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markguitar_1
Guest
My friend emailed this to me and I don’t know how to respond back to him. So can someone help me out.
Thank you
Mark
Moses brought down from Mount Sinai ten very specific commandments. This is clear from the standpoint of the Hebrew people and their writings / documentation for several thousand years. The Hebrews (and later the church) simplified each commandment into a summary form. So we know what they considered to be the core ten statements and those come from Exodus 20. The second commandment is also restated in Duet. 5:8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.”
One could argue that the 2nd commandment isn’t really a commandment and that the 10th commandment is two commandments. But that would be in disagreement with Hebrew scholars from the time of Moses and in disagreement with traditional Christianity–even including Roman Catholic church documents in the first few centuries. I understand the point that Catholic writers have made about Deuteronomy and the idea that the breakdown is open to interpretation. But remember that God gave us the ten commandments. Exodus is the place where the Bible’s narrative first gives those commandments. Deuteronomy restates most of that original narrative as Moses stands before the people to remind them. As you know, all of us as Christians receive our heritage and the teachings of the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew / Jewish people.
Having said that, this is all very interesting for dialogue purposes, but the bottom line is what the Bible says is required in eternity is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ! None of us can measure up to the holiness and perfection of God. We’ve all broken the commandments–anyway you want to state them! If we’re honest, we’ve all committed some form of idolatry (putting ourselves or anything else before God) in various ways and that’s the root of what our sinful nature has brought. The Law is what helps us understand our sinfulness and why we need Jesus to die in our place, to pay the penalty for our sins! Amen?
Check out these verses, a few of my favorites which are very clear about salvation and eternal life:
Romans 3:10 "As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph. 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Rev. 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (not think so, hope so, maybe, could be, probably…)
Rev. 20:15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the **book of life, **he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev. 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Thank you
Mark
Moses brought down from Mount Sinai ten very specific commandments. This is clear from the standpoint of the Hebrew people and their writings / documentation for several thousand years. The Hebrews (and later the church) simplified each commandment into a summary form. So we know what they considered to be the core ten statements and those come from Exodus 20. The second commandment is also restated in Duet. 5:8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.”
One could argue that the 2nd commandment isn’t really a commandment and that the 10th commandment is two commandments. But that would be in disagreement with Hebrew scholars from the time of Moses and in disagreement with traditional Christianity–even including Roman Catholic church documents in the first few centuries. I understand the point that Catholic writers have made about Deuteronomy and the idea that the breakdown is open to interpretation. But remember that God gave us the ten commandments. Exodus is the place where the Bible’s narrative first gives those commandments. Deuteronomy restates most of that original narrative as Moses stands before the people to remind them. As you know, all of us as Christians receive our heritage and the teachings of the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew / Jewish people.
Having said that, this is all very interesting for dialogue purposes, but the bottom line is what the Bible says is required in eternity is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ! None of us can measure up to the holiness and perfection of God. We’ve all broken the commandments–anyway you want to state them! If we’re honest, we’ve all committed some form of idolatry (putting ourselves or anything else before God) in various ways and that’s the root of what our sinful nature has brought. The Law is what helps us understand our sinfulness and why we need Jesus to die in our place, to pay the penalty for our sins! Amen?
Check out these verses, a few of my favorites which are very clear about salvation and eternal life:
Romans 3:10 "As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph. 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Rev. 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (not think so, hope so, maybe, could be, probably…)
Rev. 20:15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the **book of life, **he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev. 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
God Bless
God Bless
God Bless