The Ten Commandments and beyond

When I was younger, I felt like the Ten Commandments was everything. I remember thinking about how important it was that God had given us these things that we should not do and there were only ten of them! I still feel that way but there are other things that we must do as well.

I want this post to just be about the Ten Commandments and the commandments that Jesus gave to all of his followers. I plan on using this as a reference for my day to day life–a nice little, quick reference that I can always get to wherever that I am.

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments can be found in the book of Exodus chapter 20. Below was taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. This is the version that I grew up reading and is my preferred translation. The commandments start on the 3rd verse.

1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 Thou shalt no bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,

9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet they neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Exodus 20:1 – 17, KJV

Commandments from Jesus

Jesus gave us commandments as well. Instead of things that we should not do like in the Ten Commandments, they are things that we should do.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:35 – 40 KJV

If you love God will all your heart, soul, and mind, you will want to please Him and not hurt Him in any way. You will want to follow the commandments not because it is required but because you want to please Him.