We believe in all the teachings of our Almight Yahweh and we believe that Yeshua is His only Son . THE LAW OF GOD IS ETERNAL
The universal law of God, the Ten Commandments, is the basis, the constitution, the foundation on which the entire universe operates, with one exception — the earth. It is the perfect obedience to this law in heaven and throughout the vast universe of creation which guarante
es the absence of trouble of any kind. Only on earth is God’s law ignored, and the beings of the universe are appalled as they behold the moral depravity to which mankind has fallen as a result. How could one person hurt another if everyone lived his life according to the Ten Commandments? A person must break at least one of God’s Ten Commandments in the process of hurting another individual in any way. The Ten Commandments, the law of God, far from being negative as they first appear to be, are in reality ten promises which God makes to us. They are ten positive promises that life will be free from fear and trouble of all kinds if everyone obeys. DECIETEFULNESS OF SATAN
Satan wants us to believe that the Ten Commandments restrict our freedom so that we will resent God and ignore His law, He wants us to believe that we can experience true happiness only by doing as we wish, without restrictions of any kind. People want to have fun, to do their own thing, to live the carefree, happy life. The trouble is that when people do this they hurt others and thus make others unhappy. There is only one way for everyone to be happy, and that is through perfect obedience to the law of God. This is the lesson which the entire universe has learned from its observation of the earth. This is the lesson which intelligent beings in the universe have come to understand as they watch with dismay man’s inhumanity to man. And this is the lesson the people of earth must learn for God to be able to save them. GOD’S LAW IS OUR ROAD GUIDE
A simple example from daily life will illustrate why God’s commandments are so necessary and will help us to understand that God’s law is the source of freedom. In Ghana, there are laws that prohibit driving on the left-hand side of the road. Suppose these laws did not exist and that it were permissible to drive on either side of the road. You can imagine the problems that would occur with cars coming toward each other at sixty miles per hour in the same lane! Accidents would be inevitable, and people would not be really free to drive on the road. You see, it is because of the law prohibiting driving on the left-hand side of the road that we are free to use the road in comfort and in safety. It is because of this law that we are free to travel at a high rate of speed on the highways, for we can be reasonably sure that the driver traveling in the opposite direction will stay on the other side of the road. Hosea 4:1,2,6 accurately describes the general condition of society in the world today, the result of disobedience to the law of God. “The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee . . . seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS GIVES FREEDOM
By restricting certain actions which are detrimental to the happiness and welfare of others, the Ten Commandments, if universally obeyed, produce a maximum of freedom and happiness for everyone. Today, for instance, many people have had the unpleasant experience of returning home only to find that their home had been broken into and all their valuable possessions had been either stolen or broken. If everyone obeyed the law of God, this could not happen. People would not even have to lock their doors. The Ten Commandments are found in Exodus 20:3-17. Verse 1 says, “And God spake all these words, saying,
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. 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: 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 generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. 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.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, 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.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
The next verse, Exodus 20:18, says, “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.”
During an awesome display of divine power, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke these Ten Commandments in person from the top of Mt. Sinai, which was covered by clouds with a brilliant fire evident inside. When Christ spoke the law from the top of the mountain it must have been as if He had used a million-watt public address system; the earth and the mountains trembled as He spoke. Never has the world witnessed such a tremendous display of divine power and glory as at this time, and it never will again until the Lord returns. The people were understandably afraid during this overwhelming event and said to Moses in verse 19, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” God used this awesome demonstration of His power to impress upon the people that, unlike the pagan gods of Egypt, He, indeed, is a real, living God, having tremendous power and authority. A covenant is a contract, or a promise. Because the law of God is His promise to us, God often refers to His law as His covenant. Deuteronomy 4:12,13 refers to the Ten Commandments in this way: “And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire (on top of Mount Sinai): ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude: only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Thus the Ten Commandment law is God’s covenant, His promise, His contract with His people. THE LAW ABIDE FOREVER AND EVER
How long will God’s covenant be in effect? Many today claim that there is a new covenant which has nothing to do with the Ten Commandments and that God’s law is not now in force. They claim that the law was “nailed to the cross,” and that we are no longer required to keep the law. There are, however, many texts in the Bible showing that the law is permanent and that it will never be done away with. Consider Psalms 89:34: “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” God tells us that he will neither break his contract with us nor change it. It will last throughout all eternity, exactly as it was written with the finger of God. Isn’t it strange that most people want to throw out the only words God himself wrote in the Bible? Consider also Psalms 111:7-9. “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.” We see here that each one of the Ten Commandments will stand fast for ever and ever. God’s law is permanent. He will never change or annul any of the Ten Commandments. Those who ignore the law of God bring a curse upon themselves. Jeremiah 11:3 says, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant.”
Everything that God does is perfect; His law is no exception, as Psalms 19:7,8 shows: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Why change something that is perfect? Why would God change or annul His perfect law? The answer, of course, is that He would not. GOD’S LAW IS FOR GOD’S PEOPLE
Many claim that the law was only for people of Old Testament times and that for us today it is no longer binding. Psalms 111:7-9, which tells us that the law will be in force forever, should be sufficient to make us realize that God will never repeal or change the Ten Commandments in any way. Nevertheless, there are also New Testament texts which show that the law is still in effect today and that we are required to obey it. Second Timothy 3:15-17 says, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly (thoroughly) furnished unto all good works.” As was mentioned in chapter one, when these verses were written there was no New Testament. These verses refer directly to the Old Testament, telling us that all the Scripture in the Old Testament is given by inspiration of God and is to be used today for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. Notice also that verse 15 tells us that these Old Testament Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation. That is, the Old Testament Scriptures contain the wisdom and the knowledge so necessary to us for salvation, including, of course, Exodus 20:3-17 — the Ten Commandments. These verses emphasize that ALL Scripture, ALL the Old Testament is given by inspiration of God, and must not be neglected, for it is just as important as the New Testament. Many ministers boldly tell us today that the Old Testament is no longer applicable, that it was only for the Jews. Whom will we believe and obey, God or man? Jesus says in Matthew 24:35 that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Jesus Christ gave the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai during that awesome display of divine power. The Ten Commandments are His words, and He says here that they will never pass away. He says also in John 10:35 that “the scripture cannot be broken.” The word “broken” in this verse is translated from the Greek word luo, which means “to loosen.” The Scripture, specifically the Old Testament, cannot be loosened. The Ten Commandments, therefore, cannot be loosened. They are just as binding on us today as they were when they were first given, and we are required to abide by every one of them. Jesus also said in Matthew 4:4 that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Directly out of the mouth of God came the Ten Commandments, and Jesus said that we should live by every word of them.
