The Ten Commandments

What's Special about the Ten Commandments? 

I’m preaching on the Ten Commandments this summer.  Here's some principles and suggestions for you to review to maximize your profiting from the Word.   Why are the Ten Commandments special? 

1.  They comprehensively communicate everything God morally requires.  Think of morality as existing in categories of duty.  There are only ten categories.  Every single duty fits under one of the headings within the Ten Commandments.  The rest of the book of Exodus, and even the entire Bible's moral code is simply an application of the Ten Commandments. 

2.  They existed as duties even before God wrote them on stone and delivered them to Moses.   For example, the Sabbath rest principle was a creation mandate, which existed even before the fall of man into sin.  Israel obeyed the Sabbath rest principle before Sinai when they gathered the manna in six days, resting on the 7th.   

3.  They are spiritual.  They govern attitudes.  You don't have to "do" anything to covet your neighbor's ocean front home.  The Lord Jesus Christ explained that adultery can be committed in the heart through lusting (Mt. 5), that murder can be committed through the heart through ill-will toward others Mt. 5) , that idolatry can be committed through greed (Colossians 3:5). 

4.  They tell us about God.  Cain was guilty of violating the command against murder because man was made in God's image (Genesis 9).  What kind of God protects life? A God who is the author of life, who makes us in His image. 

5.  They tell us about reality.  What kind of God is concerned about "little white lies"?  A God who controls reality and knows that whenever we fail to tell the truth we are tearing apart the fabric of  our own lives.  Moral laws, like the law of gravity are not so much broken as they break the law-breaker.  If you throw yourself off a cliff of the Grand Canyon you won't break the law of gravity, but you will break yourself. 

6.  They show us how to love.  Ever wonder what the loving thing is to do?  Romans 13:10 tells us love is the "fulfillment of the law". 

7.  They drive us to the gospel. A wise theologian once said, "A low view of law makes man a legalist.  A high view of law makes man a seeker after grace.  Pray the high view prevails."  It's true in your own life.  A low or vague view of the law will allow room for you to develop the conceit of self-righteousness.  A high view of law will always humble you, reveal your sin and drive you to rest in God's grace found at the foot of the Cross.  This is how the Ten Commandments change us.  They melt our heart towards God so that we are driven to the Cross for forgiveness.  They root our obedience in our deliverance from slavery.  Then the Law becomes our freedom, our way of showing gratitude, and our joy and privilege. 

8.  All the great creeds focus on them.  I suggest reading the Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 99-149 for the very best commentary on the Ten Commandments.  If you do not own a copy of it, you can find it online at

 I suggest you read  Westminster Larger Catechism 99 to get you started.

One of the best ways to grow as a Christian is to use the Ten Commandments.  I encourage you to read the Westminster Larger Catechism to delve deeply into what God requires of us.  If you allow the full understanding of the Ten Commandments into your sober consciousness, it will drive you to the Cross.  You can find the Larger Catechism on this web page:

http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/documents/larger1.html