10 COMMANDMENTS

“This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus” (Revelation 14:12)

The commandments of God are those He gave on Mount Sinai, written on tablets of stone with His own finger, to Moses. Do not confuse them with the summary of the law presented in the new testament (to love God and our neighbour), nor with the “new commandment” mentioned by Christ (to love one another). From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible teaches that the only commandments given by God are the Ten of Exodus 20:3-17.

Although given at Sinai, around 1450 BC, the commandments were known long before. The fourth commandment of the Sabbath appears already in the week of creation, even before there was sin on earth: "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2,3).

At Sinai, God orders men to remember the commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8). About five hundred years before Sinai, Abraham kept His laws: “Because Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My precepts, My statutes, and My laws.” (Genesis 25:6). The psalmist declared that the commandments would remain forever: “The works of His hands are truth and fair, sure of all His commandments stand firm for ever and ever” (Psalms 11:7,8). Jesus said he did not come to revoke the law; but rather that it would remain as long as heaven lasted: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17,18). Paul affirmed that Jesus fulfilled the law so that we too, following His example, might fulfil it: “God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3,4). He also stated that in the new covenant the commandments remain as valid as in the old one: “But God found fault within the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Hebrews 8: 8-10).

The old covenant was the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 4:13). As the leaders and the people decided to disobey the commandments, they did not walk in His covenant. Therefore, God presented them again to man, calling them “a new covenant.” It is like a betrayed husband who has forgiven his wife, and, now, renews the vows of loyalty, puts the same wedding ring back on his/her finger. The new covenant is the same - it is the same commitment between God and men, now re-established with believers in Jesus.

Paul also stated, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:14,15). And “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Whoever is really under the kingdom of grace is enabled, by the Spirit, not to transgress the law. The subject of grace obeys the commandments of God.

Along the same lines as Paul and all other Bible writers, James states that we will be “judged by the law.” And he explained: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,”(James 2:12, 10, 11). And, finally, in Revelation, John describes those whom the angel of heaven points to as the church of God in the last days: “they that keep the commandments of God” (Revelation 14:12).

Latter-day Saints, like those of all other ages since Adam, will keep the commandments. They will also have the faith that Jesus had been here on earth - the faith of Jesus. Therefore, the Ten Commandments and the faith of Jesus are, so to speak, the “sign” that the saints of God have in their hands. The experience of obedience through faith. The great challenge lies in how to achieve this experience. To understand this is to find the door of heaven for eternal life and to walk the way of victory against the beast and his image. Let’s find this together, next.

Keep the commandments

In Revelation, the beast is seen standing on the sand of the sea, which symbolizes the multitude of the wicked deceived by it: “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore” (Revelation 20: 7, 8). Remember that Satan gave the beast “his power and his authority” (Revelation 13: 2). The beast is the instrument of deception used by him. Those who walk in truth and are not deceived by them will defeat the beast, and therefore Satan. The psalmist says: “Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true” (Psalm 119: 142). Therefore, only those who obey the law of the Ten Commandments are free from the deception. That is why the third angel of Revelation, after giving the warning against worshiping the beast and his image, points to those who keep the commandments of God as the true people of God - the only one who is not under the deceptive power of the devil. Since the beast commands the lights and all pyramidal power structure, the pyramid with the eye of the devil, the “matrix” in which we live, being free of such power and therefore in obedience with the commandments, means being outside the system. We see the pyramid and related symbols in bank logos, car assemblers, freemasonry, clips and singer shows, sporting events, famous TV and internet channels, such as YouTube, and even in churches. It is not without cause that the Bible says: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). “And this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5: 2). Hence we understand that, by keeping the commandments, we can break all bonds to this world and its vanities.

Everything in our lives which is not in accordance with the Ten Commandments of God should be left if we want heaven. The first step in keeping the commandments is to disappoint the world and abandon personal mistakes. God will not turn anyone against his own will. As Joshua, inspired by Him, said, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). And we can know that if we hate the world, it is because God is already operating in our hearts, through His Spirit. For the work of the Holy Spirit is to convince the world of sin (John 16: 8). That is, the work of salvation is initiated by God. He gave the Holy Spirit to Jesus, whom sends him through the angels to touch our consciences. However, it is up to us to let ourselves be convinced of our mistakes, to agree with Him, and to accept His call to change our lives.

The promise of the new concert

God has promised: “I will put My laws in their hearts and write them in their minds” (Hebrews 10:16). To write in the understanding means to convince us that the commandments are fair and that obedience is the best way for us. To write in the heart is to make us love to obey Him. God does both through the Holy Spirit. As soon as His Spirit has convinced our consciences of sin, it comes to convince us of righteousness (John 16:8). Placing a “heavy conscience” in us when we think of doing wrong, it now gives us the motivation and strength to walk the path of obedience. We choose to serve God, and He gives us the help we need - this is how you keep the commandments. Therefore, if we consider that we have as helper the Almighty God, it is not difficult to obey. John states that God’s commandments are not heavy (1 John 5: 3). He had this experience. He knew what it meant to let God lead his life and help him. Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). As a father stretches out his hand to hold his son’s hand before crossing a street, so does Jesus with us. He is the representative of God our Father, walking with us at all the time, with his hand extended towards us, guiding us to cross the road of difficulties in the midst of problems which travel on the runway like furious cars at high speed. “Traffic” may be heavy; It may be rush hour. But, by holding the invisible hands of the Father, we will surely arrive safe to the other side. It may be that, like the little child, we do not see over the cars to know if, after the next, the road will be free to cross. But He sees and knows. If we trust in Him and wait on Him until He says “Come!” everything will be just well.

As our obedience is consolidated, we are no longer demoralized and it can be said that we keep the commandment. That is what the word “save” means. In the biblical sense, it means to cling so tightly to God, that no one - person or demons - can take us away. Jesus, referring to His immovable obedience, and His attachment to God, declared: “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:10).

When God makes sure that we have already assimilated and obeyed one point of His law, he reveals to us another, previously unknown. It follows the process of convincing us and giving us strength to obey. This process is called “sanctification.” We are sanctified as we receive the Holy Spirit. And so it goes on. Our lives take place in the midst of this constant process of purification and whitening of our character. We cooperate with God’s work by submitting ourselves to the process, accepting His instructions and will for our lives; making use of the power given by Him to obey. Although we are given the power to obey at all times, sometimes we fall. By looking away from Jesus, we let go of the Father’s hand and we want to continue to cross alone. Then we stumble, fall down and get hurt. When this occurs, God continues to act in us through His spirit. Jesus intercedes for us in heaven, and God intercedes in our hearts “through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). He places in our hearts the desire to pray that He draws us out of spiritual difficulty. And until we accept the invitation again, Jesus intercedes for us, if there is sincerity in our hearts. All who have not completely rejected the work of the spirit in their hearts are benefited by the intercession of Christ. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2: 1). Then, when we finally give in to the impression of the spirit and the process of sanctification resumes.

For most people, the process ends when the man takes his last breath and goes to the rest of the grave. At the end of his life, Paul declared: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4: 7-9). However, the Bible teaches that for a group of people, the work of the spirit will reach its ultimate goal while they are still alive. This does not mean that they are a group of people especially privileged by God. They will only allow the work of God to deepen in their lives to the point of eliminating the ultimate sin while still alive. When Christians stop choosing to obey God for a moment, they depend on the intercession of Christ until they return to the path. Now when Christians advance further along the way, they become more and more established in God and their falls become less and less frequent. Now consider what will happen to those who, through ever more constant submission to God and Christ, will come to the point where nothing else will make them choose the wrong instead of right. In this case, even if Christ failed to intercede in the sanctuary, this would not be a problem for them - for the intercession of Christ is for those who err. He said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Luke 5:31). They can live on earth without an Intercessor. When Christ ceases His work, the seven last plagues will fall on the earth (Revelation 15:1;16:1). At this time, the wrath of God will be poured out upon the wicked. And this group of people will remain alive on earth during this time. They are one hundred and forty-four thousand and are referred to on the Revelation book as the irreproachable (Revelation 14:1-5). They obey the Ten Commandments and are perfectly submissive to the guidance of the Spirit of God. They will remain as witnesses of what the grace of God is capable of doing in those whom submit to Christ.

After the plagues are over, they will receive the great reward. Those who reject sin once and for all in life are ready to see the face of God again, as Adam used to before he sinned. Man has only lost personal and visible fellowship with the Creator because of disobedience. Then they will be able to be taken to where God is, without seeing death as with Enoch and Elijah. It is for this reason that the 144,000 will be raptured to heaven without seeing death. You and I, if we achieve this condition, will be alive on that great day, participating in the triumph over death. “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15: 51-54).

Amen! Hallelujah!