In his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller talks about the day he bought the first sheep for his own flock. He recounts how his neighbor handed him a knife and said, “Well, Philip, they’re yours. Now you’ll have to put your mark on them.”[1]
I must admit, somewhat ashamedly, that when I began this series several weeks ago, I thought I’d find that I had broken a few of the Ten Commandments, but overall, I felt I was doing pretty good.
Oh, how sadly I was mistaken! Again and again as I read what others had said about the Commandments, and then added Jesus’ own thoughts in the Sermon on the Mount, I found that I have been unable to fully keep even a single one of these commandments. Not even one.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Let’s start with a definition. Kevin DeYoung explains, “We covet when we want for ourselves what belongs to someone else…. Coveting longs for someone else’s stuff to be your stuff.”[1]
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16; Deut. 5:20) Put in more simple terms, this command warns us that we are not to lie. About anything; anywhere;…
or most of us, this commandment is kind of a no-brainer. I mean, we all know it’s wrong to steal. We even have laws that outline penalties for those who steal.
“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18) When was the last time you turned on the television only to be confronted with people unashamedly committing adultery? When was…
Kevin DeYoung sets the stage for us when he says, “As he is apt to do, Jesus makes the one commandment we would have thought we were all going to feel pretty good about into one of the commandments we all feel pretty bad about.”[1]
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12; cf. Deuteronomy 5:6). Let’s go deeper on the Fifth Commandment. Let’s…
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so…
