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Revisiting the 10 Commandments

M

Metanoia

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Maybe it is time to reconsider the 10 Commandments. For me the key words are “thou shall not”. “Shall” seems to indicate some unspecified time in the future. We know that God does not lie…..therefore I read these words as being both promissory and predictive. Because we know that ‘all have sinned’ ….all of these commandments are destined to repeatedly be broken. For God to remain truthful it seems to imply the future reality of eternal life….a place and time when these commandments will not be broken.

Sadly this possibility was not recognized by the church. A continuing emphasis of the church is preaching fear of God…..in doing this it gives unwarranted attention to the Old Testament. 1 John 4:18…”There is no fear in love. Because perfect love drives out fear.” When Jesus gave the two greatest commandments the word ‘fear’ was totally absent…..instead it was replaced by ‘love’. In short, if some in the church continue to talk unceasingly about fear, realize that their emphasis is misguided……it is almost like implying that if you are without sin that this will be a validation of your good works and will guarantee your salvation. Nothing could be farther from the truth…..all of this is just one of the reasons that I hate the idea of the government endorsing the display of the 10 Commandments…..
 
Love is contingent on a relationship. A relationship does not exist without communication.

The 10 commandments are based on 2 relationships. The first 4 deal with one's relationship with God. The last 6 deal with one's relationship with one's fellow man.

This is why Jesus preached that the 10 commandments as well as what the prophets taught were based on this premise that one must have a relationship of love, both with God and one's fellow man.
 

First of all…..thanks for your response. I especially liked your second paragraph….separating the first 4 commandments from the final 6 commandments. In regards to Jesus and the 10 Commandments, Matthew 19:16-22 is very instructive. The rich young man came to Jesus and asked what good thing he could do to gain eternal life….Jesus told him that there is only One that is good. That should have been a clue…..and then Jesus told him to obey the Commandments. Asking which ones the young man was told the last 6. The ommission of the first 4 is of interest.

The first 4 represent the core of Judaic faith……they are a representation of duality…..unique to Judaism and indicating a separation from all others…..the same thing that all religions do today. If one desires to be one with God there can be no serving of 2 masters. The young man said he had always kept the 6 commandments and asked what else he should do. Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and the young man left in sorrow because he had great possessions.

The young man’s answer to the last question…(love your neighbor as thyself)…was not true. He lacked love….(no greater love than laying down your life for others)…..that should not be simply dying for someone else…..your ‘life’ is your ego and everything that feeds that ego…..wealth, status,….your comparison with others et al….

One more thing: you said ‘love is contingent on a relationship’…..I would probably suggest that love is contingent on the surrendering of your ego…..that means no judgment….coming to a place of equality…..personally I believe when this happens that there is a 3rd presence…..and that is God….surrender your ego and meet God….. He will join the 2 together to become one with him…..
 
I'd like to piggyback on what you have written, and go in another direction as well.

The Romans were a purposeful people. When they did something, they thought it through and did it with purpose. They wanted to maximize the benefits of their efforts. This is not to justify or excuse what they did, just an acknowledgement.

Jesus used an interesting phrase, I think, in this passage:

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mark 8:34 ESV
Click to expand...

Many people interpret this phrase that being a follower of Christ is supposed to be a burden. That, I think, is a mistake.

Remember, Jesus had not yet been crucified, but he used the phrase "Take up his cross and follow me," and the people present understood what he meant.

When the Romans executed someone, crucifixion was a common method. It was a very public and terrifying display of cruelty, designed to strike fear into the hearts of the people who saw one. It was a message "Do not challenge Rome, lest this happens to you!"

But before the Romans crucified someone, the condemned person was first beaten and tortured nearly to death in a courtyard. Frequently stripped naked, they were beaten, whipped bloody, mocked and humiliated. This unbelievable horror had a very practical purpose: The point of the torture was to take every last ounce of fight and defiance out of the condemned person. This is because it would not serve the Romans to be seen struggling with a defiant man, opposing them with his last breath as they tied or nailed the man to the cross. This would make the condemned man seem heroic in the eyes of the witnesses.

Therefore, the man was beaten into complete submission before the trek to the place of crucifixion. To test the point, the captain of the guard would bark out a command: "Take up your cross and follow me!" If the condemned man refused, the torture would continue. Later, the captain again would issue his order, "Take up your cross and follow me!" When the condemned man finally complied, he would take up the crossbeam and follow the captain through the streets to the place of the execution. He would finally welcome the relief death would bring.

"Take up his cross and follow me," meant, in the words of Jesus, total surrender. That is the goal of being a follower of Jesus. To put away one's ego, one's greed, one's carnal nature and humble oneself before God. Of course, we are only human, and frequently fail in this goal.
 
 
….re #6. Thanks for sharing that……I was not familiar with that particular insight….it gives legs to the story…..
 

Good post, thanks for sharing this info, very interesting and binds well here:


(Mat 11:28) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Mat 11:29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(Mat 11:30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
 
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