New City Catechism #8

Question: What is the law of God stated in the 10 Commandments?
Answer: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

You have probably been thinking that these questions and answers have been easy so far! But, this week’s is a bit taller of an order!

We’ll reflect on these commands over the next number of weeks, but I want to zoom out and consider this question: Why did God give us these commands?

That question has two answers:

#1 – We keep these commands because we are free!

The 10 commandments were given to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. But God didn’t just drop the commands out of nowhere. This is how he introduces them, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2)
In Egypt, the Israelites had a lot of commands to follow. “Make this building.” “Do that task.” “Make your bricks.” Could you imagine having some other person having complete ownership of you? Yikes. That isn’t a happy thought. In fact, we are told that “the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.” (Exodus 2:23)
God heard their prayer and brought them out with power as Moses facilitated the plagues upon the land of Egypt.
But that new freedom did not mean they were free to live for themselves. That would have been a greater slavery! Think about it. Could you imagine being completely free to fulfill your every natural want and longing? Maybe you are thinking that sounds fantastic…
– But Solomon tried that and he found it vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)
– But Israel tried that and they found it horrific (Judges 21:25)
– But Paul did that and he found he hated what he did (Romans 7:15)
Living for yourself is a bottomless pit of disappointment. The testimony of Scripture is clear on this. We were made to live for God. Freedom is not found in having no laws, but in having the right ones. God sets us free from our sins and then teaches us how to live. This is true freedom.

#2 – We keep these commands because this is who God is!

God did not arbitrarily decide, “You know what? I’m not sure where to go with this killing/not killing thing. Let’s flip a coin. <flips coin> OK, it’s tails! Not-killing it is!”
That is not what happened. God did not just pick and choose his laws. The commands he gives us flow out of his character. He tells us what to do because of who he is.
– We don’t kill because God is a God who values life.
– We don’t lie because God is a God who values truth.
– We honor our parents because God is a God of authority, love, and submission.
All of God’s commands are intrinsically tied to the character of God. This makes breaking them a serious deal. It isn’t just violating an arbitrary rule that means nothing. It is violating the very nature of the God we were made to serve.

So, memorize these commands and keep them. You have the freedom to live the way you were made to live!