The Ten Commandments and The Biblical Narrative

When you think about the First of the Ten Commandments, what do you think about? Most people would answer, "You shall have no other gods...

The Ten Commandments and the Biblical Narrative Dear Friends,   This past Sunday, Debra and I were out of town, so we attended our church service online. The sermon, presented by Reverend Paul, was an excellent reminder of the importance of the Biblical narrative. When you think about the First of the Ten Commandments, what do you think about? Most people would answer, "You shall have no other gods before Me," which is both right and wrong.   The First Commandment actually begins in the previous verse:   "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me." —Ex. 20:2–3 [ESV]   Before Christ came to die on the cross, God's people lived under the law. No one was able to keep the whole law until Jesus, and Jesus said that He didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17).   While Jesus fulfilled the law, He also gave an even higher standard of obeying God's law. For example, Jesus said:   "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." —Matt. 5:21   "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." —Matt. 5:27–28 Before Christ came to die on the cross, God's people lived under the law. No one was able to keep the whole law until Jesus, and Jesus said that He didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. How then are we able to live a holy life? Obviously, we cannot do this perfectly, but Jesus gives us the power to help us overcome sin, and when we fail, we can ask for forgiveness in Jesus's name.   Under the law, the first thing God instructed us to acknowledge is that HE is OUR God. What power would we have on our own to obey the letter of the law, or the higher standard defined by Jesus without His help?   Now that God has sent His son, Jesus is our salvation. We can do nothing on our own, but we can do everything when we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and the Lord as our God.   When Jesus explained that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, His disciples asked rightly, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus answered, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (see Matthew 19).   I love studying individual events and passages within Scripture. However, when we study the entire Biblical narrative, everything makes more sense. I like to make the analogy that knowing the entire Biblical narrative is like building a house on a firm foundation. Jesus is the cornerstone upon which we build our foundation.   Jesus asked the chief priests and the temple elders if they had even read the Scriptures. Then, He quoted the words of Psalm 118:22, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (see Mark 12:10–11). Jesus is the cornerstone upon which we build our foundation. Therefore, our goal in producing iBIBLE is to help all who seek the Lord find their firm foundation in Jesus. iBIBLE will present the complete Biblical narrative from beginning to end. I am confident that God will use this tool to help encourage His people, and give them better understanding by rooting them in the Divine story of Jesus. We would all agree that it is easy to misinterpret individual Scripture passages when taken in isolation from one another. Without the complete narrative in view, studying individual passages can easily be compared to a ship sailing the high seas without a rudder! The rudderless ship can be tossed and turned by the winds of doctrine (see Eph. 4:14). However, when we understand the entire narrative—God's story—we can better understand each of the events revealed in Scripture—events that all point to the truth that Jesus is OUR salvation, and the Lord God is OUR God.   I am thankful for Reverend Paul who shared with me the first piece of the First Commandment. I had previously overlooked the most important part of the Ten Commandments! Every day that I work on iBIBLE, I get a better and better understanding of God's Word and my place in His Kingdom. The more I focus on the Lord my God, the less the many stresses of this life seem to matter, and the more I want to world to know that OUR God reigns!   Thank you for partnering with RevelationMedia and helping us produce iBIBLE, the first visual and interactive presentation of the Biblical narrative! Have a blessed Sunday. Steve Cleary CEO/Founder RevelationMedia LEARN MORE ABOUT IBIBLE Join the iBIBLE Team   To learn more about iBIBLE, visit www.i.BIBLE. Become an iBIBLE Producer today with a monthly contribution to RevelationMedia and support the development of iBIBLE. With your help, we will bring the first visual and interactive presentation of God's Word to the entire world for FREE. It is a God-sized project, but when completed it will reveal God's Divine story from Genesis to the final Revelation in an accessible format for all people. SUPPORT THE PRODUCTION OF iBIBLE Copyright © 2021 RevelationMedia, All rights reserved. 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