Exodus 20:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Ten Commandments

¹ And God spoke all these words, saying,

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

We were given the Ten Commandments. If they were enough to live by then why are there 613 laws in the Torah? It would seem that our understanding of sin is more complicated than we would like to think. Why do we end up with so many laws? Why not simplify the problem into one concise comment that covers everything?

God did that in verse 3 above. Do not put anything before our relationship. Jesus summed it up perfectly when about the greatest commandment.

Mark 12:30 (ESV) And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Jesus expanded on the first commandment of the ten to include how to obey that command. Our problem isn’t love, heart, mind, soul or strength. Our problem is with all. There is no room for anything personal or private in this commandment. Any part of your love, heart, mind, soul or strength that is withheld from God is failing to obey the commandment and is therefore sin. That is a tough definition and many will reject it.

Here is a little unspoken truth that might help. Laws are written for the lawless. They are written to act like a mirror so that we can see what we are without Jesus Christ in our lives. The lawless need Jesus.

Mark 2:17 (ESV) And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Remember that Jesus said this before the Cross so it was applied without the atoning work that happened at the Cross of Christ. We are all unrighteous before the Cross. What we acquired after the Cross by faith makes all the difference in the commandment. It removes the demand for all.