The Ten Commandments

See pages 317 and 350.

Q What are the Ten Commandments?

A The Ten Commandments are the laws give to Moses and the people of
Israel.

Q What do we learn from these commandments?

A We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our
neighbors.

Q What is our duty to God?

A Our duty is to believe and trust in God;

I To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;

II To put nothing in the place of God;

III To show God respect in thought, word, and deed;

IV And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study
of God's ways.

Q What is our duty to our neighbors?

A Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do
to other people as we wish them to do to us;

V To love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in
authority, and to meet their just demands;

VI To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray
for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to
be kind to all the creatures of God;

VII To use our bodily desires as God intended;

VIII To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom,
and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and
possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;

IX To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;

X To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in
other people's gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God,
who has called us into fellowship with him.

Q What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?

A The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God
and our neighbors.

Q Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?

A Since we do not filly obey them, we see more clearly our sin and
our need for redemption.