The 10 Commandments are foundational to so much of how we think and live. And when I say “we”, I mean humans living in civilized society. All people in communities affected by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity (which it would be difficult to find a community, let alone a person, left unaffected by one of these groups) have some connection to, either knowingly or not, the Decalogue first given through Moses on Mt. Sinai thousands of years ago.
That being said, there are countless people today who have merely a superficial understanding of the 10 Commandments. This has led many into both theological and practical error, including the error of rejecting this grand summary of God’s Law either in part or in whole.
So, let’s dig a bit deeper. We need more than a shallow understanding; we need to look more closely to see what’s behind the Ten Commandments. In order to do this, I want to lay out the 4 P’s that are foundational to them, and thus give a fuller understanding of and appreciation for them. As we preached through the Old Testament book of Exodus at PRC we sought to show how each commandment is a precept, is built upon a principle, and flows out of a Person. The precepts are synonymous with the word commandments given in a specific time and context. The principles are the guiding and timeless ideas behind each precept. And the Person (the nature and character of God Himself) is the ground and source of both the principles and the precepts. Now I’m going to add a fourth “P” word to each commandment: Pointer (so called for how they each have a way(s) of pointing us to Jesus).
The 4 P’s of the 10 Commandments
- Precept – “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex. 20:3)
- Principle – God deserves and demands exclusive allegiance and dependence.
- Person – There is but one God who is our Creator, Sustainer, Rescuer and King.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus gave perfect allegiance and lived in perfect dependence upon God His Father.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not worshiped God alone.
- Jesus the Christ, being God in the flesh, is the One through whom the world was created and is sustained, and He was appointed as the only Rescuer and King over the people of God. (Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:1-4)
- Precept – “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Ex. 20:4-6)
- Principle – We should be careful to worship God as He has appointed in His Word.
- Person – God, being heard and not seen, is a jealous God, burning with zeal for His own worship.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus carefully and perfectly worshiped God with burning zeal as He deserves and demands.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not worshiped God as He has appointed in His Word.
- The true, careful, and Biblical worship of God is to be centered on Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:5-6; Gal. 6:14; Phil. 3:3; Heb. 13:15; I Pet. 2:5)
- Precept – “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” (Ex. 20:7)
- Principle – God is to be honored in all we say and do.
- Person – God is holy, the great I AM, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. No one is higher or greater in all creation and therefore there is no name higher or greater in all creation. He stands alone as the one, true, Living God.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly honored God in all He said and did.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not honored God in all that they say and do.
- Jesus’ name, since He is the God-man, is the only name by which we must be saved, the name in which we should live, and the only name to which every knee should bow and every tongue should confess to the glory of God the Father. (Acts 4:12; Col. 3:17; Phil. 2:9-11)
- Precept – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Ex. 20:8-11)
- Principle – Everyone should orient their lives on God with faithfulness and faith.
- Person – God is the sovereign Creator, Sustainer, Ruler, and Restorer of all things.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly oriented His life on God with faithfulness and faith.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not oriented their lives on God with faithfulness and faith.
- Jesus, being the Substance of the Sabbath-shadow, should be the focus of our faith and lives as the One in whom we have sovereign care, salvation rest, and secured hope. (Rom. 8:34-39; Mt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:1-11)
- Precept – “Honor your father and your mother.” (Ex. 20:12)
- Principle – You must honor your parents so that you can honor God.
- Person – God is the Heavenly Father of all of His children.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly honored His parents so as to honor God.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not honored their parents so as to honor God.
- Because Jesus is the perfect and only-begotten Son of God the Father, by faith in Him alone we can become children of God the Father. (John 1:12-13; 3:16; I John 3:1)
- Precept – “You shall not murder.” (Ex. 20:13)
- Principle – Murder is unjustly causing the death of or being selfishly uncaring about the life of a human, therefore we should sincerely value human life made in the image of God and seek to lovingly protect, preserve, and promote human life for the glory of God.
- Person – God is the One from whom and for whom all human life exists.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly valued human life. Indeed, He came to give abundant Life!
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who who have not valued, protected, preserved, and promoted human life for God’s glory.
- Jesus was murdered. This was an egregious sin, to be sure, but He also willingly laid down His Life (John 10:15, 17-18) to secure everlasting Life for sinners by sacrificing His own in their place and for their good.
- Precept – “You shall not commit adultery.” (Ex. 20:14)
- Principle – Followers of Christ honor and worship their faithful God and demonstrate His steadfast faithfulness by striving to be faithful to their own covenants and promises.
- Person – God is perfectly pure and steadfastly faithful.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly reflected and honored God by being faithful in all of His covenants and promises.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not been faithful to God and others.
- It is the faithfulness of God in His New Covenant in Jesus that gives us an anchor for our sin-torn and storm-tossed souls. (Heb. 6:13-20)
- Precept – “You shall not steal.” (Ex. 20:15)
- Principle – We should humbly acknowledge God’s ultimate ownership of all things and gladly reflect God’s generous character to all people.
- Person – God is the gracious and most generous One who is faithful to provide for His people, who is the ultimate Owner of all things, and who has called all people to steward all that He gives to them for His glory.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly acknowledged and gladly reflected God’s generosity.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not humbly acknowledged or gladly reflected God’s generosity.
- Jesus is not only a consummate giver, giving Himself up for sinners (Mt. 20:28), He Himself is the Gift. (Gal. 2:20; John 3:16)
- Precept – “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Ex. 20:16)
- Principle – Love your neighbor by speaking truthfully for them.
- Person – God is the God of truth and justice who loves His people by being for them.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly honored God by always loving His neighbors in His speech for their good.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not honored God by loving their neighbors in their speech for the good of others.
- Because He is lovingly for others, Jesus spoke the truth (John 8:40, 45; 18:37; I Pet. 2:22), is the Truth (John 1:14; 14:6), and gives freedom for others in the truth (John 8:32).
- Precept – “You shall not covet.” (Ex. 20:17)
- Principle – Coveting, being produced by discontentment with, and distrust of God, is the self-focused, unloving, and idolatrous desiring of what God has given to others instead of to us. We should trust in the Lord, so as to be content with the Lord and grateful to the Lord for all He has given and promised.
- Person – God is the trustworthy and all-satisfying God who graciously promises, wisely plans, and providentially provides all good for His covenant people.
- Pointer –
- Only Jesus perfectly trusted in the Lord and so was content with the Lord and grateful to the Lord for all He had given and promised.
- Jesus lived, died, and rose again to purchase forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation for sinners who have not trusted in the Lord and so were not content with the Lord and grateful to the Lord for all He has given and promised.
- Jesus never worshiped idols, and thus never coveted (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5), but rather, His settled and peaceful heart of faith in God led Jesus to honor Him whole-heartedly, love others sacrificially, and enjoy His Father more than (and by enjoying) all of His Father’s good gifts (Matt. 14:19; Luke 24:30; I Cor. 11:24a). Now by faith in Jesus, we too can be content. (Phil. 4:11-13; II Cor. 12:9-10)