What for? Because God is the uncreated, independent and self-sufficient Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1-2; Psalm 50:12–14; 93,2; Acts 17:24–25). He alone has “the life of himself” (aseity), which implies not only his self-existence, but also that he is the measure of what is right. Scripture emphasizes this truth by emphasizing divine holiness (Ex 3:5-6; 15:11; Lev 11:44; 19,1; Isaiah 6:1 ff. 57:15; Eze 1-3; Hebrews 12:28; 1 Peter 1:15–16; 1 John 1:5; Rev. 4). I would like to wholeheartedly join the millions of people who cherish this country in which we live and who are determined to do everything in their power to preserve and strengthen the principles of democracy established by our founding fathers. To achieve this, it is extremely important that we are loyal and law-abiding citizens. The value of teaching God`s commandments is not to impose a burden of perfection or law on believers, but to reveal what displeases God and what sin we should avoid. God`s law is good; It is always our master who shows us that we need him, both in salvation and in the process of sanctification, as we grow in faith and Christlikeness. In any case, let us teach God`s commandments to our children so that they can know Christ. Many people have heard of the 10 commandments and realize the importance of some of them, such as laws against murder and theft. But other laws of the Bible are less known or appreciated. The third commandment literally forbids God`s people “to use God`s name illegally.” This should not be limited to the name “YHWH” (Deuteronomy 5:11), but includes “God,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” etc.
But what is misuse? This includes, of course, disrespectful use in curse, slander and blasphemy. But more importantly, it involves falsely attributing human intentions to God. This forbids us to claim God`s authority over our own actions and decisions. Unfortunately, some Christians seem to believe that following God at work is all about speaking on the basis of their individual understanding of God, rather than working respectfully with others or taking responsibility for their actions. “It is God`s will” or “God punishes you for.” are dangerous things to say, and almost never valid when spoken by an individual without the distinction of the community of faith (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). In this light, perhaps the traditional Jewish reluctance to pronounce even the English translation “God” – let alone the divine name itself – demonstrates a wisdom that Christians often lack. If we were a little more careful when paraphrasing the word God, perhaps we would be more reasonable in claiming to know God`s will, especially when it comes to other people. Theology often uses the category “law” (vs.
“gospel”) to describe God`s absolute requirement for His image-bearers to love, trust, and obey Him completely and completely. Because we are God and under the direction of Adam`s covenant, all men are subject to this obligation, and disobeying God leads to our sin and damnation, which has unfortunately happened in Adam and now in all mankind (Romans 5:12-21; cf. 3:23; 6:23). All will be judged by the standard they had. The pagans will perish because of their sin (i.e. they will stand before the final judgment) (cf. vv. 14-15), although they are without the law (they do not have the written laws of the OT). The Jews will not be spared judgment simply because they possess the law, for those who transgress the law will be judged for their transgressions. The law, when seen in today`s world, is essentially a limitation for people who do not live in love for others. There are traffic lights, environmental controls, laws against murder, kidnapping, theft, fraud and a host of other things.
All of these laws are designed to prevent behaviour that hurts someone else. But for those who walk in love, the law does not really need to exist—no law that overwhelms or binds them because they naturally and willingly fulfill by the Spirit all the righteous requirements of the written law. Christians, however, try to understand the purpose and spirit of the civil laws of the Bible. The ninth commandment honors the right to reputation. [1] It is used explicitly in court proceedings in which what people say reflects reality and determines the course of life. Court decisions and other judicial proceedings wield great power. Their manipulation undermines the ethical fabric of society and is therefore a serious offence. Walter Brüggemann says that this commandment recognizes “that living together is not possible if there is no space in which the public can trust that social reality will be reliably described and reported.” [2] The 10 commandments are at the heart of God`s law. They provide a fundamental and essential statement about God`s moral law, and other laws and the spirit of the law fall within this framework.
“Justified” means “counted by God as just” or “declared righteous by God” (see footnote ESV). If people were sinless and perfectly obeyed all of God`s perfect moral standards, they could be justified or “declared righteous” on their own merits. But Paul says that this is impossible for any Gentile or even for any Jew (cf. Romans 1-2). We know that a person is not justified by works of law. Paul saw that Christ had taught justification by faith, and so he called God “the one who justifies the wicked” (Romans 4:5). Paul would soon show that this view was taught even in the Old Testament (see Galatians 3:6–18), although it was not the view of most first-century Judaism. (For example, a 1st century BC.
The Jewish scriptures say, “He who does righteousness gathers life for himself with the Lord, and he who does wickedness is the cause of the destruction of his own soul” [Solomon Psalm 9:5]).