Your love for God should do these things for Him! A few days ago I’ve been studying how to apply the Ten Commandments in my life in context of loving God. As always I’m so blessed by John Barnett on YouTube, DTBM. He shared 10 practical ways on how the 10 commandments apply to us in the context of loving God. Most Christians today would say the old testament is done and away with. But I disagree. It is very much valid and beneficial for us today. The Law is perfect in all its ways revealing the heart and righteousness of God to us. Jesus fulfilled the Law on our behalf. When we came to faith, we died with Christ. Meaning we died to the penalty of sin which is death. Sin means transgression of the Law. When we became born again in Christ, we now live under the Law of Christ which is the Spirit of The Law. Nonetheless, this would be a different study we will do down the road. But until then, let’s look at these 10 commandments and how they apply to us today!
Table of Contents
Exodus 20:3-17
The first four commandments are talking about loving God.
In fact, Jesus summed it all up in Mark 12:30 when He said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.”
LOVE FOR GOD GUARDS HIS PLACE IN OUR LIVES (Commandment #1)
As His children we remain true to Him. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (v3). Love is loyal, not fickle. God is just saying, “Will you love Me enough to not leave Me for some other god? Love doesn’t make other gods or turn its back on the one, true God…it’s loyal.
LOVE FOR GOD GUARDS HIS WORSHIP (Commandment #2)
As His children we Stay faithful to Him. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not 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 generations of them that hate Me; and sowing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments” (V. 4-6).
LOVE FOR GOD GUARDS HIS NAME (Commandment 3)
As His children we guard God’s Holiness. “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” (v7).
LOVE FOR GOD GUARDS HIS TIME FOR INTIMACY (Commandment #4)
As His children we seek intimacy with Him. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; 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; 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” (v.8-11).
Love draws aside for intimacy. God is saying, “If you love Me, you won’t just go live your life apart from Me, you’ll draw near to Me. You’ll want to be with Me and fellowship with Me, so you’ll drop all your activities one day a week and just spend it with Me.” Love is intimate.
The last six commandments define love toward men.
LOVE FOR GOD SEEKS TO HONOR PARENTS (Commandment #5)
“Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (v12). Love is not lawless, nor is it rebellious – it is respectful and honoring. One of the great characteristics of love is that it always seeks to say the best about everyone. It also seeks to aid, to help, to assist, and to honor. Love is respectful.
LOVE FOR GOD Protects Life (Commandment #6)
“Thou shalt not kill” (v13). True love would never murder another. Love is harmless……it hurts no one.
LOVE FOR GOD Seeks Purity (Commandment #7)
“Thou shalt not commit adultery” (v14). Love always seeks the purity of another. Adultery defiles but love seeks only purity.
LOVE FOR GOD Gives NOT TAKES (Commandment #8)
“Thou shalt not steal” (v.15). Love gives; it doesn’t take.
Love is unselfish.
LOVE FOR GOD Speaks the Truth (Commandment #9)
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (v16). If you lie against your neighbor, you’re trying to hurt him, but if you love him, you’ll only tell the truth.
LOVE FOR GOD Stays Content (Commandment #10)
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife nor his manservant, nor his maidservant nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (v17).
Love toward God is loyal, faithful, reverent, and intimate; toward men it’s respectful, harmless, pure, unselfish,truthful and content. Jesus summed up the last six commandments in mark 12:31 with the following
statement: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” You see, even the Ten Commandments tell us to be like God. We are to love like God loves.
Resource & Citation
John Barnett Study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTsmsIxbyjE