Unlocking the Ten Commandments
Taken at face value the Ten Commandments are binding on all people, and will guard the way to Heaven, so that evil will never spoil its glory and purity. But the Commandments are far greater than their surface meaning, as this book shows.
They challenge us as Christians on a still wider range of sinful deeds and attitudes. They provide positive virtues as goals. And they give immense help for staying close to the Lord in our walk and worship.
The Commandments are vital for godly living and for greater blessing, but we need to enter into the panoramic view they provide of the standards and goals for redeemed people.
Extract from this book
Each sin named in the Ten Commandments represents an entire species of sin. Each sin named is the chief offence of a whole family of wrong deeds. It is well known, for example, that the commandment against adultery also covers lust in the heart, and the commandment against murder includes hatred. Therefore when a commandment forbids a major sin, all ‘lesser’ sins in the same family are to be included in the scope of that commandment.The Ten Commandments are certainly to be taken at face value, and obeyed at the level of the sin named, but to limit the Commandments to the sin specifically mentioned robs them of all but their surface meaning.
Table of Contents
God’s Rules for Holiness
Prologue. Five Crucial Keys
1. Putting God First
‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me’
2. Making God Small
‘Thou shalt not make … any graven image’
3. Keeping Close to the Lord
‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain’
4. The Believer’s Special Day
‘Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy’
5. God’s Plan for His Church
‘Honour thy father and the mother’
6. Murderers All!
‘Thou shalt not kill’
7. One Fence to Disaster
‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’
8. The Many Faces of Theft
‘Thou shalt not steal’
9. A Family of Lies
‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’
10. Enemy of the Heart
‘Thou shalt not covet’
Epilogue: The ‘Secret’ of Blessing
