It’s good to remember that each of the Ten Commandments reflects the character of God. The Bible tells us that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and that He always keeps His promises.

When we come into a relationship with God, He calls us to refle...

Satan is the great taker of what does not belong to him. He is always trying to get as much as possible, while giving as little as possible. He pays terrible wages—“the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). If you do his work, you will be terribly d...

There’s a story about a thief who was serving time in prison. Stealing had become his lifestyle, and eventually the long arm of the law caught up with him. But while he was in prison, he heard the good news of Jesus Christ and was wonderfully conv...

Here is a definition of stealing that will get you thinking about the struggle of the eighth commandment: Stealing is trying to get as much as possible, while giving as little as possible.

Remember, each of these commands speak not to one si...

When it comes to your battle with temptation, God does not say, “Pray about it.” He says, “Act against it.”

The problem with praying about a temptation is that you end up focusing more attention on it, and that can have the effect of making ...

The place to start in dealing with temptation is by recognising sin for what it is. The best example of this in the Bible is Joseph when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife.

Here was this young guy in a foreign country and a powerful woman was...

Jesus described the times in which He lived as an “adulterous generation” (Mat. 12:39). That means it was a generation in which many people had become confused in their attitudes and disordered in their behaviours when it came to the whole matter ...

Jesus makes this application from the sixth commandment: Settle your disputes as quickly as you can. If there’s a way to settle with integrity, pursue it. Paul says the same thing:

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably wi...

The scope of this commandment goes far beyond acts of murder. Jesus made this clear when He said that the sixth commandment searches out the thoughts, attitudes, and intentions of the heart.

Think about a train moving down a track. Murder is...

Here are four examples of taking the life of another person that are clearly forbidden in the sixth commandment.

Murder—Taking the life of your neighbour. One day you may come to the unimaginable conclusion that murder is not beyond you. An ...

The Ten Commandments show us what it means to live a life of love. The first four lay out what it means to love God, and the last six spell out what it means to love your neighbour.

Here are six sacred areas of life marked with special value...

The word honour literally means “give weight to.” The commandment is telling us: “Give weight to your father and your mother.”

When your father or mother says something, don’t take it lightly. Give weight to their words, to their advice. Don...

Your parents are the first authority figures God put in your life, and your first experience of authority tends to shape your reaction to other authority figures. If you’ve seen authority used well, you will tend to respect it, otherwise you will ...

Once you see everything that God has called you to do in the Ten Commandments, you may say, “But I haven’t finished!”

We struggle to embrace God unconditionally. We struggle to worship God as He is. We have not honoured Him in all things. We...

The fourth commandment is one of life’s greatest struggles and one of the most frequently misunderstood commands. Some Christians imagine they’re honouring God by making Sunday the dullest day of the week, a day marked by long lists of things you ...

Isaiah the prophet was given an insight into the heart of God when he heard God’s anguished cry over the abuse of His name.

That’s the tragedy of our world. But God has an answer: “Therefore my people shall know my name” (52:6). Those who kn...

The first thing that typically comes to mind when we hear the third commandment is the issue of swearing. The way you use a person’s name says a great deal about what you think of them. And if you look up the name Jesus in your Concise Oxford Engl...

The reason God places such importance on not making idols is that He is jealous to guard against all images of Himself. Why? Because He wants nothing and no one to detract from the one true image of God by which He has made Himself known—Jesus Chr...

God is invisible, so it is instinctive for us to want some kind of image to remind us of Him or to point us to Him. This commandment is telling us that we are not to make any images to represent God.

The problem with our images of God is tha...

Our challenge is to embrace God unconditionally. The first commandment leaves no room for “ifs,” “buts,” or “whens,” because as soon as you say “if,” “but,” or “when,” you have put something else in the place of God and thereby broken the first co...

The first commandment calls you to a life-long response of gratitude and loving loyalty to the God who loved you and gave Himself for you.

Positively, this means cultivating affection for Him, remembering Him, appreciating Him, honouring Him...

The Ten Commandments begin with the appeal of a gracious God who is committed to the good of His people, not an appeal on the basis of raw power.

God could have said, “I am your Creator. I own the cosmos.” That’s true. He could have said, “I...

Take a moment to consider where you stand in relation to the Ten Commandments. Here are three possibilities:

Some of us think we’ve climbed the wall. A man was talking with Jesus about the Ten Commandments, and he said, “I’ve kept them all!”...

The law is like a tutor, a coach, or a mentor. The law, properly understood, will walk you to Jesus Christ. It’s just like a good mentor who shows you where you need to go and then is willing to walk with you so that you get there.

This is p...

Let’s review the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20 and name our greatest struggles.

10. Your struggle with contentment: You shall not covet (20:17). Something within us wants more.

9. Your struggle with truth: You shall not bear false wi...

Life is a struggle. It is also an adventure. Like climbing a rock face, it is a dangerous business. But it is magnificently worth it. There will be moments of triumph as you conquer some dangerous part of the climb. But there’s always another chal...

The whole life of Jesus had been in the hands of His Father, and now at His death, Jesus committed His spirit into the Father’s hands.

Here’s what happens at death to a believer—your spirit goes into the immediate presence of God: To be “awa...

Do you see the significance of these words? The hell was over. The price was paid. The infinite agonies endured by the Son of God had passed, and the light of the Father’s love now shone on Him again.

Did you notice how Jesus died? If you ha...

When Jesus said these words, He was surrounded by darkness and on the edge of death. As He hung there in the darkness, it hardly looked like Satan’s power had been broken, or hell’s gates had been splintered, or death’s sting had been drawn out.</...