The Ten Commandments
According to Christian belief, the Ten CommandmentsThe list of rules, revealed by God to Moses, found in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Also known as the Decalogue. are important rules from God that tell Christians how to live.
The first four commandments are instructions about how humans should relate to God:
- Do not worship any other gods – Many Christians believe the first commandment is the most important. Christians believe that there is only one God who is worthy of worship.
- Do not make anyidolatryThe worship of an idol, object or person instead of God. – The Bible actually says not to make any images of things from Heaven or Earth.
- Do not misuse the name of God – God’s name should be honoured and respected.
- Keep theSabbathThe seventh day of the week and a day of rest for Jews (Shabbat is Friday sunset to Saturday sunset). Sunday is the day of rest for Christians.day holy – One day a week, known as the Sabbath, should be set aside for God. The Christian Sabbath is Sunday, and on this day many people go to church and spend time with their families.
The last six commandments are about how people should treat each other:
- Honour your father and mother – Christians should love and respect their parents.
- Do not commit murder – For Christians, human life has a special status, and many believe that only God should have the power to end a human life.
- Do not commitadulterySexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not their spouse. – A married person should not have a sexual relationship with anyone except the person to whom they are married.
- Do not steal – A person should not take things that do not belong to them without permission.
- Do not lie – A person should be truthful and not tell lies.
- Do not covet – To covet means to be jealous of what someone else has. Christians should be content with what God has given them and not focus on wealth and possessions.
Question
What are the first four of the Ten Commands concerned with?
The first four of the Ten Commandments are concerned with how human beings should relate to God.