Ten Commandments: The Conclusion
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.
The Tenth Commandment: Do Not Covet
“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]
The Ninth Commandment: Do Not Bear False Witness
“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; anytime. But let’s deal with what the Bible means when it speaks of giving false witness. Most immediately this refers to testifying falsely in a…
The Eighth Commandment: Do Not Steal
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.
Reincarnation as an Explanation of Evil
The word reincarnation literally means to “come again in the flesh.” It involves the belief that the soul passes after death into another body. A person is believed to be born again and again and again, life after life after life. The process of reincarnation (continual rebirths) is believed to continue until the soul has reached a state of perfection and merges back with its source, believed to be God or the Universal Soul. Reincarnation is based on the law of karma.
Is Evil an Illusion?
Some religious groups today claim that the present world we perceive with our five senses is an illusion. The way to recognize and overcome this illusion is to follow certain religious teachings. These groups include Hinduism and Christian Science. Let us consider a few details. The Illusory World of Hinduism Hinduism, as a religion, is…
The Seventh Commandment: Do Not Commit Adultery
“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 the last time you listened to the radio only to confront lyrics promoting and glorifying adultery? When was the last time you looked at a…
The Sixth Commandment: Do Not Murder
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]
God Sometimes Says “No”
Throughout my long life as a Christian, God has answered many prayers in amazing ways. I praise Him for that! There have also been times when God—for His own sovereign reasons—said “no” to my prayers. I do not understand why, but He said “no,” and I continued to trust Him anyway.
Mighty God
“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 Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) Mighty God: El Gibbor. There is so much that could be said about this name, but as I was looking for ideas…
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