command

The Ten Commandments are a set of commands from God we have all heard before, but what do they mean and how do they direct us to live in love?

We all know about the Ten Commandments. We grew up learning about them and knowing that they were important. I honestly never gave them much thought growing up. Yeah, don’t murder, don’t lie, only have one God. It all made sense, but I never truly thought about what they mean to us in light of the New Testament and the fulfillment of the Law. However, my church is going through a study of the 10 Commandments which has caused me to look at them differently.

What is the Greatest Command?

He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.’
Matthew 22:37-39

Love God, love others. Those are the two greatest commands. Jesus is very clear about this. If those are the greatest, where do the Ten Commandments fit in?

All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.
Matthew 22:40

All the Law. This includes the Ten Commandments. All of the Ten Commandments fall into these 2 categories.

The 2 Categories

Love God, Love Others. Those are the 2 categories.

If you break down the Ten Commandments you will find that the first four deal with our relationship with God and the last six refer to our relationship with others.

All of the first four commands talk about how we relate to God and how we are to show our love and honor to Him. If we keep these first four commands we are loving the Lord our God: the greatest commandment.

The final six commandments reference our relationships with others. They deal with basic things like not murdering. To things that are a little more difficult like not coveting what your neighbor has. These commands all lead us to love our neighbors as ourselves the second greatest commandment.

The Law Vs Love

Don’t even begin to think that I have come to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I haven’t come to do away with them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17

The way the Ten Commandments can be compared to the two commands Jesus gave is a perfect example of Jesus’ goal. He came to fulfill the Law not wanting to destroy it, do away with it, or disregard its importance. He fulfilled it so we would not be bound by it. The Law is still important and should be a part of our lives but Jesus fulfilled it and made it possible for us to not have to be bound by it.

Jesus taught us that love is the greatest of all commands. That’s it. Love. When we show love to God and others everything else follows suit…

You must have no other gods before me.
Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.
Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy.
Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Do not kill.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.
Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house.
Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

The way the Ten Commandments can be compared to the two commands Jesus gave is a perfect example of His goal. He came to fulfill the Law not wanting to destroy it, or disregard its importance. Click To Tweet

All Bible references are using the Common English Bible translation.

Paweł Czerwiński

We are called to impact all of the people we come into contact with. We need to be prepared for this, and know how to act. Even if we feel fearful.

Some of my favorite time spent with my husband is late at night, snuggling under the covers, having meaningful conversation. Recently during one of our pillow talks the Lord convicted me when we were in the middle of a conversation about a friend who doesn’t know Jesus.

Impact: The People

I’m a believer in being a good steward of the things the Lord gives us. Just as I believe in being a good steward of our home and our finances, I believe that the people in our lives are there strategically. We are called to be good stewards to them. How many days go by where we hardly think anything of that?

Both hands raised, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of overlooking people placements and just focus on me and my day. But actually, every lunch appointment, every barista, every stranger that we pass in the post office, every neighbor, all of those people are strategically in our path for that day. Hear me when I say this: I’m not saying we should walk around stopping every stranger, I’m simply suggesting for us to consider this question, what would happen if we learned to be more sensitive to the guiding of the Holy Spirit? Movements? Maybe even miracles?

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Proverbs 16:9, NIV

Impact: A Command

“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:19. This is the Great Commission, it’s a command to us from the Lord. So why are we so stagnant in this regard? Why do we mosey around like we’ve got all the time in the world? We don’t. Job 14:5 says our days are numbered, friend.

I listened to this speaker once who gave the most perfect visual of earth versus eternity. In his talk he had this rope, the first five inches or so were red. The rest of the rope, which seemed like miles long, was white. He said that the red part of the rope represented our time spent on earth and the white part of the rope represented our time we spend in eternity. His emphasis was on sharing Jesus because we are not given much time here on earth.

It created an urgency for me. It put things into perspective. The things I was walking through my day claiming to be important, couldn’t compare to the importance of this: Souls. Hearts. Eternity. We, as Christians, are to be salt and light. So what are we waiting for?

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2, NIV

Impact: With Fear

As our pillow talk conversation got a little deeper, I shared with my husband that I haven’t always been able to freely talk to people about the Lord. Until about the age of seventeen I was incredibly shy. Over the years boldness developed. That boldness came from encountering the Lord, growing my confidence in Him. It used to be, if I came across someone with a different belief or someone who didn’t have a personal relationship with God, I just didn’t talk about Him. I know that it’s not all in the talking. But I realized that the reason why I didn’t talk was because of fear.

Fear is so paralyzing. I was afraid of what other people would think of me. Afraid that they would be mean to me because I believed differently than them. And the worst, I was afraid that they would ask a hard question about Jesus that I wouldn’t be able to answer. Well friends, the truth is… none of us have all the answers. I had to learn to trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit and just share what He has done in my life. And what the Lord has done in my life is far too great for me to stay silent about it. I have also learned that it is more about loving someone well instead of “convincing” them into Christianity. Love will take you farther than persuasion ever will.

Impact: The Guidance

I encourage you, the next time you are around that table with your family, on that bike ride with your friend, bumping into that neighbor while at your mailbox, or grabbing that coffee from the barista, lean into the Holy Spirit and trust His guidance. When you don’t know what to say or have no response to a “God question”, silently ask Him to give you the words. Trust that He will give them to you. Let Him work through your vulnerability and be willing to be bold. After all, you may just experience something pretty amazing.

So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16, ISV

If you have found this inspiring, share the encouragement…

...the people in our lives are there strategically. And we are called to be good stewards to them. Click To Tweet

Krissia Cruz

Love: Living Out The Ten Commandments the Way God Designed