The Ten Commandments of God in Orthodoxy play an extremely important role - they are the basis of the entire Christian faith and represent the entire essence of Christian law. The prophet Moses received them on Mount Sinai after, by the will of the Lord, he led the entire people of Israel out of Egypt, where they were in slavery.
Basics of Orthodoxy: why you should fulfill the commandments
God gave the 10 biblical commandments or Decalogue to the Jewish people during their journey from slavery to the land given by the Lord - Canaan.
Initially, the Lord Himself inscribed them on two tablets, but later they were rewritten by the hand of Moses.
The law can be divided into two parts:
- the first 4 commandments are about man’s relationship with the Lord;
- the last 5 are about the relationship between a person and his neighbors.
God's law is difficult for people with a sinful nature to obey. However, this is something that we urgently need to strive for. What is it for?
Just as the force of attraction, gravity, etc. operate, spiritual laws exist and operate. Violation of them leads to the threat of carnal and spiritual death.
People are not outraged by the existence of gravity, and they know that if you jump from a height, you can fall to your death. The same goes for prolonged immersion in water or falling into fire. Why does keeping the Lord's law cause so much outrage?
Atheists live as if the spiritual world does not exist, but this does not exempt them from the application of spiritual rules. If a person does not believe in the power of gravity, this does not mean that it does not exist and that violating it will lead to death. The same applies to the Decalogue - violation will lead first to spiritual death, and then to carnal death.
Many people view the Decalogue as a set of rules for going to heaven after death. But this is wrong, since the goal is to prove to a person that he cannot cope on his own and needs God’s help and Jesus Christ. No one can do this thoroughly on their own, but only with God's help. We all need the death of Jesus Christ and divine forgiveness with atonement. One should ask the Lord for help in fulfilling the law and pray in repentance if it has been broken.
Important! The 10 biblical commandments are necessary for anyone who considers himself a true Christian to know, because according to them he can check his life path and compare it with the one that the Lord has prepared.
Moses with the commandments given to him
God's commandments and their interpretation
The Creator wrote 10 rules on 2 stone tablets and passed them on to Moses. He remained on the mountain for another 40 days, and then went down to the people, but what he saw there was terrible - the Jews cast themselves a calf from gold and made it their god. Moses, in anger, threw the tablets to the ground and broke them.
After the people were punished, Moses went back up the mountain and wrote them down again. You should consider them all in detail for a better understanding.
First
“I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me."
What does this mean? Our Lord is the true and living God, who is one in the entire Universe and beyond. It is He who is the Creator of the whole world and all creations that live and exist by Him alone. The Christian religion is a religion of monotheism. There is no place in it for a host of gods, as there was in Greek, Roman and Persian culture.
There is only one God. All power is concentrated in the Creator, but outside of Him it simply does not exist. He is the beginning of time and its end, He is the beginning of time and the end. The movement of the sun across the sky, the movement of a drop on a leaf, the movement of an ant and the running of a leopard - in all this there is God’s hand and all this is possible only thanks to Him.
Despite the many names, the Lord is one. In Scripture He calls himself Yahweh (I Am Who I Am), Jehovah (I Will Be), God Almighty, Elohim (God), Adonai (Lord), Hosts (Lord of Hosts). But these are just characteristics, character traits. He is the source of strength, both spiritual and material, therefore only one should come to Him.
According to this sin:
- polytheism;
- magic;
Second
“You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth below, or that is in the water under the earth.”
For murder, a person will suffer a terrible punishment. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that you can kill with simple words. You should watch not only your hands, but also your tongue.
Seventh
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
The Heavenly Father created the family at the beginning of existence. His idea is a man and a woman belonging to each other. There is no room for a third.
Despite heretical traditions about Adam's second wife Lilith, God created only Adam and Eve. Therefore, husband and wife should take care of each other, love and not look/think about others.
Family is not always easy, but a person must follow the law.
Read about family in Orthodoxy:
Eighth
"Thou shalt not steal."
The most important law in the field of human relations is that you should not take something that belongs to another. This applies to both small things and some large things.
The Heavenly Father gives to everyone according to his will, so if a person steals, he shows disrespect not only for the work of his neighbor, but also for God. If he thinks that someone has more of something and this is unfair, then this also expresses disrespect and disobedience to God's will.
Ninth
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
A lie spoils everything and sooner or later it is revealed. You should not be deceitful towards others or yourself. Deception does not bring anything good, and the motives for it are almost always sinful.
The Almighty always knows the truth and sooner or later it will be revealed to people. This law allows you to preserve a person’s spiritual health.
Tenth
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or anything that your neighbor has.”
This rule has something in common with rule 8, but it is more detailed. In the original, God speaks about a wife, about cattle, about property.
Even the mere desire to have something that is not yours is considered a sin. Desire is the seed of sin, and... If not uprooted in time, it will grow into a huge tree.
Commandments of Christ
It should be understood that the listed 10 laws and 9 Gospel commandments are different from each other, although it is necessary to fulfill them all.
The first were received by Moses from the Lord as the basis of the law for the Jews who became God's people. It was they who were created to separate the Jews from all other peoples who lived according to their own laws. Thanks to them, the Jews became a separate people of God at the dawn of the formation of religion. They were called upon not only to create a society and a state, but also to protect people from sin.
The commandments of Christ, given by him in the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew, are somewhat different.
Sermon on the Mount
They talk about the spiritual world, and almost never touch upon the carnal. Christ in them gives a definition of what a Christian soul should be, how a believer should develop in God.
Important! The commandments of Christ in no way deny the basic law (Decalogue), but on the contrary, they continue it. If the Lord forms society and relationships between people by law, then Christ speaks about the inner world of man and its formation.
Watch a video about Jesus' commandments
The meaning of God's 10 commandmentsThe commandments of God are an external law given by God in addition to a person’s weakened (due to a sinful life) internal guideline - conscience.
“Jesus said...: whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words (John 14:23-24).
God gave the Ten Old Testament Commandments (Decalogue) on Mount Sinai through Moses to the Jewish people when he was returning from Egypt to the land of Canaan, on two stone tablets (or tablets). The first four commandments contain the duties of love for God, the last six contain the duties of love for one's neighbor (i.e., all people).
Ten Commandments of the Old Testament
(Exodus 20:2-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21)
1. I am the Lord your God, and there are no other gods besides Me.
2. Do not make for yourself an idol or any image; do not worship them or serve them.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Work six days and do all your work, and the seventh - Saturday - is a day of rest, which you dedicate to the Lord your God.
5. Honor your father and mother, that you may be blessed on earth and live long.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Don't steal
9. Do not bear false witness.
10. Don't covet anything that belongs to others.
The Beatitudes are a declaration of Christian moral values. It contains everything necessary for a person to enter the true fullness of life. All the Beatitudes speak of the rewards that those who are faithful to Christ will receive in the Kingdom of the next century: those who mourn will be comforted, those who hunger for righteousness will be satisfied, the meek will inherit the earth, the pure in heart will see God. But already now, by fulfilling the commandments of Christ, a person receives consolation and joy on the eve of the fullness of existence - the advent of the Kingdom of God.
Beatitudes Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 2-12):
And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unjustly because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven (...).
The content of all the commandments of both the Old and New Testaments can be summarized in two commandments of love given by Christ: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Matthew 12:30-31). And the Lord also gave us faithful guidance on what to do: “Whatever you want people to do to you, do so to them, for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
***“God in His Commandments commands us to do something and not do something else, not because He “just wants to.” Everything that God commanded to do is useful to us, and what He forbade is harmful.
Even an ordinary person who loves his child teaches him: “drink carrot juice - it’s healthy, don’t eat a lot of sweets - it’s harmful.” But the child doesn’t like carrot juice, and he doesn’t understand why eating a lot of candy is harmful: after all, candy is sweet, but carrot juice is not. That's why he resists his father's word, pushes away the glass of juice and throws a tantrum, demanding more sweets.
Likewise, we, adult “children,” strive more for what gives us pleasure and reject what does not suit our whims. And by rejecting the Word of the Heavenly Father, we commit sin."
Archpriest Alexander Torik,"Churching".
***
Why do 80% of baptized people answer the question about what commandments there are, without saying a word: “Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal”? Why are they called the sixth and eighth commandments of the Old Testament? Not the first, not the third, not the tenth?.. I thought about this for a long time and came to an interesting conclusion: out of all the commandments, a person chooses those for which he does not have to do anything to fulfill. “I didn’t kill, I didn’t steal - I’m a great guy, and leave me alone!” Do you know the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” why they skip it? Yes, a very “inconvenient” commandment in our dissolute times. So man deceives himself, choosing from the law of God only what is convenient for him, and consciously or unconsciously trampling on what prevents him from living in his own way. Lawyers say that ignorance of the law does not excuse one from responsibility. This is also true in relation to spiritual life, and precisely because knowledge (or ignorance) of the law depends entirely on us, on our good or bad will. ...
By breaking the commandments, a person does not even insult God. God is holy and cannot be mocked. But a person cripples his own life and the lives of his loved ones, because the commandments are not some kind of shackles: life is already difficult, and then some other commandments must be kept! No, it's not like that. The commandments of God are precisely the conditions for a normal, fulfilling, healthy and joyful life for every person. And if a person violates these commandments, he harms, first of all, himself and his loved ones.
priest Dimitry Shishkin
***
From the Sermon on the Mount, and above all from the Beatitudes, it follows that a person must cleanse himself of passions, cleanse his heart of all thoughts that dwell in it, and acquire humility of spirit in order to become worthy of seeing God. The word of Christ is clear:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God...
(Matt. 5:3-8).
The Beatitudes show the spiritual path of man, the path of deification, the path that leads to healing. Consciousness of one’s spiritual poverty, that is, awareness of the passions that have taken possession of the heart, leads a person to repentance and blessed sorrow. To the extent of the depth of this sorrow, Divine consolation comes to his soul. It is on this path that a person gains humility and inner peace. Living in spiritual humility, he thirsts even more for God's justification and strives to keep God's commandments in his daily life. By keeping God's commandments, he is honored with the knowledge of God's mercy and purifies his heart even more. The purpose of the commandments is to purify the soul. Some of them relate to the purification of the rational, others - to the purification of the irritable nature of the soul. And when the soul is cleansed of passions, a person achieves the contemplation of God.
The Beatitudes reveal the essence of spiritual life and the way to heal a person. A person who keeps the commandments is sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit and becomes a member of the Body of Christ, a temple of the All-Holy Spirit.
Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlahos)
***
Let none of us think: we go to God’s church, we pray, making many bows, and for this we will receive the Kingdom of Heaven. No; the one who keeps the commandments of God will receive it.
Venerable Theodore of Sanaksar
***
The commandments of God are above all the treasures of the world... St. Isaac the Syrian
What can you add to the above?
In the everyday bustle, worries and troubles, one somehow forgets that life is fleeting, and that it is necessary to take care of the Kingdom of God here and now, while still standing with both feet on the sinful earth: then it will simply be too late.
Most often, in youth, people rarely think about the consequences of their actions, and only failures in their personal lives and at work, approaching old age with illnesses force us to re-evaluate our life path, realize what mortal sins were committed in our unbridled worldly life and repent in them.
Each of us is sinful, but sinful in our own way. Someone violated God’s commandment “thou shalt not steal,” and someone violated “thou shalt not kill.” And therefore, each person must repent, both spiritually and actively (doing good deeds), individually, until his soul, after confession and communion, feels lightness and freedom from sin, the joy of God’s forgiveness.
The 10 commandments of God are a kind of code of God’s Laws, by which the Lord God Himself recommends that people live, so as not to irritate Him with their bad deeds, so that He does not leave us alone with the flattering and deceitful Satan, so that the Lord does not retreat from us and He deprived us of his merciful support, intercession and blessing in all our ways.
God is Gracious and Lover of Mankind. But if a person does not obey His commandments, constantly sins and does not even think about the consequences of his sinful actions, the Lord turns from the Merciful and Helper into the Punisher and Punisher - and how else can you bring some sense to a foolish child who does not obey his Father?
But the Lord Himself rarely resorts to personally punishing a sinner: He simply retreats from such a person, deprives him of all His help, and leaves him to be torn apart by the enemy - evil spirits. It is the devil who “comes off” on the unfortunate presumptuous fornicator, and it is he who sends blows to him from all sides.
Yes, everyone has their own responsibility for committed mortal and ordinary, everyday sins: no one is given the opportunity to know until the very end what awaits him there. But God’s mercy is also manifested in the fact that the Lord cares about us - He does not want us to go to hell, and therefore He sends trials to His beloved children on earth - so that we can come to our senses in time and take the right path.
This is precisely what explains why some notorious scoundrels have been doing their vile deeds for years and decades and nothing happens to them - such inveterate sinners have long become minions of evil spirits, they work for Satan, the Lord has long retreated from them and has already prepared a “warm” place in the underworld. Such people leave life and their imaginary well-being very quickly, abruptly and always unexpectedly - and there, in life after death, they will be repaid in full for every sin.
And that is why the Lord often sends trials to his beloved children in the form of illnesses, failures in work and love, or even in the form of the death of a loved one, just so that we come to our senses and understand that we don’t need to continue sinning like that, that we need to start correcting ourselves right now, otherwise we will continue it will only get worse. Therefore, we should not grumble at God for the punishments sent to us - we must be grateful for them: after all, we deserve them, but they help us become better and leave us hope for Paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven after the end of our life’s journey on earth.
You need to understand the messages from Heaven - if you are persistently haunted by failure in something in life, it means that this is a punishment for some sin that requires your sincere repentance, good deeds, confession and communion, i.e. love for neighbors and visiting the Orthodox Church.
After all, we humans can be so hard-hearted that, without suffering ourselves, we make others suffer, without realizing the extent of their suffering. But through suffering and pain we soften, learn to be condescending and have pity on others, to help those in need, i.e. We become spiritually purer and more worthy of God's grace.
Ten Commandments of God's Law from the Bible:
2. Do not make for yourself an idol or any likeness, both in heaven and on earth, in the waters and under the earth: lest you bow down or serve them.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord God in vain.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Don't steal.
10. Don't covet anything that belongs to others.
You can download these commandments so you can print them out and hang them on your wall as a reminder.
The 10 commandments of God were carved on two tablets that the Lord gave to the prophet Moses during the 40-year journey of the Jews through the desert in search of the Promised Land. If you have read the Old Testament of the Bible, you may remember that Moses smashed the first ten commandments to the ground in anger, because... While he prayed and fasted for 40 days to receive them, his brothers quickly created new idols for themselves and began to worship them.
For this sin, many Jews died, and it was because of this that the Lord extended their trek through the desert up to 40 years - as punishment and edification. And those commandments that we use now were given to Moses a second time.
God's commandments contain instructions to man about two types of love: love for the Lord God and love for one's neighbor. Breaking the last seven commandments of Moses is called a mortal sin. Alas, every person has at one time or another failed to keep one or all of these commandments.
Keeping the first four commandments is an expression of love specifically for God and the fulfillment of duties towards Him. What do God's commandments mean - what are the covenants for Moses and all of us?
1. I am the Lord your God; May you have no other gods besides Me.
How is love for the Creator expressed? The fact is that an Orthodox Christian has only one faith in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now it is fashionable to change faith, to profess Islam, then Catholicism, then to indulge in Satanic yoga or Kabbalah, then to profess Scientism along with Hare Krishnaism, then to accept Orthodox Christianity again, then to join one sect, then to another, but this is all wrong. There is one God - a believer should have only one Lord.
2. What does it mean - do not make yourself an idol? The second commandment of God is similar to the first, but only externally.
In fact, it suggests that you cannot worship, pray to the sun, the sky, trees, things, people, practice magic or witchcraft, cast yourself idols for worship, buy some things and idolize them - this is a great sin.
For example, today it is fashionable to buy various disgusting toads and pray to them as sources of wealth. For the New Year, people stock up on the latest Chinese or Japanese “patrons” - symbols of the New Year - they buy bulls, rats, horses and think that they will help them in their daily affairs. Well, well, let them continue to be deceived.
Modern women love to delve into horoscopes and dream books, numerology and stoneology - while many of them do not even suspect that by living according to horoscopes and believing in numerology and omens, they are surrendering to the power of Satan. Some do this deliberately - but it is their choice. Orthodox Christian believers should know that believing in omens is a sin. You must believe in God - and trust only in Him: as He pleases, so it will be.
Also, in today's depraved society, women often call themselves "goddesses", men call themselves "gods", the word "divine" is used inappropriately and mostly without meaning. People who call themselves that and verbally classify themselves as God commit a huge sin - this is not even blasphemy, this is desecration of God’s name, this is blasphemy. For such a sin, retribution will definitely come. Don't commit it.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol” also means that worship and the mad pursuit of money, power, sex and other earthly pleasures, obsession with any desire, passion is a sin, like any other passion.
3. “Do not take the name of the Lord God in vain.”
Everything is clear here: you can’t swear, say “By God,” and uselessly repeat “Well, thank God” a hundred times a day like a parrot.
Those. The name of the Lord God must be treated with respect and used in conversation only when it is really necessary.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and respect it: work six days, go about your business, and devote the seventh day, Saturday, to the Lord your God.
The fourth of God’s ten commandments calls on people not to be like animals, but to properly distribute their time: work for six days, and rest and praise the Lord on the seventh day.
The commandments of the Bible mention that the seventh day intended for rest is Saturday, but for Orthodox Christians, due to changes in the calendar, the day for rest is Sunday.
Most people do not follow this simple commandment, but in vain. After all, if you cook, sew, clean, build, do laundry on Sunday, then when do you rest? It turns out that a person drives himself into sin and into hell on earth. Is it really so difficult for our women and men to redo everything on Saturday in order to prepare for rest on Sunday?
But there is a great meaning behind this Mosaic covenant: scientists and psychologists have proven that lack of rest is the easiest and most effective way to drive yourself into stress, depression and earn yourself a nervous breakdown (neurosis). Thus, even here the Lord takes care of our mental, psychological, and physical health. Only we, stubborn people, mistakenly think that we know more, although in fact we know nothing and do not know even a small fraction of Divine wisdom.
The rest of God's commandments are already more understandable to the average person, but difficult to fulfill.
5. Honor your father and mother, and may you enjoy long life on earth.
Keeping this commandment is easy for a person whose parents loved him and helped him in everything, understood him or tried to understand him. For other children, those who were beaten, constantly scolded and criticized, disliked and humiliated in every possible way, it is much more difficult to complete it.
Yes, not every child succeeds in respecting their father and mother: sometimes parents are really not very good people, and sometimes ungrateful children, until the death of their loving parents, do not understand, do not realize how much good they have done for them.
But the path to happiness in life for every person is through love for parents and their forgiveness. Again, psychologists have scientifically proven that people who have not sincerely and wholeheartedly forgiven their mother and father have big problems with work and in personal relationships, and the main way to solve these problems is through forgiveness and understanding of their parents.
6. Unfortunately, the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” is violated too often now, and in the past too. Throughout human history, people have killed each other for the sake of wealth, power and fame.
But you can't kill people! By killing living people, a person kills a part of his soul.
It is also morally wrong to kill people around you. It is not for nothing that before Easter, during Great Lent, the Orthodox Church does not so much call for food fasting as it asks Christians to morally not “eat” their neighbors.
As for killing animals, they can and should be killed for food - the Lord created them for our food. In biblical times in the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed to God through burnt offerings. You cannot kill and maim animals and, in general, any creature of God for the sake of entertainment, but for the sake of food, you can.
The Bible also says this about vegetarianism: whoever eats animal food should not be proud of it, and whoever does not eat animal meat should not be arrogant. The Lord doesn’t care whether a person eats meat and animal products or not: It is more important to Him that an Orthodox Christian morally and spiritually does not eat his compatriots.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery is the most “popular” commandment in our time.
In modern society, infidelity and cohabitation (the so-called “civil” marriage) are in the order of things. But the Church practically equates to adultery not only adultery and civil marriage, but even a legal marriage registered in the registry office, which was not consecrated by the wedding ceremony. It turns out that almost all Slavs violate this commandment every day and constantly commit a mortal sin before God.
Guys and girls cheat on each other in search of self-affirmation and raising self-esteem, but at the same time they lose their human face and turn into brutes, sink below animals, and inevitably lose trust and love for each other, turning into biorobots.
It is important to understand that any betrayal has a negative impact on a person’s spiritual life - from 1 such wormhole, the entire soul can then spiritually “rust”. And then such “cheaters and cheaters” moan on the forums of women’s websites and in psychological help services, they say, I’m all so unhappy, useless to anyone, no one asks me to marry, no one takes me seriously, I’m all so successful at work (I’ve made a career body), but there is no happy personal life. And they sincerely do not understand why this is so. Yes, because you need to treat your partners with respect, because you need to love your loved one not only in bed, but also with your heart.
Everything in life is interconnected - and our every action reverberates in our future and affects our lives.
8. “Thou shalt not steal” - in our state the people who have not violated these commandments of God over the past twenty years and even in the last month can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Many people think that by stealing they get rich. They come up with various excuses, saying that I am not stealing this, but that I am compensating for the moral damage caused to me.
But the truth of life is that by robbing the state or employer, a person digs a hole for himself - and then let him not be surprised if his loved ones suddenly begin to get sick or even die. Payback for theft is illness and death of loved ones.
You should not steal not only financial and material wealth, but also the time, energy, and nerves of other people.
So, for example, married men who take mistresses and spend years fooling their brains, telling them about a love that doesn’t exist, rob them - they deprive them of the opportunity to find a good, worthy man and become a happy woman.
A neighbor who annoyingly sits at her friend’s house, not paying attention to her hints, like I’m tired and want to sleep, clean the house - can also serve as an example of this, albeit the most innocent one.
9. Do not bear false witness against your friend.
If you follow the meaning of this God's commandment, then it turns out that it is possible to distort the truth a little so as not to act cruelly. You cannot deliberately accuse another person of something, or maliciously give false testimony about him.
But telling an ugly woman to her face that she is ugly will probably be cruelty, so you can soften the truth a little and if she asks a question about her appearance, answer, like, you’re pretty.
One must be able to feel the line between truth and cruelty: truth itself without love for one’s neighbor, which hurts and hurts, is also a great sin.
10 The commandment of God from the Bible - You shall not covet a wife, a house, a village, a male or female servant, an ox, a donkey, any livestock, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
This very last commandment of the Lord concerns such a mortal sin as envy - the main cause of most of our sins.
Why want a wife or the house of your friend, when you can, by rolling up your sleeves, build a bigger and better house for yourself, and find another girl, even more beautiful and sweeter?
The feeling of envy usually comes from limitations in the brain and the inability to look at the situation from the outside. Everything in your neighbor's garden looks more appetizing.
As Mikhail Zadornov said, envy is what I depend on, just like revenge is what “eats me.”
This last prescription can be considered as a general message not to experience negative emotions that destroy a person from the inside, but do not bring him closer to his goal.
Also, I think that the father of envy and other sins - jealousy, hatred, anger, irritation, selfishness, perfectionism, etc. is PRIDE - the most terrible sin possible, for which the greatest penalty is paid.
People should not become arrogant and exalted, so that later it will not be very painful to fall.
In fact, keeping all ten commandments of God is not that difficult.
2 Commandments of Jesus Christ
You just have to love. Love for God and neighbors is the main commandment of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who wrote the New Testament in the Bible with his suffering. This commandment of Love was brought to us by the God-Man, descending from Heaven to earth, to hell and again to Heaven, in order to atone for our sins with his suffering and to appease God the Father, to make His attitude towards people softer and more condescending.
If in the Old Testament of the Bible the Lord was Punisher and Punisher, then in the New Testament God is Merciful, Forgiving and Long-suffering. The Lord gives us the right to choose, which Satan is trying to deprive us of by hook or by crook (with the help of horoscopes and signs, numerology and dream books, sins and unrepentance for them). The Holy Trinity gives us freedom of action, thoughts, behavior, because... trusts in our goodwill and obedience. We must appreciate this.
So let’s love the Lord not only in words, but also with our deeds, and then the Lord will love us, and will not turn His Face away from us, will help us in all our paths and deeds - and what could be better when a person feels God’s support and blessing even in the most crisis situations?
Love God, love your loved ones, respect strangers, help those in need, appreciate nature and life. After all, the main secret of God’s 10 commandments is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment - Jesus. The second commandment of Christ is similar to it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Each religious tradition offers its followers a certain set of moral rules that must be followed in order to gain and strengthen faith and move along the spiritual path. The basis of Christian morality is the 10 commandments of God; they are also used in Orthodoxy, although they essentially belong to the Old Testament tradition.
According to tradition, on the 50th day of the exodus from Egypt, Moses ascended the mountain, and there the Lord dictated to him the Ten Commandments, with which he descended from the mountain in order to give these covenants to the people of Israel. Nevertheless, people, in the absence of their prophet (Moses was on the mountain for 40 days in fasting and prayer), created a golden calf, which they began to worship. The disappointed prophet broke the tablets.
After this, he was instructed to cut out new tablets and go to the mountain again. As a result, Moses writes the commandments on tablets and gives them to his people.
There are references to these events in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, which, in turn, refer to the Torah (Pentateuch), which is related to the Old Testament, consisting of 39 books.
Relevance in Orthodoxy
The Orthodox Church tradition has included writings from the Old Testament, in particular, the commandments given to Moses are considered part of the canon. Nevertheless, the Bible does not list these rules, and if we remember what Jesus himself said, we should talk about the beatitudes that were given at the Sermon on the Mount.
Nevertheless, as the Savior himself said, He came not to destroy, but to fulfill the law. Therefore, there is no contradiction here. The commandments given to Moses are honored and observed.
The New Testament teaching of Christ is simply, let’s say, a more progressive and humane development of the topic. If the Old Testament tradition consisted mostly of prohibitions that were created in order to protect people from sin, then New Testament Christianity leads people to perfection and, ultimately, Salvation. Christ himself spoke about this: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another,” “be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
Therefore, the Orthodox tradition does not deny the list of commandments of Moses. However, it also focuses on the Beatitudes, which are to a greater extent a means to Salvation and spiritual perfection.
Especially here the 10th commandment should be emphasized. It is there that the emphasis shifts to the inner world of man, on which Christ placed special emphasis, speaking not about external prohibitions, but about internal perfection (which inevitably leads to the external): “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all your mind,” “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He only needed such a basis, but this basis points to the very essence of faith.
Now we should characterize the 10 Orthodox commandments of God's law in more detail. Of course, interpretations of each commandment can be varied; here we offer universal ones, compiled on the basis of the works of Orthodox theologians and priests. A deeper understanding of each commandment requires personal spiritual experience and careful reflection.
“I am the Lord your God... let you have no other gods before me.” We are talking about the biblical Host, which can also appear in the form of the Holy Trinity. If you do not delve into etymology and deep comprehension, which requires religious and mystical experience, then the commandment indicates the presence of a supreme principle from which all things come. The Light of the Lord permeates every creation of this world; He entered timelessness from timelessness and created a world that is completely saturated with Him. Therefore, it is strange to look for other gods and choose something else. The commandment indicates the need to turn to a higher principle, since only there is truth.- “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. Do not worship them and do not serve them...” The text is not given here in full. In some ways a continuation of the previous commandment, a prohibitive commandment that indicates the need to follow the true path and the consequences of choosing the wrong one. Most often here they point to the factor of the creation of the idol, which is well illustrated by the example of icon veneration in Orthodoxy. In this tradition (unlike, for example, Catholicism), icons are revered in a special way, they are an active part of religious practice, they help to tune in to prayer, but there is an essential detail: icons are revered as a window to the spiritual world. To be more precise, the spiritual world itself is revered; the icon is only a window through which one looks. In fact, we are simply talking about a piece of wood or other surface with the presence of some kind of color composition, and worshiping the image itself is incorrect and exactly corresponds to the creation of the idol. Even if an icon is miraculous, it is not the piece of wood that does the miracles, but the Lord, who is addressed through the image. Therefore, the believer should avoid any creation of idols and realize the true purpose of worship.
- “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” We are talking about using the name of the Lord in vain; according to Orthodox tradition, it must be pronounced during prayer or church services. This emphasizes a certain respect. Also, of course, one should not remember the Lord with curses or anything like that. You need to separate the ordinary and worldly from the heavenly and realize what words are needed for what.
- “Remember the Sabbath day...Six days you shall work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: on it you shall not do any work.” The text of this commandment is not given in full, but the essence is one thing - rest on the Sabbath day. Rest is perceived as detachment from worldly affairs, the best of which is, of course, prayer, reading spiritual literature and the like. It is more difficult for people who do not live in Israel to keep this commandment literally, but it is about the need to dedicate at least a day every week to the Lord. In this way, man becomes like the Lord, who rested on the seventh day after creating the world for six days.
- “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” It is thanks to parents that a person gets the opportunity to see this world, learn faith and gain the opportunity to save his soul. Parental love is limitless, so they deserve to be honored. This commandment also points to the need to extrapolate this love to other people. If a person learns to honor his parents, then in the future he will respect every man and woman in general.
- "Dont kill". It is a grave sin, and this prohibition is given to people so that they do not doom themselves to eternal suffering, since it is incredibly difficult to atone for such an offense. In fact, each person is an inseparable part of the Lord, and if he encroaches on another, he actually encroaches on himself, because people in this sense are indistinguishable.
- "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Initially, the prohibition spoken of in the 7th commandment concerns having a relationship with a married woman. For this period, it can extend to any relationship that contradicts the norm of morality.
- "Don't steal." This includes not only the appropriation of another person’s property, but also any deception committed for this purpose, obtaining some kind of property and property in a not entirely honest way. By and large, even if a person receives more than is due for some work, or in some not entirely honest way extracts money from others, then such behavior also falls under the scope of this commandment. Therefore, you need to be careful when receiving any property and income from activities.
- “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This commandment also includes the closest one, that is, the person himself. Thus, it is also prohibited to deceive other people about oneself, for example, to boast about something or mislead about one’s personality. You also shouldn’t lie about other people; such deception always has a negative impact, because at least the one they’re lying about always knows where the truth is.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his servant… anything that is your neighbor’s.” This commandment is often emphasized because of its unique wording to the Mosaic laws. This particular commandment is often called a kind of transition from the Old to the New Testament, which Christ brought. If the reader pays attention, he will see the phrase “do not covet” that is different from the previous ones. The remaining commandments are prohibitive, and they prohibit certain actions. In fact, the believer may not think much about it. If the priest competently explained how to follow the previous 9 commandments, then the believer may well simply follow these instructions, but the 10 commandments of the Lord would not be complete without this final one. Here the appeal is not to action, but to thoughts. A primitive interpretation may indicate a simple meaning - do not envy. Such an interpretation really exists, but you need to look deeper: from every harmful desire comes a harmful action. If someone wants someone else's property, then for this they can plot murder, theft or adultery. Many sins and violations of commandments come precisely from sinful thoughts and intentions. In modern words, you need to control your consciousness and cleanse it of all negativity. In particular, one should cultivate basic righteous aspirations in oneself and eradicate harmful ones, which in the Orthodox tradition are explained by the influence of passions, demons and Satan.
Based on this list, 10 sins arise in Orthodoxy, which are a violation of these instructions. For example, if a person has created an idol for himself and begins to worship a beautiful picture, another person or pleasure, then he moves away from the Lord and is a violator of the commandment.
Connection with sins
Some may confuse the commandments of God and mortal sins a little, which are somewhat similar and may even have identical meanings, but still belong to different lists. In particular, in the Orthodox tradition, there are seven or eight main sins that have a negative effect on believers and that need to be eradicated.
Various interpretations
In Catholicism There is a widespread division into serious and ordinary sins, which, as the name implies, entail different consequences. This teaching is more aimed at ordinary people and is something like a social norm.
In Orthodoxy, the concept of fundamental sins was developed by the institution of ascetics. Spiritual ascetics, on their path to perfection, purified their nature from various passions and ultimately identified what a believer needs to fight in order to achieve the ideal. We are talking about passions such as:
Orthodoxy also uses a scheme with eight sins:
There are other schemes that can be used in the books of various ascetics and saints. For example, John Climacus identifies 33 stages of spiritual development, and in each of these stages it is possible to choose to overcome the corresponding sin.
The main thing here, perhaps, is not exactly how many sins are on the list, but understanding the basic passions and abstaining from them. For example, in the second list, pride is divided into vanity and arrogance - similar qualities. However, the point is not to get rid of vanity and arrogance individually or pride in general, but to get rid of these passions.
One of the strongest regulators of people's actions, actions and thoughts is religion. She gave us simple rules of life that anyone, even a non-religious person, can follow.
The commandments of God are not just 10 rules that the Christian religion once accepted as a basis. You don't have to go to church every day for God to give you happiness. To do this, it is enough to show respect for his covenants and for the people around him. This is useful even from an energetic point of view, because positive and “pure” people always have more friends and fewer problems in their lives. This is evidenced by the philosophy of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and most religions.
10 commandments
First commandment: May you have no other Gods besides me. This is a purely Christian commandment, but it also tells everyone without exception that there can only be one truth. There are no exceptions.
Commandment two: Do not make yourself an idol. You don't need to look up to anyone other than God. This is disrespect for higher powers and for ourselves. We are all unique and deserve to go through life's journey to be an example for future generations. You can learn good things from others, but do not listen to them unquestioningly in everything, for people do not always advise and say what is pleasing to our Lord.
Commandment three: The name of the Lord should be uttered only when there is a compelling reason to do so. Try to talk less about Jesus Christ in simple conversations, and especially when your words are negative and dark.
Commandment four: Sunday is a day off. If you do not work on Sunday, then dedicate this day to proper rest. Always leave household chores for Saturday or weekdays. This is correct from any point of view, because from the point of view of bioenergy, one day a week should be a fasting day. Rest will increase your energy and give you good luck.
Fifth commandment: respect your parents. When children behave incorrectly towards their parents, this indicates that they are capable of hurting anyone. They gave you life, therefore they are worthy of respect or at least gratitude, because they do not require anything from you in return.
Sixth commandment: dont kill. Comments are unnecessary here, because taking the life of another person, even within the framework of the law, is disputed in many countries. The only reason to take a life is a threat to your life. Even in cases of self-defense, people do not tolerate such “gifts” of fate well.
Seventh Commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery. Don't cheat on your partner and don't get divorced. Because of this, you yourself and your children, if you have them, suffer. Look for ways to create, not destroy. Don't damage yourself and your marriage with cheating. This looks like real disrespect.
Eighth Commandment: don't steal. Here, comments are also unnecessary, because the appropriation of what belongs to another is an extreme form of immorality.
Ninth Commandment: do not lie. Lies are the main enemy of purity. A lie uttered by a child may be harmless, but an adult who lies for his own benefit cannot be happy, because the mask he puts on can become his true face.
Tenth Commandment: do not envy . The Bible says that you must not covet your neighbor's wife, your neighbor's house, or anything that he has. Be content with what you have and pursue your own happiness. This is self-confidence, which is immaculate and pure. Bioenergetics experts say that envy destroys a person from the inside, not giving him a chance at happiness. It blocks the exchange of energy with the Universe, which helps us to be luckier and happier.
Keep it simple and respect everyone around you. Let happiness pulsate within you with love and understanding, and not with envy and anger. Believe in yourself and your humanity. Fulfilling the covenants of Christianity will help you with this.
Live in such a way that your actions do not harm other people. Open your mind, for all thoughts are material. You can achieve happiness only by thinking about it and letting it into your life and into your consciousness. Good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and
08.11.2016 03:20
Prayers addressed to God and the saints will help you heal your soul and body from various...
1. I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods besides Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters below the earth; do not worship or serve them.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the day of rest, to spend it holy; work for six days and do all your work in them, and the seventh day is a day of rest - it will be dedicated to the Lord your God.
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that it will be good for you and that you may live long on earth.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Don't steal.
9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, and thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant... nor anything that belongs to thy neighbor.
An explanation of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.
God gave the Ten Old Testament Commandments (Decalogue) on Mount Sinai through Moses to the Jewish people when he was returning from Egypt to the land of Canaan, on two stone tablets (or tablets). The first four commandments contain the duties of love for God, the last six contain the duties of love for one's neighbor (i.e., all people).
Every true Christian needs to know the Ten Commandments of God's Law and check his life by them every day. If during the day we have not done anything contrary to the commandments of God, then we should thank God and pray to Him to give us strength not to sin in the future; If it turns out that we have violated the commandments in some way, then we should bring sincere repentance to the Lord and pray to Him for forgiveness of our sins.
The first commandment of the Old Testament:
“I am the Lord your God; let you have no other Gods besides Me.”
With the first commandment, the Lord God points man to Himself and inspires us to honor His one true God, and besides Him, we should not render Divine veneration to anyone. With the first commandment, God teaches us correct knowledge of God and correct worship of God.
Knowing God means knowing God correctly. Knowledge of God is the most important of all knowledge. It is our first and most important duty.
To acquire the knowledge of God we must:
1. Read and study the Holy Scriptures (and children: the book of God’s Law).
2. Regularly visit God’s temple, delve into the content of church services and listen to the priest’s sermon.
3. Think about God and the purpose of our earthly life.
Worship of God means that in all our actions we must express our faith in God, hope for His help and love for Him as our Creator and Savior.
When we go to church, pray at home, observe fasts and honor church holidays, obey our parents, help them in any way we can, study hard and do homework, when we are quiet, do not quarrel, when we help our neighbors, when we constantly think about God and recognize His presence with us - then we truly honor God, that is, we express our worship of God.
Thus, the first commandment to a certain extent contains the remaining commandments. Or the remaining commandments explain how to fulfill the first commandment.
Sins against the first commandment are:
Atheism (atheism) - when a person denies the existence of God (for example: communists).
Polytheism: veneration of many gods or idols (wild tribes of Africa, South America, etc.).
Unbelief: doubt about Divine help.
Heresy: a distortion of the faith that God gave us. There are many sects in the world whose teachings were invented by people.
Apostasy: renunciation of faith in God or Christianity due to fear or hopes of receiving a reward.
Despair is when people, forgetting that God arranges everything for the better, begin to grumble dissatisfiedly or even attempt to commit suicide.
Superstition: belief in various signs, stars, fortune telling.
The second commandment of the Old Testament:
“You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, that is on the earth below, or that is in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down or serve them.”
Jews revere the golden calf, which they themselves made.
This commandment was written when people were very inclined to revere various idols and deify the forces of nature: the sun, stars, fire, etc. Idol worshipers built idols for themselves representing their false gods and worshiped these idols.
These days such gross idolatry is almost non-existent in developed countries.
However, if people give all their time and energy, all their worries to something earthly, forgetting family and even God, such behavior is also a kind of idolatry, which is prohibited by this commandment.
Idolatry is excessive attachment to money and wealth. Idolatry is constant gluttony, i.e. when a person only thinks about this, and does only that, to eat a lot and tasty. Drug addiction and drunkenness also fall under this sin of idolatry. Proud people who always want to be the center of attention, want everyone to honor them and obey them unquestioningly also violate the second commandment.
At the same time, the second commandment does not prohibit the correct veneration of the Holy Cross and holy icons. It does not prohibit it because, by honoring a cross or an icon where the true God is depicted, a person gives honor not to the wood or paint from which these objects are made, but to Jesus Christ or the saints who are depicted on them.
Icons remind us of God, icons help us pray, because our soul is structured in such a way that what we look at is what we think about.
When we honor the saints depicted on icons, we do not give them equal veneration as equals to God, but we pray to them as our patrons and prayer books before God. Saints are our older brothers. They see our difficulties, see our weakness and inexperience and help us.
God Himself shows us that He does not prohibit the correct veneration of holy icons; on the contrary, God shows help to people through holy icons. There are many miraculous icons, for example: the Kursk Mother of God, weeping icons in different parts of the world, many renewed icons in Russia, China and other countries.
In the Old Testament, God Himself commanded Moses to make golden images of cherubim (Angels) and place these images on the lid of the Ark, where the tablets with the commandments written on them were kept.
Images of the Savior have been revered in the Christian Church since ancient times. One of these images is the image of the Savior, called “Not Made by Hands.” Jesus Christ put a towel to his face, and the image of the Savior’s face miraculously remained on this towel. The sick king Abgar, as soon as he touched this towel, was healed of leprosy.
The third commandment of the Old Testament:
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
The third commandment is forbidden to pronounce the name of God in vain, without due reverence. The name of God is pronounced in vain when it is used in empty conversations, jokes, and games.
This commandment generally prohibits a frivolous and irreverent attitude towards the name of God.
Sins against this commandment are:
Bozhba: frivolous use of an oath with the mention of the name of God in ordinary conversations.
Blasphemy: bold words against God.
Blasphemy: disrespectful treatment of sacred objects.
It is also prohibited here to break vows - promises made to God.
The Name of God should be pronounced with fear and reverence only in prayer or when studying the Holy Scriptures.
We must avoid distraction in prayer in every possible way. To do this, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the prayers that we say at home or in church. Before saying a prayer, we must calm down even a little, think that we are going to talk with the eternal and omnipotent Lord God, before whom even the angels stand in awe; and finally, say our prayers slowly, trying to ensure that our prayer is sincere - coming straight from our mind and heart. Such reverent prayer pleases God, and the Lord, according to our faith, will give us the benefits that we ask.
The fourth commandment of the Old Testament:
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall work and do all your work in them, but the seventh day is a day of rest, dedicated to the Lord your God."
The word "Sabbath" in Hebrew means rest. This day of the week was called this because on this day it was forbidden to work or engage in everyday affairs.
With the fourth commandment, the Lord God commands us to work and attend to our duties for six days, and to devote the seventh day to God, i.e. on the seventh day to perform holy and pleasing deeds to Him.
Holy and pleasing to God deeds are: caring for the salvation of one’s soul, prayer in the temple of God and at home, studying the Holy Scriptures and the Law of God, thinking about God and the purpose of one’s life, pious conversations about the objects of the Christian faith, helping the poor, visiting the sick and others good deeds.
In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was celebrated in memory of the end of God's creation of the world. In the New Testament from the time of St. The apostles began to celebrate the first day after Saturday, Sunday - in remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ.
On Sunday, Christians gathered for prayer. They read the Holy Scriptures, sang psalms and received communion at the liturgy. Unfortunately, now many Christians are not as zealous as in the first centuries of Christianity, and many have become less likely to receive communion. However, we must never forget that Sunday should belong to God.
Those who are lazy and do not work or do not fulfill their duties on weekdays violate the fourth commandment. Those who continue to work on Sundays and do not go to church violate this commandment. This commandment is also violated by those who, although they do not work, spend Sunday in nothing but fun and games, without thinking about God, good deeds and the salvation of their souls.
In addition to Sundays, Christians dedicate to God some other days of the year, on which the Church celebrates great events. These are the so-called church holidays.
Our greatest holiday is Easter - the day of the Resurrection of Christ. It is "the celebration of celebrations and the celebration of celebrations."
There are 12 great holidays, called the twelve. Some of them are dedicated to God and are called the Lord's feasts, others of them are dedicated to the Mother of God and are called the Theotokos feasts.
The Lord's holidays: (1) Nativity of Christ, (2) Baptism of the Lord, (3) Presentation of the Lord, (4) Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, (5) Resurrection of Christ, (6) Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (Trinity), (7) Transfiguration of the Lord and (8) Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. Theotokos feasts: (1) Nativity of the Mother of God, (2) Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, (3) Annunciation and (4) Dormition of the Mother of God.
The fifth commandment of the Old Testament:
“Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and may you live long on earth.”
With the fifth commandment, the Lord God commands us to honor our parents and for this he promises a prosperous and long life.
To honor parents means: to love them, to be respectful to them, not to insult them either by words or deeds, to obey them, to help them in daily labors, to take care of them when they are in need, and especially during their illness and old age, also pray to God for them both during their life and after death.
The sin of disrespect for parents is a great sin. In the Old Testament, anyone who spoke bad words to their father or mother was punished by death.
Along with our parents, we must honor those who in some respect replace our parents. Such persons include: bishops and priests who care about our salvation; civil authorities: the president of the country, the governor of the state, the police and everyone in general from those who have the responsibility to maintain order and normal life in the country. Therefore, we must also honor teachers and all people older than us who have experience in life and can give us good advice.
Those who sin against this commandment are those who do not respect elders, especially old people, who are distrustful of their comments and instructions, considering them “backward” people and their concepts “outdated.” God said: “Rise up before the face of the gray-haired man and honor the face of the old man” (Lev. 19:32).
When a younger person meets an older one, the younger one should say hello first. When the teacher enters the classroom, students must stand up. If an elderly person or a woman with a child enters a bus or train, the young person must stand up and give up his seat. When a blind person wants to cross the street, you need to help him.
Only when elders or superiors require us to do something against our faith and law should we not obey them. God's law and obedience to God are the supreme law for all people.
In totalitarian countries, leaders sometimes make laws and give orders that are contrary to God's Law. Sometimes they demand that a Christian renounce his faith or do something against his faith. In this case, a Christian must be ready to suffer for his faith and for the name of Christ. God promises eternal bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven as a reward for these sufferings. “He who endures to the end will be saved...Whoever gives his life for Me and for the Gospel will find it again” (Matt. 10th chapter).
The sixth commandment of the Old Testament:
"Don't kill."
The sixth commandment of the Lord God prohibits murder, i.e. taking life from other people, as well as from oneself (suicide) in any way.
Life is the greatest gift of God, therefore no one has the right to take this gift away.
Suicide is the most terrible sin because this sin consists of despair and murmuring against God. And besides, after death there is no opportunity to repent and make amends for your sin. A suicide condemns his soul to eternal torment in hell. In order not to despair, we must always remember that God loves us. He is our Father, He sees our difficulties and has enough strength to help us even in the most difficult situation. God, according to His wise plans, sometimes allows us to suffer from illness or some kind of trouble. But we must firmly know that God arranges everything for the better, and He turns the sorrows that befall us to our benefit and salvation.
Unjust judges violate the sixth commandment if they condemn a defendant whose innocence they know. Anyone who helps others commit murder or helps a murderer escape punishment also violates this commandment. This commandment is also violated by the one who did nothing to save his neighbor from death, when he could well have done so. Also the one who exhausts his workers with hard work and cruel punishments and thereby hastens their death.
The one who wishes the death of another person also sins against the sixth commandment, hates his neighbors and causes them grief with his anger and words.
Besides physical murder, there is another terrible murder: spiritual murder. When a person tempts another to sin, he spiritually kills his neighbor, because sin is death for the eternal soul. Therefore, all those who distribute drugs, seductive magazines and films, who teach others how to do evil, or who set a bad example, violate the sixth commandment. Those who spread atheism, unbelief, witchcraft and superstition among people also violate this commandment; Those who sin are those who preach various exotic beliefs that contradict Christian teaching.
Unfortunately, in some exceptional cases it is necessary to allow murder to stop an inevitable evil. For example, if the enemy attacked a peaceful country, warriors must defend their homeland and their families. In this case, the warrior not only kills out of necessity to save his loved ones, but also puts his life in danger and sacrifices himself to save his loved ones.
Also, judges sometimes have to condemn incorrigible criminals to death in order to save society from their further crimes against people.
The Seventh Commandment of the Old Testament:
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
By the seventh commandment, the Lord God prohibits adultery and all illegal and unclean relationships.
The married husband and wife made a promise to live together all their lives and share both joys and sorrows together. Therefore, with this commandment God forbids divorce. If a husband and wife have different characters and tastes, they should make every effort to smooth out their differences and put family unity above personal gain. Divorce is not only a violation of the seventh commandment, but also a crime against children, who are left without a family and after a divorce are often forced to live in conditions alien to them.
God commands unmarried people to maintain purity of thoughts and desires. We must avoid everything that can arouse unclean feelings in the heart: bad words, immodest jokes, shameless jokes and songs, violent and exciting music and dances. Seductive magazines and films should be avoided, as well as reading immoral books.
The Word of God commands us to keep our bodies clean, because our bodies “are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit.”
The most terrible sin against this commandment is unnatural relations with persons of the same sex. Nowadays, they even register a kind of “families” between men or between women. Such people often die from incurable and terrible diseases. For this terrible sin, God completely destroyed the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as the Bible tells us about (chapter 19).
Eighth Commandment of the Old Testament:
"Don't steal."
By the eighth commandment, God prohibits theft, that is, the appropriation in any way of what belongs to others.
Sins against this commandment can be:
Deception (i.e. appropriation of someone else's thing by cunning), for example: when they evade paying a debt, hide what they found without looking for the owner of the found thing; when they weigh you down during a sale or give the wrong change; when they do not give the worker the required wages.
Theft is the theft of someone else's property.
Robbery is the taking of someone else's property by force or with a weapon.
This commandment is also violated by those who take bribes, that is, take money for what they should have done as part of their duties. Those who violate this commandment are those who pretend to be sick in order to receive money without working. Also, those who work dishonestly do things for show in front of their superiors, and when they are not there, they do nothing.
With this commandment, God teaches us to work honestly, to be satisfied with what we have, and not to strive for great wealth.
A Christian should be merciful: donate part of his money to the church and poor people. Everything that a person has in this life does not belong to him forever, but is given to him by God for temporary use. Therefore, we need to share with others what we have.
The ninth commandment of the Old Testament:
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against another.”
By the ninth commandment, the Lord God forbids telling lies about another person and forbids all lies in general.
The ninth commandment is broken by those who:
Gossiping - retelling to others the shortcomings of his acquaintances.
Slanders - deliberately tells lies about other people with the aim of harming them.
Condemns - makes a strict assessment of a person, classifying him as a bad person. The Gospel does not forbid us to evaluate actions themselves in terms of how good or bad they are. We must distinguish evil from good, we must distance ourselves from all sin and injustice. But we should not take on the role of a judge and say that such and such our acquaintance is a drunkard, or a thief, or a dissolute person, and so on. By this we condemn not so much evil as the person himself. This right to judge belongs only to God. Very often we see only external actions, but do not know about a person’s mood. Often sinners themselves are then burdened by their shortcomings, ask God for forgiveness of sins, and with God’s help overcome their shortcomings.
The ninth commandment teaches us to bridle our tongue and watch what we say. Most of our sins come from unnecessary words, from idle talk. The Savior said that man would have to give an answer to God for every word he spoke.
Tenth Commandment of the Old Testament:
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, you shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his field... nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
With the tenth commandment, the Lord God forbids not only doing anything bad to others, our neighbors, but also forbids bad desires and even bad thoughts towards them.
The sin against this commandment is called envy.
Anyone who envyes, who in his thoughts desires what belongs to others, can easily lead from bad thoughts and desires to bad deeds.
But envy itself defiles the soul, making it unclean before God. The Holy Scripture says: “Evil thoughts are an abomination to God” (Prov. 15:26).
One of the main tasks of a true Christian is to cleanse his soul from all internal impurity.
To avoid sin against the tenth commandment, it is necessary to keep the heart pure from any excessive attachment to earthly objects. We must be content with what we have and thank God.
Students in school should not be jealous of other students when others are doing very well and doing well. Everyone should try to study as best as possible and attribute their success not only to themselves, but to the Lord, who gave us reason, the opportunity to learn and everything necessary for the development of abilities. A true Christian rejoices when he sees others succeed.
If we sincerely ask God, He will help us become true Christians.