GOD'S COMMANDMENTS ....and opposites!

A FINE ARTICLE HERE by Katrina Rice

Have you ever noticed that everything seems to have an opposite? God vs. Satan; Christ vs. Antichrist; Good vs. Evil; Love vs. Hate; Angels vs. Demons; Life vs. Death; Blessing vs. Cursing; Heaven vs. Hell; Saint vs. Sinner: So should it be any surprise to us that all of God's Ten Commandments also seem to have an opposite?

First let me say that I believe the Ten Commandments are still to be observed and were not done away with or "fulfilled" as so many Christians today believe. One of the reasons I say this is because, unlike all the other laws created by the Israelites, the Ten Commandments were not written by man, but written by God. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables (Exodus 32:16). It is shocking to me to see how many who call themselves Christians cannot even recite the Ten Commandments. In fact, they usually can't name but a couple, if any. How is this possible? Isn't this supposed to be the first thing we learn in our Christian walk? Along with Christ, shouldn't this be the foundation of our faith?

Many say Jesus fulfilled the law, so you don't have to observe it. They say this because of Matthew 5:17: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. However, they have not read the very next verse, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Mathew 5:18). Heaven and earth are still here, so this means the law remains and has not yet been fulfilled. In fact, we know there will be a new heaven and a new earth when Christ comes again. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea (Revelations 21:1). This event will then be the fulfillment of the law. Until then, the law remains and should be observed.

In looking at the Ten Commandments, I have to remember that the main purpose of God's laws was to define sin. Paul said:

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet (Romans 7:7).

This tells me the definition of sin is the breaking of God's law. Therefore, if God's law was fulfilled or done away with by Jesus, then one could surmise that there is no longer any sin and anything goes, so to speak, since there is no law to tell us what sin encompasses. This is exactly what has happened in the world today since "anything goes" and sin is no longer defined.

Since we know that sin remains and was not done away with by Jesus, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23), then God's law also remains and should be observed to define sin for us. Many say that since we all sin, why should we continue to try? Paul answered this question:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:1-2).

While I agree that we will always sin because of our carnal nature, this is no excuse not to try, and because of Jesus' sacrifice we can repent and receive forgiveness when we sin (break God's law).

Paul also said: Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law (Romans 3:31). In fact, Jesus said the law was necessary for our salvation.

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:16-17).

Jesus then goes even further and begins reciting the Ten Commandments so there is no doubt what commandments he is discussing (see Matthew 19:18-19). Is there really any more doubt that God's laws should be kept? So why do Christians choose to ignore it? Why do they take it lightly and without study? Why do they think it is okay to just change it? The answer is simple: because instead of keeping God's laws, Satan would have us to do the opposite (believe they were fulfilled, no longer necessary, done away).

Let us look at each one of God's holy Ten Commandments written by the finger of God and look at the opposite that Satan would have us believe.

First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). This one is easy to understand. The opposite of God is Satan, or idolatry, or anything that you are putting before your relationship with God. The importance of God has diminished with each generation to the point that God has been pushed out of our schools, our states, our nation, and even our churches. It is easy to see that people are doing the opposite of this commandment to put God first.

Second Commandment: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (Exodus 20:4). This one is also pretty easy to understand: the opposite of worshipping God, who has always existed, vs. worshipping something that is made or had to be created. This can be a statue in a church. Many today worship the Pope, their minister, their sports idols, their movie/TV/singing idols; none of which were meant to be worshipped.

Third Commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (Exodus 20:7). This one is a little harder for me. When we choose God, we are taking on his name. This means we have an obligation to keep his Commandments and walk in newness of life, and not after the old corrupt man we used to be. If we go back to our old ways, we are told that all the good we have done is forgotten. . . .he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; (Ezekiel 3:20). In other words, we have taken the name of the Lord in vain. This goes back to choosing life or death: taking the name of the Lord and choosing life or denying God and choosing death.

/ call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

(It also means the obvious: those who use profanity are taking God's name in vain. I think many do it to deny a God exists, as He does not zap them when they take His name in vain ..... well one day God is going to ZAP this world for breaking His commandments .... zap this world in no uncertain way, then they will know assuredly He DOES EXIST - Keith Hunt)

Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8).

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 (Exodus 20:11).

Although easy to understand, the day seems to be the thing people constantly debate. There is only one Holy Day that God blessed and sanctified and that is the 7th Day (Saturday). So why would we want to keep any other day? The opposite of the last day of the week would be the first day of the week. Is it any surprise that man made this change? God's Holy Sabbath, the 7th Day, the last day of the week vs. man's day, Sunday, the first day of the week. Through the years, I have heard all the arguments and justifications for changing God's Holy Sabbath Day to Sunday, and for me it always comes down to simplicity. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (II Corinthians 11:3). The simplicity is this: nowhere in the Bible does God give a commandment to change His 7th day Sabbath to any other day, but He clearly states over and over and over that we are to keep His commandments in both the Old and New Testaments. This means it comes down to whether we choose to obey God, who told us to keep His Sabbath, or we choose to obey man who told us it was okay to change the day to Sunday.

Fifth Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother (Exodus 20:12). The opposite of honor would be disrespect. It is interesting that the husband is told to love the wife, but the wife is told to respect the husband (Ephesians 5:33). I believe this is because love comes naturally to a woman but respect can be harder for a woman to give because it needs to be earned by the man—he must show himself worthy of his wife's respect. The same holds true with giving respect to our father and mother. This means this commandment has an obligation to parents, as well as children. Parents earn respect through sacrificing of themselves to be parents and through taking on the responsibility of teaching their children and training their children in the ways of God. Therefore, parents are worthy of respect and/or honor. In today's society of broken homes, parents are no longer worthy of respect as they are leaving their children, and children have become belligerent to their parents doing what is right in their own eyes with no respect to parents or anyone else. This shows me that not only children are doing the opposite of this commandment, but parents are also doing the opposite of this commandment—parents (to be worthy of respect) and children (to give respect).

Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13). Again, the opposite of life is death and we should not be responsible for anyone's death, including our own. I don't think I need to cite statistics to show the murder rates going up every year. You can simply look at our overcrowded prisons to see that people are doing the opposite of this commandment.

(The USA has by far the greatest gun related deaths of any Western nation even taking into account the per ratio population - Keith Hunt)

Seventh Commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). The opposite of adultery is monogamy. Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4). This comes down to obedience or disobedience. Are we going to lust and be carnal, going after whomever we can get, or be satisfied with the wife of our youth and honor our marriage commitment? Again, it is easy to see through Hollywood's influence—the high divorce rate and the number of illegitimate child births—that people are doing the opposite of this commandment.

(And it is now a fact more and more women are committing adultery, being unfaithful to their husbands - Keith Hunt)

Eighth Commandment: Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15). The opposite of stealing is giving. We are told to give of our love, give of our time, and give of our tithes. When we do not give, we are told we are stealing from God (Malachi 3:8). Again, it is easy to see that society today is doing the opposite of this commandment simply by looking at the dramatic increase in frivolous lawsuits and criminal theft statistics each year, as well as our overcrowded prisons.

Ninth Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16). The opposite of telling the truth is lying. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen (Romans 1:25). Therefore, to lie is to take after Satan, who is the father of lies (John 8:44), and to tell the truth is to take after God, as God is truth.

He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

Tenth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet (Exodus 20:17). The opposite of covet, which is to desire or crave, is to fast, which is to deprive ourselves. In other words, are we going to take matters into our own hands and go after the things that we covet, or are we going to leave it to God? Are we willing to give up even what we already have in order to show our obedience to God and draw into a closer relationship with Him? With all of the mass marketing and sales today, trying to "keep up with the Joneses" mentality in constantly buying the newest gadget(s), it is easy to see that coveting is also alive and well.

(It seems that every year now we have new iPhones; IPads

I have been told numerous times that the New Testament does not require us to keep God's commandments. If you take all of man's justifications, excuses and assumptions out of the picture, and we look at just the simplicity of the scriptures, we are left with the following from the New Testament.

And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17).

If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15).

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and' he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (John 14:21).

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love (John 15:10).

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (I John 2:3-4).

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight (I John 3:22).

And he that keepeth his commandments dweileth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us (1 John 3:24).

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (I John 5:2-3).

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, that, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it (II John 1:6).

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).

Here is the patience of the saints! here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12).

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14).

Why would God have so many verses telling us to keep His commandments if they were so unimportant, if they could be changed, if they could be forgotten, if they were done away with, or if they didn't matter?

One more opposite worth mentioning here: the Mark of God vs. the Mark of the Beast. We are told the mark of the beast will be in our right hand or in our forehead:

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads (Revelations 13:16).

Many do not realize God also has a mark:

And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt (Exodus 13:16).

The mark of God is clearly speaking of those who choose to keep His commandments as a mark between God and His people forever, and this mark is also in our hand or in our forehead. I found it interesting that both of these, verses were in Chapter 13, Verse 16. Is this coincidence or just another proof of God's infallibility, and ability, to preserve His Word perfectly throughout all generations?

In talking about the mark of God, it is clear it is talking about those that are keeping God's commandments. Knowing that everything has an opposite; the mark of Satan would then be those keeping Satan's law vs. those who keep God's law. Again, it brings us back to the importance of God's commandments; to do them through our hands and to keep them in our minds (foreheads).

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in, the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17-19). Also: My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee (Proverbs 3:1-2).

Therefore, I beseech all my brethren not to take God's Law lightly, but to teach, preach, and obey all of God's Ten Commandments, instead of doing the opposite.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

....................

Katrina Rice is a member of the Bible Church of God 7th Day in Hiawatha, Kansas, pastored by Elder Malcolm Grier. Katrina has a Masters Degree in Business Administration, as well as teaching College Business courses. She is also the CFO for a non-profit organization that provides Head Start and Community Service programs to a ten county area in Kansas. Katrina has two grown children, Adam and Charity, who also reside in Kansas.

Taken from "Acts" - January/February 2013 - General Council Churches of God (Seventh Day), Meridian, ID. USA.

..........

AS  A  CHILD  GROWING  UP  IN  A  CHURCH  OF

  ENGLAND  SCHOOL  IN  THE  1940s  AND  1950s  WE

  WERE  TAUGHT  TO  RECITE  THE  TEN

  COMMANDMENTS.  WE  WERE  TAUGHT  THEY

  SHOULD  BE  OBEYED.  AS  A  CHILD  I  READ  THE

  BIBLE  WITH  A  SIMPLE  CHILD'S  MIND  -  THE

  VERSES  GIVEN  ABOVE  BY  KATRINA  WERE

  CLEAR AND  SIMPLE  TO  UNDERSTAND;  NO

  THEOLOGICAL  DEGREE  NEEDED.  I  ALSO  KNEW 

 THAT  IF  THE  WORLD  WAS  KEEPING  GOD'S

  COMMANDMENTS,  IT  WOULD  BE  THE  HAPPIEST,

  SAFEST,  HEALTHIEST,  JOYFUL  PLACE  YOU

  COULD  EVER  IMAGINE.

IT  WAS  A  SHOCK  TO  COME  TO  NORTH

  AMERICA  IN  1961  AT  AGE  18,  AND  FIND  NORTH

  AMERICAN  FUNDAMENTAL  CHURCHES  DOING

  AWAY  WITH  THE  COMMANDMENTS  OF  GOD.  IT

  WAS  NOT  LONG  BEFORE  I  FOUND  OUT  WHY;

  THEY  WOULD  NOT  TEACH  OBEDIENCE  TO  THE

  4TH  COMMANDMENT  -  THE  7TH  DAY  SABBATH.

  I  HAD  GROWN  UP  BELIEVING  THAT  SUNDAY

  WAS  THE  7TH  DAY,  BEING  TAUGHT  BY  THE

  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  TO  OBEY  THE  TEN

  COMMANDMENTS.  IT  WAS  ANOTHER  SHOCK  TO

  DISCOVER  IN  1961  THAT  SUNDAY  WAS  NOT

  THE  7TH  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK.  I  HAD  NEVER

  QUESTIONED  IT.  ALL  OF  CHRISTIANITY  I  KNEW

  WAS  OBSERVING  SUNDAY,  SO  WITH  A  CHILD'S

  MIND  SUNDAY  HAD  TO  BE  THE  7TH  DAY  OF

  THE WEEK.  WHAT  A  SHOCK  TO  DISCOVER

  SATAN  HAD  DONE  AN  OPPOSITE  ON  THE

  CHRISTIAN  WORLD  I  KNEW.

THE  WHOLE  TRUTH  OF  THE  MATTER  ABOUT

  "FROM  SABBATH  TO  SUNDAY"  IS  FOUND  ON

  MY WEBSITE.

Keith  Hunt