When one thinks of God's Commandments, two condensed sets of such commandments comes to mind. They are God's First and Greatest Commandment which is given in concert with the Second such Commandment, which is like unto it. And upon those two great Commandments all of God's law does 'hang.' And then there is the 'ever ready' 'Ten Commandments' that God gave unto Moses upon Mount Sinai. In one sense, that is a set of 10 'one liners' which tend to summarize God's most basic Laws of a Civilized people upon which a Civilized nation ought to establish it law structure upon.

Seldom thought of, is that least and last of God's 'set of laws' is the which the Jewish religion counts there being 613 rules and statutes by which a faithful Jew is to order his life and live by in order to obtain heaven by is own works. Many of these include what has become 'traditional' compliance rules that do not hold in purpose, intent and force as strong as God's great commandments or the 10 Commandment. Still, a Jew is expected to know and live by all 613 such law, statutes, regulation and performances as there in so listed. For the intent of this presentation, it will stay to the two great commandments and the basic tem commandments, yet rather than so simply invoked in the 'one-line nature' of these commandments, a more in depth consideration will be made as to such as is implied and included as a part of the 'one-line' inference. For example, when God's 'one-liner' summary of his commandment and law of Chasity is given, it simple states 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulery'. But when Jesus did restate it in his sermon it was elaborated upon.

So what does 'adultery' all entail? One manner of beginning to expand that study of endepth meaning is to first expand the one liner by further stating somewhat as Jesus did when he taught the same in his Sermon on the mount. There he so expands the concepts that are to be included in the Adultery Commandment and he puts a big etcetera on it by referenceing it further by stating 'anything' like unto it. And thus it is expanded to much more than just having a sexual affair outside of the marriage covenant. Though that in itself does further expand the intent of the commandment further.

At any rate, at some point logic and reason take over and the endless expanse of all that can and is to be considered 'sexual sin' gives way to simply understanding that any such sexual involvement outside of that between a man and a woman in marriage is sin in the eyes of God. In the movie "Hawaii" (based on Michener's book) a native had to ask Max von Sydow just exactly what sort of relations were banned by the prohibition against adultery--and then the native went on to enumerate all the many permutations such could thereof consist. Needless to say, the creative mind is in such endlessness, as is also so listed. And reason must bring it back to the simple consideration that any such thing out side of that between a man and a woman in the confines of lawful marriage is a sin 'like unto that of Adultry'. Of course the Reverend quickly ascertained the wisdom of defining such simply by stating it in the manner that 'anything outside of the marriage relationship is by God prohibited and to even attempt to attempt to list all the variants is but to invite unhealthy creative considerations as to what all could be so done in committing such extensive degrees of sin(s) like unto it. So in the movie 'Hawaii', when the minister was asked just all what types of 'adultry' are actually prohibited, and he came fully confronted to the 'endless' list that could be generated when such is attempted to be listed by every possible thing that would be considered to be braking the law of Chasity. But must one list them all? Can't one leave it as simple as any such thing outside of the marriage relationship?

This saddly is the state of the liberal mind. They attempt to concluded that since God did not state such and such directly as He could as being included in the sins of Adultery, that what God did not specifically deliniate must not be considered as sin. And this as if God is responsible to supply the sinner a detailed road map to what all is to be considered sin.

So exactly what did Jesus teach in respect to Adulty in his public Sermon on the Mount?

27 ¶ Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever alooketh on a bwoman to clust after her hath committed dadultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye aoffend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into bhell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.a
31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of adivorcement:
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall aput away his bwife, saving for the cause of cfornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
(New Testament | Matthew 5:27 - 32)

    There are depths and degrees of understanding God's commandments. And it ranges from the two simplest and greatest commandments through the Ten Commandments and beyond until we come to do all that is the complete mind and will of God unto perfection. As to the many required ordinances and performaces that God requires of those who are of His Church and have taken His Name upon them we will not here speak. But perhaps we can take the commandments of God one step further than the basic societal Ten Commandments of Moses, which were but a 'School Master' and a stepping stone level of solid commandments upon which to build upon even to a higher plain and level. And that higher plain we will set forth as that given by Jesus Christ himself in his 'Sermons on the Mount' as well as such further understanding as a more complete knowledge of the basic nature of God may take us.

Jesus taught that he was not here to desolve the 'Law' but to further 'fulfill' the Law. And in terns of the solid and basic Ten Commandments he did just that. That is the Ten Commandments are just as much in force as they ever have been. Only to a further degree of understanding and performance does the Lord and our understanding take us based upon and in compliance to that basic Law. We will now go through each of the Ten Commandments and review just what they entail and may be extended to include in light of a fuller and more complete gospel understanding and in light of what Jesus taught during his life's admininistration such as from his Sermons of the Mount. Each of these will link to a separate page where each of the Commandments will be further set out and analyzed.

~ 1 ~

"Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me."
~ Exodus 20:3 ~

~ 2 ~

"Thou Shalt Not Make Unto Thee Any Graven Image, Or Any Likeness OF Any Thing That Is In Heaven Above, Or That Is In The Earth Beneath, Or That Is In The Water Under The Earth: Thou Shalt Not Bow Down Thyself To Them, Nor Serve Them: For I The LORD Thy God Am A Jealous God, Visiting The Iniquity Of The Fathers Upon The Children Unto The Third And Fourth Generation Of Them That Hate Me; And Shewing Mercy Unto Thousands Of Them That Love Me, And Keep My Commandments."
~ Exodus 20:4-6

~ 3 ~

"Thou Shalt Not Take The Name Of The LORD Thy God In Vain; For The LORD Will Not Hold Him Guiltless That Taketh His Name In Vain."
~ Exodus 20:7 ~

~ 4 ~

"Remember The Sabbath Day, To Keep It Holy. Six Days Shalt Thou Labour, And Do All Thy Work.: But The Seventh Day Is The Sabbath Of The LORD Thy God: In It Thou Shalt Not Do Any Work, Thou, Nor Thy Son, Nor Thy Daughter, Thy Manservant, Nor Thy Maidservant, Nor Thy Cattle, Nor Thy Stranger That Is Within Thy Gates: For In Six Days The LORD Made Heaven and Earth, The Sea, And All That In Them Is, And Rested The Seventh Day: Wherefore The LORD Blessed The Sabbath Day, And Hallowed It."
~ Exodus 20:8-11

~ 5 ~

Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother: That Thy Days May Be Long Upon The Land Which The LORD Thy God Giveth Thee."
~ Exodus 20:12

~ 6 ~

Thou Shalt Not Kill."
~ Exodus 20:13

~ 7 ~

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultry."
~ Exodux 20:14

~ 8 ~

Thou Shalt Not Steal."
~ Exodus 20:15

~ 9 ~

Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor."
~ Exodus 20:16

~ 10 ~

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbour's House, Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife, Nor His Manservant, Nor His Maidservant, Nor His Ox, Nor His Ass, Nor Any Thing That Is Thy Neighbour's."
~ Exodus 20:17

~ ETCETERA ~

Except A Man Be Born Of Water And Of The Spirit, He Cannot Enter Into The Kingdom Of God."
~ John 3:5 & 3 Nephi 12:1

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~ REPENT OR PARISH ~

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    Sometimes the simply stated commandment is not enough. Some are obedient by nature and do not need a lot of additional explanation and instructions. The rest of us, who attempt to skirt the commandments by determining of ourselves that this or that really is NOT what God's Commandment really meant just to suit ourselves, needs further explanation, instruction, and even 'correction' in that which we 'pretend' to or do not understand. Such is where Jesus began with the teachings of his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7; 3 Nephi 12-14). And still others need the proverbial 2X4 between the eyes. To that extent the servants of God have been called to deliver further, precise and often blunt declarations. One such corresponding list with the bottom line facts stated is found in Paul's teachings. And for those who have some understanding problems with the 'King's English' of 1611, the New King James Version should help.

"No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
"nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."
~ 1 Corinthians 6:8-10 | New King James Version (NKJV)

Those who are decivers who do wrong and cheat, are those who are misleading their 'brethren' astray. Those who tell you 'a sin is not a sin' are not your friend and are only trying to get something from you. In the case of so called Christian preachers who preach this way, all they want is your money and for you to be a part of their misled flock. They will flatter you down to hell without any true regard for your actual salvation, which they are cheating you out of. That is not Christ's true way.

Now in truth, Jesus invited sinners to follow him, but he did not invite them to remain in their sins. The whole point of the atonement was to call people unto Christ that they might repent of their sins and then by the atonement they would be able to acceptable through Jesus Christ unto God. "No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God." And since all men are carnal, sinful, and fallen, we were everlastingly kept from God's presence and his kingdom. The 'ONLY WAY' is through Jesus Christ, by that avenue of turning from, that's repenting of, one's sins. Then by the atonement, Jesus is able to impute his righteous in you before God. But that cannot happen if you are still of a sinful nature and life style, for such will not be acceptable unto God and not in his kingdom of Heaven.

If I recall correctly, it was Flip Wilson who used the Joe Louis quote in a little comic saying that, 'Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.' I'd like to do a take-off on that and state, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to repent." That seems to be the fashion of the day. Everyone wants to think they can be saved in their sins. They cannot be save in their sins. And the longer they remain sinful, the harder it is going to be to repent of those sins for sin is habit forming and addictive. Cast off the old man of sin and put on the new man of righteousness is the course of repentance that will bring man unto God. But continuing sinners will remain in their sins and will never get to heaven as long as they so remain living in those sins.

The Bottom Line IS: REPENT or PARISH!

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Revised October 9, 2013