Exodus 20 — Thoughts

Why the 10 Commandments?

Why did God give us the 10 Commandments?

He knows that our best efforts to keep them will amount to nothing. He knows we’re going to break every single one. (Jesus said lust was like adultery and hate was like murder.) He knows that we’re sinful.

So, what’s the point?

Of course, God knows we’re sinful. He gave us the 10 commandments because He wants US to know it.

Each of us is inclined to see ourselves as a good person. It’s an easy conclusion to come to when we compare ourselves to others. But that masks the reality of how much we have fallen and how far we really are from God.

That’s why God gave us the law. We read through these 10 Commandments, and we’re confronted with the reality of our sin. Yes, I lie. Yes, I envy. Yes, I lust.

But God isn’t being cruel by making us face our flaws. Like a good physician, He’s diagnosing our condition so that we will come for Him for the cure. He wants to heal us.

We must look at the 10 commandments to recognize the reality of our sin because it is only then that we can see Jesus’ love for us clearly.

Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

If we don’t see our sin, we won’t see His love. That’s why He gave us the 10 Commandments.

(Originally written May 17, 2022)