Musings on a Good Friday
Today, Friday, April 18, 2014, the Christian world commemorates the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was arrested, put on trial, and crucified on the cross of Calvary.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” People would always quote John 3:16 and some have memorized it by heart, but if one would really think about this, he would realize that God’s love is so great and wonderful. He loves us very much that He died for us to redeem us from the penalty of our sins. And why does God love us? And do we deserve His love? Are we lovable? Are we obedient as God’s children?
Come to think of it, and if I am honest enough, many times I disobey God’s commandments.
The first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Am I guilty of disobeying this commandment? When I think deeply about this, I can say that at one time or another, I was not obedient to this commandment. When I place more importance to a thing or a person than God, I am making that thing or person a god. Just like if I skip coming to church on a Sunday because I don’t want to miss meeting a friend whom I have not seen for years, or I don’t want to miss a Pacquiao fight. It's good I did not have to miss going to church because of a Pacquiao fight, because the worship service is over for more than an hour whenever a Pacquiao fight starts.
The second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” This commandment is reflective of the first commandment. An idol may not be a statue. It may be a career, a prized possession, your spouse or any other person that you regard more than God.
The third commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Because of the greatness of the name of God, any use of God’s name that brings dishonor on Him or on His character is taking His name in vain. Using the Lord’s name in an irreverent manner would indicate a lack of respect for God Himself.
The fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” The Christian Sabbath is Sunday, the Lord's Day, the resurrection day of Jesus. We keep the Sabbath holy by focusing on corporate worship. The New Testament talks about the gathering of God's people. So it's holy in the sense that it is set aside for corporate worship.
The fifth commandment: “Honor your father and mother.” Honoring your father and mother is being respectful in word and action and having an inward attitude of esteem for their position. Children of all ages should honor their parents, regardless of whether or not their parents “deserve” honor.
The sixth commandment: “You must not murder.” To commit murder is not just killing another person. 1 John 3:15 says, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.”
The seventh commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.” Adultery is not limited to sexual relations outside of marriage. It should include lustful thoughts, lustful words, polygamy, etc. Warrant for this is justified by the words of Jesus: “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.“ (Matthew 5:27-28)
The eighth commandment: “You shall not steal.” Stealing can take many forms, including cheating someone or even delaying paying someone what you owe him or her: “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. … You shall not cheat your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning” (Leviticus 19:11, 13).
The ninth commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” To be a false witness against our neighbor basically means to falsely accuse someone else of wrongdoing. If this righteous rule were established in today’s court systems, there wouldn’t be nearly the problems we see today.
The tenth commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Covet signifies to desire or long after, in order to enjoy as a property the person or thing coveted.
Because of my sinful nature, I can never in all honesty say that I have obeyed all God’s commandments. But I thank the Lord, because of His wonderful grace, He has forgiven me, and accepted me as His child when I gave my heart to Him when I received Him into my life many, many years ago.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” People would always quote John 3:16 and some have memorized it by heart, but if one would really think about this, he would realize that God’s love is so great and wonderful. He loves us very much that He died for us to redeem us from the penalty of our sins. And why does God love us? And do we deserve His love? Are we lovable? Are we obedient as God’s children?
Come to think of it, and if I am honest enough, many times I disobey God’s commandments.
The first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Am I guilty of disobeying this commandment? When I think deeply about this, I can say that at one time or another, I was not obedient to this commandment. When I place more importance to a thing or a person than God, I am making that thing or person a god. Just like if I skip coming to church on a Sunday because I don’t want to miss meeting a friend whom I have not seen for years, or I don’t want to miss a Pacquiao fight. It's good I did not have to miss going to church because of a Pacquiao fight, because the worship service is over for more than an hour whenever a Pacquiao fight starts.
The second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” This commandment is reflective of the first commandment. An idol may not be a statue. It may be a career, a prized possession, your spouse or any other person that you regard more than God.
The third commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Because of the greatness of the name of God, any use of God’s name that brings dishonor on Him or on His character is taking His name in vain. Using the Lord’s name in an irreverent manner would indicate a lack of respect for God Himself.
The fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” The Christian Sabbath is Sunday, the Lord's Day, the resurrection day of Jesus. We keep the Sabbath holy by focusing on corporate worship. The New Testament talks about the gathering of God's people. So it's holy in the sense that it is set aside for corporate worship.
The fifth commandment: “Honor your father and mother.” Honoring your father and mother is being respectful in word and action and having an inward attitude of esteem for their position. Children of all ages should honor their parents, regardless of whether or not their parents “deserve” honor.
The sixth commandment: “You must not murder.” To commit murder is not just killing another person. 1 John 3:15 says, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.”
The seventh commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.” Adultery is not limited to sexual relations outside of marriage. It should include lustful thoughts, lustful words, polygamy, etc. Warrant for this is justified by the words of Jesus: “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.“ (Matthew 5:27-28)
The eighth commandment: “You shall not steal.” Stealing can take many forms, including cheating someone or even delaying paying someone what you owe him or her: “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. … You shall not cheat your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning” (Leviticus 19:11, 13).
The ninth commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” To be a false witness against our neighbor basically means to falsely accuse someone else of wrongdoing. If this righteous rule were established in today’s court systems, there wouldn’t be nearly the problems we see today.
The tenth commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Covet signifies to desire or long after, in order to enjoy as a property the person or thing coveted.
Because of my sinful nature, I can never in all honesty say that I have obeyed all God’s commandments. But I thank the Lord, because of His wonderful grace, He has forgiven me, and accepted me as His child when I gave my heart to Him when I received Him into my life many, many years ago.
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