Words of Wisdom

The Main Commands!

Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you:

Deut 5:1-33

1 Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.

2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.

5 (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

7 "You shall have no other gods before me.

8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

10 but showing love to a thousand of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.

15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

17 "You shall not murder.

18 "You shall not commit adultery.

19 "You shall not steal.

20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me.

24 And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.

25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.

26 For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?

27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey."

28 The LORD heard you when you spoke to me and the LORD said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.

29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

30 "Go, tell them to return to their tents.

31 But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess."

32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.

33 Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. (NIV)

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Matt 22:35-40

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (NIV)

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The following standards were given to people of the old testament. They still apply to our lives untill now and they help us grow in obedience and live a life pleasing to God.

Personal Comments: Several abominations, or wicked actions, are listed below: (1) having sexual relations with close relatives, (2) committing adultery, (3) offering children as sacrifices, (4) having sexual relations with the same sex, and (5) having sexual relations with animals. These practices were common in pagan religions and cultures, and it is easy to see why God dealt harshly with those who began to follow them. Such practices lead to disease, deformity, and death. They disrupt family life and society and reveal a low regard for the value of oneself and of others. Society today takes some of these practices lightly, even trying to make them acceptable. But they are still sins in God's eyes. If you consider them acceptable, you are not judging by God's standards. Since Jesus has done away with the LAWS we now live by GRACE but still keept the laws just as standards of living, not LAWS.

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Standards for leaving a Holy Life. A life acceptable unto GOD.

Lev 18:1-19:37

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD. 6 "'No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD. 7 "'Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her. 8 "'Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father. 9 "'Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. 10 "'Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you. 11 "'Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister. 12 "'Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative. 13 "'Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. 14 "'Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt. 15 "'Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her. 16 "'Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother. 17 "'Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness. 18 "'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. 19 "'Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period. 20 "'Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her. 21 "'Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 22 "'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. 23 "'Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. 24 "'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 "'Everyone who does any of these detestable things-- such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.'"

CHAPTER 19

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 3 "'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. 4 "'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. 5 "'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the LORD; that person must be cut off from his people. 9 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God. 11 "'Do not steal. "'Do not lie. "'Do not deceive one another. 12 "'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13 "'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. "'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight. 14 "'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD. 15 "'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. 16 "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. 17 "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. 18 "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. 19 "'Keep my decrees. "'Do not mate different kinds of animals. "'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. 20 "'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD. 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven. 23 "'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God. 26 "'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "'Do not practice divination or sorcery. 27 "'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. 28 "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. 29 "'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. 30 "'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. 31 "'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. 32 "'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. 33 "'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. 34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. 35 "'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. 36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. 37 "'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.'" (NIV)