God's Ten Commandments (MP 48)

God made men and women with Him to dwell;
He loved them all, not wishing one to die,
But ev’ry one became condemned to hell,
And there was none to live with God on high!
So He nurtured Israel through whom He’d come,
Bringing redemption for those who believe;
That they sin less than their forebears had done,
He decreed laws their excesses to decrease!
Ten Commandments God ordered Israel keep;
So they’d not forget, He wrote them in stone;
Keeping God’s laws did not salvation reap,
But less evil might be seen in God’s own!
These commands were His basics and His first,
Meant to make His people special on earth!

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SPECIAL NOTICE: Beginning MARCH 9, I will begin a new emphasis in God’s Master Plan for the world---PROHECIES OF THE COMING MESSIAH! With Israel settled in Canaan, God revealed 340 forecasts of the life of JESUS OF NAZARETH, every one of which was fulfilled! You will not want to miss a single one of these amazing prophecies and proofs of their fulillment! WILLIAM J.B. CRITTENDEN
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Scripture Quoted (NIV)
Exodus 20:1-17—“And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the Lord your God … 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 to keep 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 witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet …’ “

Commentary on “God’s Ten Commandments”
We must keep in mind the predicament in which the human race has been in since the first man Adam disobeyed God and brought condemnation upon all mankind. God created the universe and man so that He would have fellowship with men and women eternally. As a result of Adam’s sin, no one could ever qualify to escape physical death or being assigned to hell eternally; therefore if no system of redemption from the penalty of man’s sin was ever provided, there would be none to join with God ever. God included in His Master Plan a redemptive system; in order to set redemption for men in motion, God planned to come to earth Himself in the body of a man. However, He would not come for another 1500 years. His method included the nation of Israel, begun by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; their descendants have reached about two million people, and are now free from slavery in Egypt. Israel has become a nation in migration to the Promised Land.

God led the Israelites out of bondage three months ago. He gathers them about Mount Sinai in the desert to begin their organization into a nation. He gives them the Ten Commandments (See above), not as a means of saving them from condemnation, but to prepare them morally and spiritually for His later coming as the Messiah. His laws and commandments are meant to control the sinful nature that is within each person born since Adam. God wants to see less sin from Israel than has been shown by all those who have lived before. Israel is chosen by Him to be a nation of priests to the world; their behavior needs to be an example and a guide to the other nations of the world. By obeying God’s laws and commands, the people of Israel will not earn their ways to heaven and escape hell, but they will prepare the way for Jesus (God) and be first to be offered redemption and salvation when Jesus (God) comes the first century A.D. God’s system for salvation is based upon faith in Jesus Christ through grace, not upon obedience to His laws.

You may not think it fair of God to lay this responsibility upon a people who cannot redeem themselves during their lifetimes long before Jesus comes with a plan of salvation. I am happy to tell you that they were given a way to escape hell. You can read it for yourself in Hebrews Chapter 11. Many men and women beginning with Adam and Eve have been saved by “election”, in which God selects those whose obedience and righteous living He counted as faith in Christ. Abraham, for example, who obeyed God’s call to move to Canaan and many other things asked of him, was redeemed and is in heaven today. Some are listed in Hebrews 11, but there are surely many more whose names are not given.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)