QUESTION 11

Question 11: What does God require in the sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments?

Answer 11: Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate, or be hostile to our neighbor, but be patient and peaceful, pursuing even our enemies with love. Seventh, that we abstain from sexual immorality and live purely and faithfully, whether in marriage or in single life, avoiding all impure actions, looks, words, thoughts, or desires, and whatever might lead to them. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else, nor withhold any good from someone we might benefit.

You can see that the answer goes beyond mere outward actions and gets to the heart of the law. The sixth commandment says, “You shall not murder.” But Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, if you have anger in your heart and call him a fool, you have murdered him in your heart.  The seventh commandment says “You shall not commit adultery.” But Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount… The eighth commandment says “You shall not steal.” The point is that the law addresses no only our outward actions, but our hearts. Martyn Lloyd Jones says that Jesus “shows that an evil desire is as damnable as a deed. A thought and an imagination are as reprehensible in the sight of God as the act committed.” And therefore, the law shows us

Beloved, the bible is clear that we are utterly incapable of keeping the law perfectly which is required for salvation. We need another to keep it for us and be given the righteousness of Another.  This is the hope of the gospel. That through faith in Christ, his perfect obedience is counted as ours. 

But the gospel does not absolve us from our obligation to obey the ten commandments, it empowers us to. For the law is summed up by the commands to love God and love our neighbor. And through the new birth, we are given a new heart with new desires and the law is written on our hearts, so that we obey (though not perfectly) from the heart.

Romans 13:9 - For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”