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The Ten Commandments
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The Controversy
Most professing Christian denominations believe in the existence of God's ten commandments written in the Bible. The controversy lies under two umbrellas of thought:
- 1) The ordering number and division of the ten commandments.
- 2) Whether or not a Christian is obligated to keep them under the new covenant.
One must understand what God's ten commandments are from the Bible. These commandments were spoken by God directly to Moses (along with statutes, judgments, and specifications on how to worship God). The Bible states that after God ended speaking to Moses, He gave him two tablets of stone of the testimony, written by His (God's) own finger. (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10)
The ten commandments are universal by most Christian professing churches, quoting them directly from the scriptures. In contrast, the Catholic Church has a slight variation of the list that bears a closer examination. The changes that they present reflect a differing approach in worship towards God. The article, The Ten Commandments - The Catholic Understanding, will expound on that topic.
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
The ten commandments enumerated in Exodus 20 are represented accordingly by most Christian churches in the order and division below.
- Exodus 20:1-17 - AFV
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1. And God spoke all these words, saying,
1st Commandment
2. "I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3. You shall have no other gods before Me.2nd Commandment
4. You shall not make for yourselves any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth.
5. You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,
6. But showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.3rd Commandment
7. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.4th Commandment
8. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
9. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
10. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates;
11. For in six days the LORD made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.5th Commandment
12. Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you.6th Commandment
13. You shall not murder.7th Commandment
14. You shall not commit adultery.8th Commandment
15. You shall not steal.9th Commandment
16. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.10th Commandment
17. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."
The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5)
Deuteronomy 5 also lists the ten commandments. Again, they are ordered and divided by most Christian Churches in the same way as in Exodus 20.
- Deuteronomy 5:4-21 - AFV
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4. The LORD talked with you face to face in the mountain out of the midst of the fire;
5. (I stood between the LORD and you at that time to show you the word of the LORD, for you were afraid because of the fire, and did not go up into the mountain,) saying,1st Commandment
6. ‘I am the LORD your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage.
7. You shall have no other gods before Me.2nd Commandment
8. You shall not make a graven image for yourself of any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters beneath the earth.
9. You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,
10. But showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.3rd Commandment
11. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold the one guiltless who takes His name in vain.4th Commandment
12. Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it as the LORD your God has commanded you.
13. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
14. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger within your gates, so that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you.
15. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.5th Commandment
16. Honor your father and your mother as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.6th Commandment
17. You shall not murder.7th Commandment
18. And you shall not commit adultery.8th Commandment
19. And you shall not steal.9th Commandment
20. And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.10th Commandment
21. And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor shall you covet your neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his donkey, or any thing that is your neighbor’s.’