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The ten Commandments were written by God on two tables of blue stone and they were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The other laws were written by Moses but they were apparently given to him by God. Some were of lesser importance because they were temporary and based on repairing a flawed system. When the world is perfect, some of them will not be needed.

Love. Love is the basis of the Ten Commandments in both the Old and New Testaments.

1. Love God. The first four commandments describe our duties to God.
   Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind - (Deuteronomy 30: 6; Luke 10: 27)
   For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5: 3 )
2. Love Each Other. The last six describe our duties to each other.
   Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19: 18,34. Matthew 22: 37,39)

The Scope Of The Law
Since the Ten Commandments do not tell us about the good we should do, Christ widened our responsibility to God when He pointed out the good we neglected to do as we concentrate only on the letter of the law. So, in both the Old and the New Testament, the dimensions of doing good are described in many ways. We can conclude that there are many principles that cover a wide range of activities. God does not say, "do not take drugs" but he does tell us to honor the body where He lives and which He gave us at an enormous sacrifice.
In 1999, I spoke to a Christian girl who said that the Bible does not stop her from sleeping around with many men because she is still single. In her thinking the commandment is against adultery - therefore it is for married people only.
Sinners use many such arguments to justify their behavior. For her, I could point out many texts that talk about fornication and that only the marriage bed is not wrong. But what about the millions of Christians who take drugs and alcohol, watch soap operas, violent movies, pornography, cheat on their income taxes and bribe officials to spread the gospel.
Matthew 5, 1 Corinthians 13 and the book of James expand on the nature of the true Christian.

1. Avoiding The Bad (Negative Laws). These duties are best described in the Ten Commandments. They only tell us the principles of what we should not do. They do not tell us what we should do.
   Commandments written in the negative are for criminals, sinners and those who need fixed boundaries because they are prone to go astray. These commandments probably do not exist in heaven because it would be unthinkable for the inhabitants of heaven to rape, murder and steal as it would be for any normal human being to rape a child or starve a new born. Some things are just accepted as natural and normal, while others are unthinkable. In fact, by defining and naming certain horrible acts it creates the potential for sin because the perfect people have now learned something that they would never think or imagine. The complications of sin and death caused a whole new set of rules to be introduced to a society that had never seen or imagined certain things. Deliberate killing was now possible, not just for the murderous sinner, but for the righteous judge. A form of adultery was possible because death was possible. Righteous people could legitimately have two spouses when they go to heaven because death disannulled a legitimate marriage.
2. Doing Good. We should be doing good, not just avoiding bad.
   This is where some people may have a problem. They focus on not doing the wrong thing and this may divert them from what is good.
   - Do Good. Therefore the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4: 17).
     Matthew 5: 44 asks us to love our enemies and do good to those who are in the process of harming us.
   - Extreme Good. Take every opportunity to do good. Pay back evil with good - not revenge. Cover each others mistake while you are trying to restore them to God - do not expose them. You have a duty to the person being harmed and to no one else. This does not apply to shielding others who are continually harming others as we keep silent. Expose those who victimize the weak and helpless. But it is evil to make plans to use the weakness of others to trap them in sin. And then to enjoy their exposure and public humiliation. This is the same spirit and work of the devil.
     Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this - not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. (Romans 14: 13)
   - Justice, Mercy, Respect for God. He has told you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6: 8).
     - Justice. Obey the letter and spirit of the law
     - Kindness and Mercy. Focus on forgiveness when others break the law. There will soon be a time when law breakers will no longer be accepted. But today God is focusing on mercy and forgiveness as He slowly gives us His nature.
     - God. Focus on our duties and relationship to God. It is this relationship that will make real justice and mercy possible.
   - Drugs and Alcohol and Sexual Immorality. Sins against the body that do not honor God. We should not mutilate our internal or external body.
     Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20).
   - Guarding What We See and Hear. Isaiah describes the person who can live in the presence of God in the following way.
     He who walks righteously and speaks sincerely, He who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe. He who stop his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil. (Isaiah 33: 15).
     These principles govern the music we hear, the programs we watch, and how we gain profits. Wealth is not a blessing from God, if it was obtained through exploitation of others. If we cannot live and have hope under certain conditions, then we cannot support certain corporations who exploit third world nations for cheap labor and cause them to perpetually live under conditions that we reject.
   - Racism. God says that it is impossible for you to love him (an unseen stranger) if you cannot love those around you.
     If someone says, "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (1 John 4: 20, 21).
     This is an important point, because in the judgment God will overlook those points of law of which we are ignorant (Acts 17: 30). So He will judge us by how we treat others because that is an excellent indication of our character.
3. The Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 5-7). When faced with a response to evil, this guides us towards responding to evil by good.
   - Be Like God. Seek righteousness and purity. Maintain the relationship through communication with God.
   - Light And Salt. Be an example for God and a fountain of the preservation of good.
   - Magnify The Law. Make the law honorable by not just seeking the minimal standards.
   - The Kindness Of Forgiveness. Respond to your enemies in the same way God has responded to us.
4. The Golden Rule. In everything, therefore, treat people the way you want them to treat you. For this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7: 12).
   When all other reasoning fails, use this as a guide. Treating sinners kindly does not mean we adopt their behavior.
5. The Nature Of God. As we become children of God, we are given His nature by the Holy Spirit. We know what is good and we do it.
   Taught by the Spirit. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. (1 John 2: 27)
   Good Fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5: 22 - 23).
   There is no law that can legislate kindness or attributes of the Spirit. These virtues are open ended in the amount extended and to whom it is extended. There will never be a law that says you must be kind only to your friends and relatives or that this kindness should not consume more than twenty percent of your annual income.
6. Love (Positive Laws). The Ten Commandments are based on love for God and our neighbors.
   Commandments written in the positive probably do not exist in heaven either. We are free to do good so there are no limits or list of suggestions on what we can do.
   What probably exists are the two great commandments, love God and love everybody. A list of positive commandments would imply that the list of good deeds is finite. It also removes all creativity and spontaniety from doing good. Are flowers and candy for your loved one as meaningful because we have set aside a day to give those items as tokens of love. This sort of prescribed and timed goodness leads to an industry for plastic flowers and canned poems and most often seems like a scheduled act of duty. It would be better if those moments come often and are unpredictable and are totally unscripted and expressed in your own words and with your own effort. This act can never be mistaken for anything other than a personal and spontaneous expression of love.

The Meaning Of The Commandments
Love God

1. One God. He earned our respect because He is the source of our initial life and for the continuation of that life. He deserves our respect because He loves us.
   This commandment reminds us that God is our parent. We cannot be god, nor worship others. If we stubbornly do what we want it is the equivalent of making ourselves the highest moral authority. We are making ourselves god.
2. Idols. We are not allowed to bow down before anything we have made or any other created object. This is equivalent to adultery against God.
   This commandment does not prohibit the making of art in the form of pictures and statues. But if forbids any act that gives the appearance of worship.
   The sanctuary had pictures of angels on the walls. The Ark of the Covenant had two carved angels on top. One reason why this was hidden, covered when moved and seen only once per year by one person was because of the potential for idolatry. Because the high priest approached this object in prayer, the ark could easily become a focal point of worship instead of the visual object lesson that God intended it to be.
3. The Name Of God. God invites us to take His name. In heaven, His name will be written on our foreheads. Therefore, God expects us to take His name and treat His name and reputation with honor and respect.
   Then I looked and saw, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him were one hundred and forty four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14: 1)
   In heaven there will be no temple building because we will go directly to God. This is why the covenant in Leviticus 26: 2 reminds us to reverence or respect the earthly sanctuary because it is a representation of Him.
   You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary; I am the Lord. (Leviticus 26: 2)
   I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21: 22)
   If we break this commandment, we show disrespect to God and we are stealing His Good Name and lying about Him.
4. Sabbath. This is the sacred, covenant time that God has set aside for our special union with Him. If we miss this opportunity it would be like going to a birthday party on another day. The birthday child is gone. The other guests are gone. While you can still call and talk on the phone, nothing can replace your absence from the party on the day of the party. You will have missed all God has to offer on that day and the gifts that you brought to celebrate.

   A Law Unto Ourselves
   Many people believe that the law of God should evolve with the changing times. They cannot see why a loving God would be against "any loving relationship between two people". Unfortunately, the pedophile and adulterer uses the same general statement as those in other forbidden sexual relationships. So the argument is flawed.

Love Other People
The Jews divide the commandments into two sets of five. They believe that since God is our parent, the fifth commandment should honor Him as parent first.

5. Parents. The respect we show our parents teaches us how to honor God. Therefore, if we cannot show respect to our parents and those who are older we will probably show contempt for God also.
   This commandment reminds us that there is only one parental authority from whom we were given life.
6. Murder. God does not tolerate killing unless it is in self defense. Jesus also said that hate and unjustified anger is equivalent to murder.
   While we cannot kill God, we can do the equivalent if we hate Him.
7. Adultery. God only recognizes only one sexual relation. This is a union of one male and one female by marriage for life. Moses allowed divorce only because the people were disobedient and the sin created complications. However, this was not the will of God. (Mark 10: 4-9).
   This relationship is sacred because it represents our eternal devotion, love and faithfulness to one God. So whatever damages this relationship is a symbol of what could be done to damage the union with God.
   » Polygamy. Deuteronomy 17: 17 forbids polygamy or "multiplying wives".
   » Forbidden Sexual Relationships. The law condemns all illegal sexual contact. It also defines other behavior that is illegal. (Leviticus 18)
   You shall not lie with men as with women: it is abomination. Neither shall you lie with any beast to defile yourself with them. Neither shall a woman stand before a beast to lie down there: it is confusion. (Leviticus 18: 22-23)
   - Fornication. Any forbidden contact between married or unmarried couples.
   - Adultery. Sexual relationship outside a marriage or in the marriage of others.
   - Sexual Abomination. Spiritual abomination is having a rival in the temple of God where it does not belong. Sexual abomination is having someone in the temple of your body that does not belong there. This is having an unnatural sexual contact within your species or outside your species. Homosexuality is an abomination. Fortunately, Paul says that many people changed their behavior when they accepted Christ.
   - Confusion. Having an unnatural sexual contact whether or not you are married. Using a body part, object or creature for a purpose for which they were not designed in a union that does not reflect the image of God. Bestiality is also confusion.
   - Incest. Sexual contact with close family members or in-laws (relatives by blood or marriage). (Verse 6)
   Sex is not a right. If it cannot be conducted within the confines of the laws of God then it is forbidden and the people affected must live the single life even if the condition was unavoidable. Speaking about being celibate Jesus said.
   Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.
   Birth Defect. For there are eunuchs who are born that way from their mother's womb.
   Castrated. And there are eunuchs who are made eunuchs by men.
   Gift of Celibacy. And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom. He who is able to accept this let him accept it. (Matthew 19: 11-12).
   The key is God can give us the ability to live within the confines of this limitation, no matter how hard it is.
8. Stealing. There is no justification for taking the property of others unless it is for payment of a debt. In that case the property is taken openly, not in secret.
9. Lying. There is never any justification for lying. You can delay telling the truth if the person is too young or vulnerable or if the information is confidential. But in this case, you have not lied if you tell them that you cannot answer their questions.
   A lie can be told directly or by carefully deleting some relevant facts or by our body language.
   If a person walks away from a meeting with you and they do not have a correct interpretation of the facts because of some deliberate actions or words on your part, then you were lying.
10. Covet. This commandment is a mental sin than can lead to all the other sins. While ambition is good, we should not compete with others just to have the satisfaction of being materially better. We should not rejoice over the fact that others are materially inferior to us. None of this makes us number one. We should not take, or want the possessions of others to the point where we hate them for having those things.
    The Sabbath belongs to God. We cannot covet it and take it and use it for our benefit. If the Sabbath makes sports, shopping and religion inconvenient we cannot substitute what is more convenient for us. It is equivalent of asking God to celebrate His birthday on a different day or to take another wife because you want His wife.

One Like Us
Many sinners believe that Jesus was sinless because He was God or because He had special help that we cannot access. But the Bible presents Jesus as a model for righteousness because He put aside His divinity and cloaked in human form He overcame sins in the same way that we can.

- Human Like Us. He wanted to be like His brethren. So He was both human and divine, yet He chose not to access His divine nature. He wanted to feel and experience the phases of life as a human so that He could become our example and be a righteous judge Who was plucked from a pool of His peers.
  Faithful High Priest. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of people. (Hebrews 2: 17)
  Righteous Judge. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear. But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. (Isaiah 11: 4)
  » The Least of The Brethren. When He became a human, He came with the least acceptable credentials.
  ... to the extent that you have done it unto the least of my brethren, you have done it unto Me. (Matthew 25: 40)
- Emotions and Experiences Like Us. Because He lived as a human in the worst of conditions, He experienced a wide range of negative emotions and conditions. So He understands our struggles and is sympathetic with the less than ideal and challenging choices that we have to make.
  A Sympathetic High Priest. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses ... (Hebrews 4: 15)
- Tempted Like Us. So, being exposed to the same lousy choices and desires that we have, He was tempted.
  Tempted But Sinless. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4: 15)

How could He claim to be like us and be tempted like us if He did not undergo the worst of every form of treatment? He knows how we feel because He experienced all of the accompanying treatment and emotions in a suffering that was equivalent or greater than ours. So there is nothing that we will ever experience in which He cannot say that He understands those emotions and feelings.
In the estimation of God, if one is treated in a certain manner, then one has become that image in the eyes of those who accept or inflict this treatment. So let us see how Jesus was tempted to break the commandments and how He was falsely accused and treated as a sinner.

1. One God. He was also God, yet He did not covet the position, but submitted to the Father and relinquished His divine attributes so that He could live as a human target for the wrath of Satan.
   Gave up Heaven and the Attributes of Divinity. who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped ... (Philippians 2: 6)
   Worship Satan. Satan promised Him wealth and world dominion if He would worship him (Matthew 4: 8-9).
   » Worst Case: Drug Addicted Withdrawal. After 40 days of hunger and thirst, He should have been weakened and hallucinating and craving the basic physical needs. Yet, even suffering under the worst physical and medical handicap, He resisted the temptations of Satan. So Jesus understands the physical pains that accompany the severe cravings of addiction or extreme desire and the mighty temptations that accompany them.
2. Idols. He was the only image of God that could be worshipped. Yet He did not seek acclamation for Himself, but worked to restore the reputation of God at the price of His life.
3. Respect The Name Of The Lord. His mission was to introduce God to the world and restore God's reputation. But He was constantly disrespected by people who knew that He was a good person. The disrespect culminated in beating and spitting and cursing and murder.
4. Sabbath. He was accused of Sabbath breaking although He even kept the Sabbath in His death. But He had no rest as He was being tortured on the way to the crucifixion and He worked tirelessly for the kingdom. Have you ever deprived yourself of all normal comforts so that you can work tirelessly for ungrateful people? Jesus did.
5. Honor Parents (Close Relationships). While He was impaled on the cross, He made arrangements for the care of His mother. Although He felt abandoned by God, He also obeyed the will of His Father God and suppressed His own desires and fears and stayed on the cross and died, not having the assurance that He had succeeded.
   - Parental Abandonment. Mary might have been the devoted mother who never left His side and was there to receive the dead body according to Michelangelo's sculpture "la Pieta". They all abandoned Him according to the prophecy. So neither she nor His loved ones did for Him what God Himself did not do.
     No Comforters. None! Not Even Mary. Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick and I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. (Psalm 69: 20)
     Abandoned by God. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. (Psalm 22: 1)
   - Abandoned Baby. Far away from family, among strangers, Mary was constantly frustrated in her attempt to find a safe place to give birth. How many of you were forced to be born with the smelly animals because people would not have pity on your pregnant mother? Both Mary and her baby were abandoned by Israel on the night of His birth. She wrapped Him in strips of torn cloth and placed Him in the feeding bin.
     It was the lowly creatures who first saw and heard the savior and God also honored their presence by symbolically representing His burdens and sacrifice for humans in the form of an innocent sheep, a lowly donkey with our burdens, a strong bull submitting to the yoke, a goat and a ram. When He became sin by taking our sins, He was even the snake hung up on a cross who would heal us. Have you ever been negatively compared to an animal? Well God was proud to be represented among them, even among the unclean animals.
   - Illegitimate Child. In a very religious society, He grew up with the label of an illegitimate, bastard child Who was the Son of a whore conceived in the filth of menstruation.
     Bastard! ... They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication. We have one father: God". (John 8: 41)
   - Ghetto Child. He was born in a barn with animals and slept in the feeding trough. Then He lived in Egypt as an alien when He was a young child and grew up in the poor, rough ghetto of Nazareth.
     No Good Ghetto Bastard! "... Can anything good thing come out of Nazareth? ..." (John 1: 46)
     Poor Environment! For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground ... (Isaiah 53: 2)
   - An Alien and A Stranger (Refugee). As a baby, He lived in exile in Egypt as the state tried to kill Him.
   - Sibling Rivalry. The evidence is that His family eventually rejected Him. After years of mommy being called a whore and probably because of the shame imposed on the family, His brothers and sisters rejected Him. Like Joseph's brothers hated his dreams, Jesus' siblings must have hated stories of His pretentious birth and spectacular future.
     Alienated. I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother's sons. (Psalm 69: 8)
     Even after doing miracles and impressing crowds, His life seemed to be a failure from these lofty expectations so that they and Mary concluded that He was mad.
   - Unsavory Friends (Guilt by Association). He made friends from the rejects and lower class of society.
     The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (Matthew 11: 19)
     Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" (Matthew 9: 10-11)
   - Sinner. He was treated as a sinner because He took on the responsibility and punishment for our sins.
     He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us ... (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
   - Friends. It is clear that He did not have any childhood friends because none of His brothers or neighborhood joined Him when He began His mission. His disciples were mostly strangers that He met as He travelled. The only family members who believed in Him were His cousins, John the Baptist and possibly the disciple John.
   - A Parent's Worst Nightmare. If you are a parent who has had to watch your children suffer and wish that you could take the pain and suffering for them, then God knows how you feel. He watched His Son suffer and die and He could not help. He had to inflict some of the emotional pain by being an absentee parent. But when He saw the world suffering and dying, He stepped in and bore the pain and suffering for us.
   - Worst Case: A God Without Honor. In many ways, the external pressures of gossip and negative labeling made it a dysfunctional environment for Him. Even after He returned to His hometown, showing signs and favors from God, His former neighbors could not overcome their prejudices towards Him and they ran Him out of town and tried to kill Him!
     He was a God without honor among His own creation.
   » The Boy From The 'Hood'. There is no excuse for failing life because you have been given a very unequal starting position. Look what happened to the poor deprived, maligned, sensitive, hungry little boy from the wrong side of town. He escaped the ghetto because He immersed Himself in the word of God and learned that He was important because a compassionate God loved Him. He is now the King of the universe, because He fought to not become a product of His environment or another grim statistic from the cesspool in the ghetto.
6. Kill. Jesus did not kill either physically or mentally. He did not dash the hopes of the sinner, but told them that He came to save, not destroy. The record says that He would not even break a bruised reed or extinguish a dim wick (Isaiah 42: 3). He came to bring hope and encouragement, not to condemn, humiliate and destroy.
   - Gossip. So He would not assassinate anyone's character with gossip. Instead, He elevated the status of the rejects of society, making friends with the worst sinners.
   - Anger. In righteous anger, He cleared out the temple to defend the name and reputation of God and drive out the merchants who were gouging the poor.
   - Tortured. He was tortured by the Romans before they murdered Him.
   - Long-Suffering. Whatever you think that you worked for and deserved and waited patiently for it and endured through delayed gratification, remember that God has been waiting patiently under this cloud of rejection and dishonor for at least 6000 years.
   - Martyred. He did not kill Himself, nor provoke anyone to want to murder Him, yet He was martyred because His beliefs became a threat to others. So He voluntarily and peacefully submitted His life.
   - Abuse of Power. He was subjected to constant abuse, yet He resisted the temptation to use His divine power to help Himself or to punish His tormentors. He performed miracles to feed the crowd, yet He relied on the gleanings left for the poor to feed Himself instead of conjuring up a satisfying meal. He subjected Himself to human limitations.
   - Unrequited Love. Have you ever been in love, risking it all and pouring out everything on the one you loved? But she chose the bad boy who was your rival and paid him to have you kidnapped so that he could beat and murder you. Then she stood by and watched and laughed as you were being tortured to death and you saw her do this. Then you left everything you possessed in a will for her and left instructions for her to be cared for. In addition, you voluntarily confirmed the will while you were being killed.
     The romance between God and Israel was not the love story of Romeo and Juliet. It is the story of Samson and Delilah. Jesus loved Israel and gave up heaven to come and rescue her, only to find that she despised Him and chose Satan, His rival. Then He arranged for us to inherit heaven and eternal life if we would accept His forgiveness and overtures of love.
   - Woman. Submission kills and suppresses the hopes and desires and contribution of women. How could He understand the plight of women when He was born into the automatic privileged status of a dominant male?
     The essence of the problem of women is that we must submit to male rule "because we sinned first". Submission was not meant to be punishment because it is voluntary, from a position of strength. Otherwise, the one who submits is a child or a slave who needs to submit for practical reasons.
     Yet, the victory of our salvation was won not because Jesus used the privileges of male dominance and power, but because He humbled Himself and submitted like a weak and powerless woman, to a brutal tyrant. Therefore, He honored women and showed the powerful and masterful weaponry of submission that defeated the serpent. As women we have the privilege of understanding voluntary submission from a position of strength. The worst our domestic situation, the more we have the privilege of knowing what it was like for Jesus Christ. God does not condone the treatment of women. We are supposed to be loved like God loves us.
     Yes, the submission of a woman caused sin, but submission from a position of strength also erased sin. So, which is the greater test? A powerful God submitting to His brutal enemy or a woman submitting to her husband?
   - Worst Case: Unjustly Executed. He was falsely accused, arrested, imprisoned and executed in humiliating public spectacle as a criminal, a sinner and an enemy of the state.
   - Diseases (Mental and Physical Imperfection). The sacrifice definitely required that when Jesus was offered, He must be without defect or blemish and His bones must not be broken. This might not necessarily mean that He never had a cold or fever or scrape His knee or cut Himself. But if He never had any of these experiences as a child, He certainly experienced the pain and suffering of many diseases on the cross.
     - Pain and Suffering. He felt every range and degree of physical, mental and emotional pain.
     - Dislocated Joints. His bones were not broken but all of His joints were dislocated on the cross as He suffocated to death in the most painful manner.
     - Feelings. He felt extreme shame, disgrace, loneliness, rejection and abandonment.
     - Suicidal Depression. He was murdered, He did not kill Himself, but like Job, Jeremiah and Moses before Him, the emotional hardship might have driven Him to wish that He were dead so that the suffering would end.
       Unrelenting Hardship. You renew Your witness against me and increase Your anger towards me. Hardship after hardship is with me. I should have been as though I had not been, carried from womb to tomb. (Job 10: 17,19)
       Suicide. Jump off the temple and God will save You as He promised.
     - Mad Man. They said He was mad and demon-possessed, even His relatives believed this.
       They treated Him as an insane man and did not believe Him (Mark 3: 21, 31-35 and John 7: 3-5). His mother appeared to go along with this. She must have given up trying to fight the shame.
     - Loneliness. He was astonished that nobody would help Him.
       Treads the Wine Press Alone. Why is Your apparel red, and Your garment like the one who treads the wine press? I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath. And their life blood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My raiment. (Isaiah 63: 2-3)
       Adam and all creatures were given a help mate, but Jesus was alone.
       No Helper. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and My year of redemption has come. I looked and there was no one to help, and I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My wrath upheld Me. I trod down the peoples in My anger, and made them drunk in My wrath, and I poured out their life blood on the earth. (Isaiah 63: 4-6)
       Worst Case: The Loneliness of the Outcast. The fat woman, black woman and the poor, fat, woman who is black from afar is the least desirable of all mates. Can Jesus understand the longing of such a person who desires a loving family of her own?
       With the gift of celibacy, Jesus understood a certain type of loneliness was His duty and within His power. But He understood the imposed loneliness that says "you are not good enough and nobody wants you". This type of rejection extended not only in the realm of marriage. It was a systemic rejection that assigned to the realm of the permanent outcast qualities that are outside of one's control. At the lowest end of the Roman society was a slave, a Jew, a poor, ugly man, a leper's leper from the ghetto of Nazareth Who was rejected because He was a bastard child.
     - Broken-Hearted. He suffered grief so overwhelming that it broke His heart and He died more quickly than expected. "Broken Heart Syndrome" is now a medically accepted phenomenon. The human heart will expand, weaken and fail under extreme emotional grief.
     - Worst Case: Handicapped. How could Jesus understand the problems of the handicapped or physically deformed or those who are less than perfect because of a birth defect?
       He could not be physically defective as the law required, but Jesus suffered the worst case of total physical and mental handicap of any human being who ever lived.
       As a person Who was both God and Man, He had to voluntarily surrender His attributes of divinity and resist the temptation to use them while He was trapped in a human body. Therefore, God was handicapped in Christ for over 33 years.
       - Quadriplegic. When He lost His omnipresence, He was unable to go where He pleased.
       - Paralysis. He lost omnipotence and suffered weakness and helplessness.
       - Mentally Handicapped . He was mentally retarded when He lost His omniscience surrendering the intelligence that created the world to the limits of one Who had to be taught to read and write and learn some science by observing nature and God.
       - Locked-In Syndrome. This is usually a fully functioning mind trapped in a paralyzed body with only the ability to blink as a form of communication. By resisting the temptation to use His power, He was basically a functioning mind trapped in a paralyzed body.
       - Minimally Conscious. When He was broken on the cross, He suddenly lost some level of deep consciousness of the Father and experienced real loneliness.
       - Persistent Vegetative State. While He was dead, His divine nature must have been in a state equivalent to this because it was impossible for God to die.
       So Christ was a quadriplegic, mentally handicapped and child-like God in human flesh. He limited His handicap by making the Father His role model. This is how we are victorious.
       God the Father is Our Hero and Role Model. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly I say to you that the Son of Man can do nothing of Himself unless it is something He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing, and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel." (John 5: 19-20)
     If you have every been labeled as mad, mentally ill and ignored or marginalized, Jesus knows how you feel. It was worse for Him because He had something important to say and was frustrated in His attempt to communicate.
   - Wrongly Imprisoned. Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are suffering a prison sentence trapped by lunatics.
     - Trapped In A Body. Jesus was God trapped and handicapped in a human body while the righteous God had to endure the unlawful deeds of humans and pay the price for their sins. In this form He paid a debt that He did not owe.
     - Trapped In A Mind (Spirit In Prison). The Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead also preaches to us who are slaves in prison and He is trapped into our minds also, being Himself a prisoner. The Spirit also preached to those in the days of Noah but only 8 responded. This appeal lasted during the time Noah was building the ark for at least 120 years. The Holy Spirit is the one who appeals to our conscience and this type of blasphemy will never be forgiven.
       By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3: 19-20)
       So appealing to the wicked for all that time while they rejected Him was like being trapped in prison. Living in their minds can be compared to Lot living in Sodom, forced to see and hear wickedness.
       And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) (2 Peter 2: 7-8)
7. Sexual Immorality. Jesus never committed any sexual sins either in thought, word or deed.
   - Lust of the Flesh. He elevated lust to sin, declaring that these thoughts are also fornication.
   - Fornication and Adultery. He was accused of immorality because He made friends with prostitutes, drunkards, tax collectors and other vile sinners.
   - Homosexuality. This practice was open and rampant among the Romans of that era. Tiberias Caesar was a brutal pedophile who preyed on young boys. So consider that atmosphere with the fact that Jesus was unmarried, thirty years old, in the company of many young men in a society where people were married in their teenage years and life expectancy was low. He must have been accused. In addition, when the Roman soldiers stripped Him naked, mocked Him and taunted Him they must have threatened Him with rape.
   - Rape. Have you ever been raped? Unable to cry out because you are being threatened? Afraid to cry out because you are being violated by someone you trusted? Afraid to cry out because you think you are partially to blame? Have you ever felt trapped and hopeless, been restrained, stripped naked, violated, stared at, unable to hide your shame and forced to do what you do not want or forced to submit to someone who wants to harm you? Have you ever had regrets or relived your private nightmare every day for decades, plagued with questions about "What if"? If only I hadn't done this or that, gone here or there then this or that might not have happened. If only .... If only .... If only ....
     So if that is your experience, then you have been raped and Jesus understands.
     Jesus took our blame and said that our sins were His fault. If only I hadn't made man ...
     » Worst Case: Child Prostitution. Can Jesus ever understand the suffering of a young child who is pimped out to pedophiles by drug addicted parents so that they can get high and feel good?
     Jesus understood what it was like to be unloved, to be used and abused.
     The prophecies indicate that Jesus was a spiritual baby, only one year old when He was crucified. Israel was His mother, so the high priest should have been His advocate and protector like a father figure. So when the high priests bought Him from His close friend for thirty pieces of silver and sold Him to the Romans, He was a Child Who was pimped out to brutal pedophiles by His pastor, brother and mother for the sake of security.
     When the soldiers stripped Him, beat Him severely and hung Him up naked on a cross where people laughed and spit on Him and nobody helped Him and the authorities were part of the conspiracy, He was being publicly raped in front of a cheering audience. They further violated Him by robbing Him of His only possessions.
     I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22: 17-18).
     So His rape was the most humiliating and devastating of all. It was public and He had no sympathizers because the people watched and laughed and nobody came to His assistance.
   He experienced the entire spectrum of human emotion. He cried. He was afraid. He showed anger, sorrow, expressed regret, disappointment, astonishment, frustration and skepticism. He was one of us.
8. Steal. Jesus did not steal even though He lived a life that must have forced these temptations on Him. So, when He did not have the means to acquire life's necessities, He humbled Himself and resorted to the shame and indignities of begging and random acts of kindness to obtain the necessities of life.
   - Welfare Recipient. He was subjected to this indignity. Since He was deprived, He took advantage of the lawful social means available to the poor. By law, whatever was dropped on the ground or in the corners of a field or whatever you could pick and hold in a hand can be taken. So He took food set aside for the hungry and accepted any invitation to dinner.
   - Beggar. He relied on the kindness of strangers and asked for food or shelter.
   - Vagrant. He wandered about from city to city relying on what He could find.
   - Homeless. He had no home. He camped out like a nomad, using what was available in the open.
     And Jesus said unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head. (Matthew 8: 20)
   - Personal Use or Abuse of Power. He did nothing for personal gain or take advantage of the company perks even in a situation of dire need. It is amazing that even with the gift of multiplying food, He did not use this power to feed Himself unless He was also feeding the hungry masses.
   - Worst Case: Robbing the Desolate and Oppressing the Poor. What could be worse than plundering a poor, helpless man, taking even the shirt off His back? They took His clothes and gambled for it.
     All who pass along the way plunder him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors. (Psalm 89: 41)
     Nothing Left. Then after the sixty two weeks the Messiah would be cut off and have nothing. (Daniel 9: 26)
9. Lie. He never told a lie. Instead, He came to reveal the truth about God and had to live with the consequences of false information spread about Him.
   - Not Believed. He endured the frustration of speaking without being heard because people ignored what He said and chose to act on what they wanted to believe. He repeatedly told His disciples plainly that He must suffer and die and they ignored Him.
   - Unjust Accusation. He was falsely imprisoned and executed for crimes that He did not commit.
   - Betrayed. He suffered the worst, because He did not have to deal with merely the accusations of His enemies or casual acquaintances. He had to fight the lies and betrayal of His friends and loved ones.
     Betrayed by a Friend. For it is not an enemy who reproached me, then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me. Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. (Psalm 55: 12-13)
     Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. Psalm 41: 9
   - Worst Case: A Good Reputation Ruined. He could not escape the labels placed on Him since childhood. The people from his old neighborhood hated Him so much that the miracles He performed were not enough to temper their erroneous misconceptions. They chose to mock Him with His illegitimacy at every opportunity, completely ignoring the evidence of divine favor.
   Have you ever tried to repair a ruined reputation only to realize that people do not care? Have you ever seen that those who should know you best and be the first to defend your name and honor do not care about the truth but will continue to throw mud on a life lived honorably? Jesus was scandalized by His loved ones. His enemies merely joined in the feeding frenzy.
10. Covet (Lust Of Life). Jesus faced unfulfilled desires, new desires, jealousy and a sense of failure by being content in all things. Convinced that He was doing the will of God and that God would care for Him, He resolved to be satisfied with whatever life offered Him.
    » Lust Of The Eyes. He was deprived of even the bare necessities.
    - Unfulfilled Desires. He was celibate, so He had to deal with the struggles of a functioning hormonal system without even thinking about sex.
    - Hopelessness. Some claim that since Jesus knew that He would be successful, He really did not suffer as much as He could. The problem is that the curse required that His experience must be such that He would not have any assurance of success. This is why He had to be split from His divinity so that He would suffer with the handicap of humanity.
      No Assurance. Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. (Deuteronomy 28: 65-66)
      So He must have suffered the acute and chronic feelings of despair. He knew what it was like to be instantly in fear and uncertainty. He also knew the endless timeline that sets in with chronic hopelessness. He could not see the future. And whatever faith and hope He had was dashed when God did not act in ways that He expected. When God seemed to abandon Him, He saw the endlessness of chronic hopelessness and He had nothing to look forward to except that God was just and good.
    - Deprivation And Addiction. After 40 days of fasting He felt extreme hunger and thirst. He felt the extreme cravings of an addict. His life was one of extreme poverty. In psychology, the hierarchy of needs is said to begin with the need for air, food, water, shelter, security and love. Jesus was tortured with a lack of these needs and He did not submit to Satan. On the cross, He slowly suffocated to death. In the desert, He nearly died of hunger and thirst. It was at these low points that Satan attacked and lost.
      Stones to Bread. Perform a miracle to relieve your suffering and prove that You are the Son of God.
    » Pride Of Life. They took His gifts and ground Him in the dust.
    - Marrying Beneath You. Have you ever loved someone and married beneath you and been constantly criticized" Or have you been the lower status spouse who has never been good enough? Are you the mongrel among the pedigree or the child of privilege who has tainted the prestigious gene pool?
      Christ is the husband of this sinful planet. When God fought to save the world and married Israel He was raising the status of one in a class far beneath Him. Israel was good enough because God loved her.
      The Desolated Wife. ... For your husband is your maker, Whose name is the Lord of hosts, and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth. (Isaiah 54: 4)
    - Used. Do people hang around you because of your money or talents?
      No Trust. But Jesus on His part was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. (John 2: 24-25)
      Dinner and a Show. Jesus answered them and said, "Truly , truly I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled." (John 6: 26)
      Lip Service. These people honor Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me ... (Matthew 15: 8)
    - Failure. Jesus knew what it was like to sacrifice and work hard, then appear to fail. Israel had rejected Him. His disciples fled or betrayed Him and He had no evidence to show for all His hard work. He was a failure by all accounts and the prophecies indicate that He felt that His life was wasted.
      Wasted Life. Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. (Isaiah 49: 4)
      Plans and Dreams Fail. My days are past, my plans are torn apart, even the wishes of my heart. Job 17: 11
    - The Ugly Duckling. Have you ever felt left out because you were not good enough or popular enough? Jesus was not physically handsome because God did not want people to follow Him because of His appearance, but for His message.
      Not Handsome. ... He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Isaiah 53: 2)
      Unattractive. Just as many were astonished at you, So His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men (Isaiah 52: 14)
      The requirements of the sacrifice demanded that He must be perfect and without blemish, but they never required Him to be handsome. His perfection was totally spiritual and physical.
    - Rock Star Treatment. Many people followed Him because of His miracles and His message. But He did not let the temptation of flattery and fame affect Him.
    » Minimalist. He never allowed His great needs to cause Him to want more than His mission required. Some may call this a lack of ambition, but He was fully aware that He had an enemy who would seize on any opportunity to taunt Him with things that He could not have.

If you believe that you have experienced something that Jesus could never understand, remember that Satan hated this little boy and wanted to see Him fail so Satan must have made His life a living hell because his existence depended on it. If you believe that Jesus did feel eveything you did but that your suffering was greater because you suffered longer, remember that Jesus lived this nightmare for thirty three years and that God has been suffering the full brunt of all this pain for over six thousand years.
So take the worst suffering that you have experienced and break it down into its parts. You will see that the collective mental, physical and emotional pain that they cause has been experienced by Jesus Christ in some way. His suffering is even greater because He experienced the additional emotional pain of unjust suffering and abandonment by loved ones.
If you think that Jesus cannot understand how your feel because you are guilty and you deserve punishment then remember that Jesus was also supposed to bear our guilt. So imagine feeling the collective guilt and shame of over eight billion people all at once! If you still think that He could not feel it because He knew He was not guilty, then remember that He created man knowing what would happen. Everybody in the world blames Him for this.

- Physical Pain. Any physical pain that you have suffered from any source will not be more excruciating than this.
  Torture, by its very definition, is a method of killing or punishment designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain. Crucifixion was one of the most painful, humiliating methods of execution by torture. Jesus was tortured to death. He was stretched until His joints dislocated. Dislocated limbs and strained ligaments are apparently more painful than a complete break. He was beaten and mauled with a flagellum leaving His skin gouged deep and bleeding with claw marks.
- Psychological Pain. Satan came to tempt Him after He had been hungry and thirsty for 40 days! No drug withdrawal symptom or hunger pain or sexual craving can compare to this.
  For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; (Hebrews 12: 3-4)
  The Bible says that you have not resisted if you have not resisted to the point of bleeding through your pores. Jesus did. You have not suffered.
- Social Isolation. He was separated from those in heaven. He was rejected by His family, friends and neighborhood. He was publicly rejected and humiliated by Israel and the priests. He looked for sympathy and found none (Psalm 69: 20).
- Spiritual Pain. Imagine being rejected by God! Imagine the anguish of God giving up His only Son to something worse than a homicidal, pedophile torturer. Imagine giving Him over to this despot in the form and limitations of a baby! God has suffered. You have not suffered.

Christ In The Law
In our lesson on the sanctuary we completely explain many of these laws that were kept or fulfilled by Jesus. Here is a summary.

Day and Night Time | Day Only
--- | ---
Passover | Wavesheaf | Pentecost | Trumpets | Day of Atonement | Tabernacles
Lamb |  | Goat | First Fruits | Holy Spirit | Judgment | Church | Warning | Plagues |  | Millennium | Armageddon | New Heavens and Earth
Christ is the buried Seed | Early Rain | Summer Drought | Latter Rain | Harvest | City of Refuge |
Shepherd Priest | King | Judge | Reaper | Bridegroom | Executioner | All Fulfilled

Law | Verse | Contents | Fulfillment
--- | --- | --- | ---
Lamb | Leviticus 27: 26, 28-29 | The innocent dies for the guilty | Jesus died for our sins as the Lamb of God (John 1: 29)
Goat (Sin Offering) | Numbers 29: 11 | The goat was the sacrifice for the sin and guilt offering | As our replacement He became as sinful as Satan by becoming sin
Serpent on the Cross | Numbers 21: 8 | Life could come by looking at a serpent lifted up | John 3: 14-15. As the demon goat, Jesus also took on the characteristics of the satanic serpent when He became sin for our sins
Mother's Milk | Exodus 34: 26 | A young goat cannot be cooked in its mother's milk | Jesus separated from His mother before facing the darkest part of His suffering (John 19: 26-27)
Exchanged for Us | Leviticus 27: 9-10 | An even exchange makes both animals holy | Jesus died for our sins, covered us with His blood, and we became holy just as He is, by law
Female Offering | Leviticus 4: 27-29 | The female sin offering and the red heifer | Jesus died in place of the woman (the church)
Shoulder offering | Numbers 6: 19-20 | The parts of the offering were displayed in a certain manner. The breast and shoulder offerings were waved and the thigh offering was lifted up | On the cross his arms were stretched out as in the position of a wave.
Breast offering | Leviticus 10: 14-15. Numbers 6: 19-20
Thigh offering | On the cross His thighs were lifted up
Passover lamb | Leviticus 23: 4-8 | Death will pass over us | Jesus died on Passover as the Lamb of God
One Day | Exodus 34: 25 | The age of the offering | Jesus was taken off the cross and buried the same day. He was not hung for days as was the custom.
Three Days | Leviticus 7: 17-18. | He presented Himself to the fiery presence of God within three days of His death
Thirty Three Years | Leviticus 12 | Woman cleansed thirty three days after the birth of a son | Christ died at the age of thirty three to cleanse the church (woman)
First Fruits | Leviticus 23: 11 | He was presented before God after three days | Jesus was the first fruits from the dead
Nocturnal Emission | Deuteronomy 23: 10-11 | His Seed was spilled during His sleep of death | Some of the dead were resurrected with Him from His seed of Life
Feast of Tabernacles | Leviticus 23: 34 | God lives with humans | Jesus was born during the feast of tabernacles and He will probably return on the same schedule
City of Refuge | Joshua 20: 6 | A killer can hide in a city of refuge without fear of retribution until the high priest dies and until he stands in judgment | As our permanent and immortal High Priest, Jesus will never die. God established the New Jerusalem as a city of refuge.
Bridegroom | Deuteronomy 24: 5 | The groom cannot work or go to war for the first year of his marriage | Jesus rests with us for 1000 years with His bride before the complete destruction of Satan in the battle of Armageddon

Changes To The Law Of God

Actions | Motives | Actions | Catholic Changes
--- | --- | --- | ---
(Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) | Text | New Testament | # | Change | Tradition
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind (Deuteronomy 30: 6; Luke 10: 27)
1 | I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me (Verse 1-3) | Pride | "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall You serve." Matthew 4: 10 | 1 | You shall have no other gods before Me | Praying to Mary and saints Evolution
2 | You shall not make for yourself any idols or any likeness of what is in Heaven above or earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. (Verse 4 - 6) | Stubbornness is idolatry | "little children, keep yourselves from idols." "For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not think that the Godhead is like gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." I John 5: 21; Acts 17: 29 | Deleted in Catechisms | Image worship
3 | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. (verse 7) | Unthankful, Unholy | "That the name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed." (1 Timothy 6: 1) | 2 | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain | Priest confessions
4 | Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant, your cattle or your visiter who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the Heavens and the Earth and the Sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the seventh day and made it holy (Verse 8 -11) | Salvation by works | "Pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." "For He spoke in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works." "There remains therefore a keeping of a Sabbath to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His." " For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth." Matthew 24: 20; Mark 2: 27-28; Hebrews 4: 4, 9-10, margin; Colossians 1: 16. | Changed
3 | Remember to keep holy the Lord's day. | Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday. And the phrase "the Lord's day" has been consistently applied to Sunday even though the biblical evidence is that it is the Sabbath.
Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19: 18,34. Matthew 22: 37,39)
5 | Honor your Father and your Mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Verse 12) | Disrespectful, rebellion | "Honor your father and your mother." Matthew 19: 19 | 4 | Honor your Father and your Mother | Infallible pope. The holy father.
6 | You shall not murder (Verse 13) | Hate, anger. Matthew 5: 22 | "You shall not kill." Romans 13: 9 | 5 | You shall not murder | Persecute heretics
7 | You shall not commit adultery (Verse 14) | Lust. Matthew 5: 28 | "You shall not commit adultery." Matthew 19: 18 | 6 | You shall not commit adultery | Promotes church and State union
8 | You shall not steal (Verse 15) | Greed, Selfishness | "You shall not steal." Romans 13: 9 | 7 | You shall not steal | Claims supreme, infallible, authority over church
9 | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Verse 16) | Truce breakers | "You shall not bear false witness. "Romans 13: 9 | 8 | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor | Tradition in place of the Word of God - the true witness. Claims to be infallible.
10 | You shall not covet your neighbor's house you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Verse 17) | Malice and greed. Luke 12: 15 | "You shall not covet." Romans 7: 7 | 9 | You shall not covet your neighbor's house | Covets the duties and authority of God. God on Earth, holder of the triple crown with keys to heaven earth and purgatory.
10 | You shall not covet your neighbor's wife

Changing Times And Laws. (Daniel 7: 25 predicted that the "Little Horn" power who persecuted the saints would try to "change times and laws". The Sabbath is a law concerning time and it was changed.

- Jews And Protestants. The numbering of the commandments are the same for Protestants and Jews.
- Catholic. The Catholic publications like the Catechisms used to instruct people on the principles of religion have a different numbering because one commandment is deleted.
  To make Ten Commandments, the tenth commandment has been split into two. So their ordering of all the commandments are different from the third commandment down.
  In defending the deletion of the second commandment (which forbids images), the church states that it can be assumed in the first commandment. But why delete the words? Why not include the words in the first commandment? Why tamper with the only words that God wrote Himself on a piece of His throne?
  1. God (1950). In 1950 the Catholic church officially endorsed evolution with the claim that God is not a magician who can create in 6 days. So God created through evolution occurring over billions of years then God gave the ape a soul. Genesis 1 -8 is not real facts but allegories.
  2. Idol Worship (405-787). The second commandment about image worship has been deleted from the catechisms.
     » Iconoclast Controversy. The Catholic church used to condemn idolatrous icons until after 450 then it was officially endorses after two iconoclast crises erupted and were upheld in 787 and 843.
  3. Name In Vain (431-1215). Several dogmas and practices evolved so that people now pray to dead saints and go to priests for confession and absolution. At one point the payment of indulgences were used as a license to sin in exchange for heaven.
  4. Sabbath (321). Changes to the fourth commandment makes it now the third, but the teachings are called keeping the "Lord's Day". Sabbath has been changed to Sunday in 321 when Constantine made a Sunday law.

Eternal Laws. All the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. In addition, our motives have become important. The law has been magnified.
Christ did not come to change the law. Instead He showed us how much more the law extends into our minds and hearts. It covers not just what we do but why we do it. Therefore, if we give away billions of dollars because we want to be remembered in history or because it benefits us somehow, then God considers this useless. He calls it filthy in one place.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. (Matthew 5: 17)
How did He fulfill the law? He kept the law and He magnified the law and made it honorable.
Until heaven and earth pass away not one of the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5: 18)
Has all been accomplished? No. Sin and sinners still exist.
Has heaven and earth passed away? No. Earth will pass away and be recreated after the millennium, but heaven will never be destroyed. Therefore, the law is eternal. At a minimum no law will change until the new heavens and earth exist.
But you say that there are laws that were changed.
You have heard it was said, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evil person ... (Matthew 5: 38-39)
This law has not changed. What has changed is the person who administers the wrath. Under a theocracy, the people who are guided by God administered this type of justice. Since God no longer supports a theocracy on earth, such judgment must wait for God. Until then mercy rules.
Christ came to magnify the law. Instead of abolishing the law, He made the standards tougher. Hate and anger were the same as murder. Lust was the same as adultery. So sin was not just what you did, or what you thought and why. Actions, motives, desires and the good you neglected to do are subject to judgment.
» Yes - No, Do - Don't, Stop - Go. The Ten Commandments are a tinker-toy model made for babies who have to be protected from their exploring with "do's and don'ts". For adults it is a traffic sign - Stop, Go, Turn around.
The scope of the "don't" in law could not be captured without the other don'ts in the Torah laws or without Christ's magnification of the law. The "do's" of the law are not listed because there is no limit. The danger of making a finite list would presume that there is no other good. So God simply defines the list of "do's" as love. Whatever satisfies love and does not violate the "don'ts" is probably a "do". The sermon on the mount and the Golden Rule is a description of "Do".

Study to show yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2: 15 | Time: 80 minutes Print: 14 pages
For the eyes of the Lord move back and forth throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. 2 Chronicles 16: 9 Copyright Updated : June 11, 2004. December 2009 Credits: Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (January 2008)