. You see, we are living in a day when the prevailing philosophy is, “Let us break their bands asunder, let’s cast away their cords from us. We want to be free and do as we please.” God says we can’t make it that way. It won’t work. We’ve got old evil natures that need to be restrained. But mankind is moving toward getting ride of all restraints today.

McGee had the ability to to take most any theological point and express it simply and succinctly, as these previous two quotations prove.

I was expecting to find a great many more links.

The Abbreviated Doctrine of

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