What is the first of the Ten Commandments? If you are a gentile, you will probably say, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” If you have a Jewish background, you might say, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
The Ten Commandments are spelled out in Exodus 20: 1-17 and restated in Deuteronomy 5: 6-21. Do you see the first and second commandment in the first six verses of Exodus 20 (KJV)?
1 AND God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have bought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
From a traditional Christian point of view, verse 2 is the prologue to the Ten Commandments, and verse 3 is the First Commandment. Verses 4-6 state the Second Commandment.
From a Jewish point of view, verse 2 is the First Commandment, and verses 3-6 comprise the Second Commandment.
I don’t have a strong opinion as to whether verse 2 or verse 3 is the First Commandment. Either works for me. What do you think?’
* I collect vintage postcards. These are part of a series on the Ten Commandments (Copyright 1908, By The Rose Co.).
ROMANS 1: 16 
AMEN,,,, Return to me, your God! No IDOLS” Mmm ,I had one year ago & 2 ….then 3,,, finally
I said enough ,Alway’s remember God is first ,not your spouse ,children, computer,cell phone , Not even your JOB ,The Great I’Am, Alway’s come’s first ,even your Tithe”s (First Fruits )with Joy! Not after your cable,movie’s,food,,,,Hey I did all that ,all ,pray everyday now ,,,sometime’s twice , repent everyday, Father forgive me ,keep me on the straight & narrow road ,Narrow is the Gate & few shall enter,(Mmm) thing’s that make you say…. Mmmm ,,,Who ever is reading ,,,Be A Blessing in Yesua’s mighty name , & I LOVE you & never met you.
sorry YESHUA (JESUS)
Well said, Marlene. I think verse two and three say pretty much the same thing. Verse three is like a detailed explanation of verse two. Anyway you nailed it. God first no idols.
Sent from my iPhone
When we are Born again Sheryl and Perfected in Love, God does come first, it can be no other way because we no longer have Adam’s seed we have God’s the old has gone the new has come.
1 John 3:9 No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been Born of God.
1 John 5:18-20 We know that no one who is Born of God sins; but He who was Born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man/woman deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous
Whatever we do, we do it for God not man but not because we have to but because we want to, we have put our Carnal flesh to death by The Holy Spirit (Romans 8 :12-15-Colossians 3:4-6 -Galatians 5:24 -26) as we chose to walk in His Fruit and so being in the image of Jesus we walk as He did.
1John 4:16-19 And we have known and believed the Love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our Love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in Love. We Love Him, because He first Loved us.
1 John 2:4-6 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the Love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he bideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
Christian Love in Christ Jesus – Anne.
Nice to hear from you, Anne. Excellent scriptures. You’ve done a lot of research, and I hope you have these posted on your blog. There are a few scriptures I’d like to add to yours. Regarding sin, when we are born again God’s commandments are written on our hearts. (Jeremiah 31: 31-33; 2Corinthians 3: 2-3; Hebrews 10: 16-17). The Ten Commandments teach us what sin is (Romans 7: 7-13). Once we are born again, do we ever sin again? On one hand, we do not continue to sin (1 John 3: 4-6). In other words, we do not continue a pattern of sin. But do we slip up? Yes. According to 1 John 2: 1, “I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf–Jesus Christ, the righteous one.” 1 John 1: 8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all wrongdoing. If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us.”GNT
When we read 1John 2:1 Sheryl in context (see below ) you will see it confirms we are not Born again if we sin but it is not saying we won’t be, we are under Grace till our flesh is put to death and we are Perfected in Love, Love can’t sin.
We cannot reject the Scriptures that I shared in my first comment and there are more that confirm we don’t sin , we can’t sin, when we are Born Again it is our Carnal flesh that causes us to sin this is why it must be put to death (Romans 8 &6 -Colossians 3:4-6 -Galatians 5:24 -26)
Romans 8 :12-15 Therefore, brothers/sisters, we have an obligation but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. or if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons/daughters of God.
God knows those who are His even before we are conceived by His foreknowledge of our hearts repentance, He knows the beginning till the end and not one of us will be lost because we will be conformed into the image of Jesus , yes Perfected in Love.
1 John 2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in Him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the Love of God Perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him, he that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
Brethren, I write no new Commandment unto you, but an old Commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old Commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new Commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the True Light now shineth.He that saith he is in the Light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
29 If ye know that His righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is Born of Him.(KJV)
Blessings – Anne.
Anne tell me if I’m wrong but I think you are saying that a born-again person never ever sins. That is a man-made doctrine. It is not biblical. Read first Corinthians chapter 5 and chapter 6. Paul is talking to believers not unsaved people.
It’s not me personally Sheryl who is saying that we don’t sin when we are Born Again, although it is True because God tells us it is, as we can see clearly in the Scriptures I have already shared with you and have now posted again below and there are others.
So I ask you Sheryl why are you rejecting them , they state very clearly that we don’t sin when we are Born Again because we have God’s seed, it is not a man made Doctrine, it was taught in the early Church, as we can see from all the Scripture that confirms it, you like many others are rejecting God’s Truth for what you believe or have been taught in error.
All Scripture is inspired by God but cannot be understood without His wisdom and empowering which we ask for and receive.1Corinthians2:9-6
In 1Corinthians chapter 5 and chapter 6 Paul is referring to those who are in the Church but not yet Born Again or perfected in Love, Jesus died for everyone in the World not just a few but God knows those who are His. Paul did not sin, or He would not of told them to follow his example, please read 6:9 it’s a warning for those who sin and in 18 Paul is talking about putting their flesh to death so they don’t continue to sin, as we know some in the Church will say Lord, Lord and will be sent away.
Romans 8 :12-15 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. or if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
1 John 3:9 No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been Born of God.
1 John 5:18-20 We know that no one who is Born of God sins; but He who was Born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man/woman deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous
Romans 6 : 1 – 2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
2 Timothy 2:19-21 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Romans 6:5-7 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Romans 8: 8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8 :12-15 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. or if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons/daughters of God.
Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:18-20 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
1 John 2:4-6 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the Love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.
Ephesians 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
1 John 4:17-19 Herein is our Love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.
Ephesians 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
1 John 4:17-19 Herein is our Love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in Love; but perfect Love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in Love. We Love Him, because He first Loved us.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in Peace; and the God of Love and Peace shall be with you.
Titus 2:13-15 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all Authority. Let no man despise thee.
Colossians 3:4-6 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Daniel 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Blessings Anne.
Anne, consider the audience. The letters of Paul, James, John, Peter, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews were written to believers, not the unsaved.
James refers to his readers as “brothers”–i.e. brothers in Christ.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 16a, NIV).
“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death, and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5: 19-20, NIV)
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be” (James 3: 9-10, NIV).
What you are doing Sheryl is rejecting the Scriptures for your own understanding or what you have been taught, which I did too before I asked for God’s wisdom and empowering, we put our Carnal flesh to death which is what Paul is talking about in the Scriptures you shared and we aim to be perfected in Love, we are to work out our Salvation, not meaning work for it but we will show we have it.
We are under Grace until we are perfected in Love, Paul talks about his battle with the flesh too before he was perfected in Romans7 he than tells us we are to put our flesh to death that causes us to sin in Romans8:12-15-Colossians3:4-6 -Galatians5:24 -26 Romans6
No Temptation will be greater than we can bear…….
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto Perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.
If you are interested in learning more Sheryl so you can mature than we will spend some time confirming with Scripture that we do not continue to sin but I suggest you ask for God’s wisdom and empowering first like I did because we are not Born with them.
Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding
James 1:5-6 If any of you lack wisdom, let that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given them. But let them ask in faith, nothing wavering. For them that wavereth are like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Blessings – Anne
Since I was born again 35 years ago, the Holy Spirit has been my teacher. Born again believers still live in bodies of flesh until death. If sin were not an issue, there would be no need for James to say, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4: 7). Jesus has strong words for 5 of the 7 churches beginning in Revelation 2. The church at Ephesus had lost their first love. He says to them, “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” NIV. I could go on but you can read what he says to the rest of the churches on your own.
Well said my Sister Sheryl (Once saved always saved ) then why is it near the time( Narrow is the Gate & few shall enter .?
We sin everyday, even thought”s, Just drive your car, you sin as soon as you open your thoughts or mouth in saying awful things about the person or if almost running you over or breaking in line @ the store! Grace is like speeding 90 miles & hour & get pulled over & you should have gotten a ticket & the officer lets you go with a warning .We sin not obeying the Law of the Land , Idol’s before God , he who says he doesn’t ,sin the Bible says isn’t telling the truth only one perfect person walked the EARTH (YESHUA) JESUS Now with Love we fail to differ & see scripture , in some of eyes what we were taught as children , & not as Gospel,We all stand one day b4 Our Great God, I try to obey his words…His Feast Day , His Appointed times not Man’s calender . Honor the Sabbath,again ,we all sin everyday ,some will stand b4 God & saybut Father( I witnessed for you) ,he says I never Knew you , ( now I will drop it & leave it & walk away , God has control . Be Blessing to everyone
Hi Marlene. I like your analogy of grace: a warning instead of a ticket for speeding. Grace is not getting what we deserve. Through grace we are set free from the power of sin and death. The Scriptures that Anne sites are excellent ones, but they do not show that we are sinless once we are born again. Instead, Scripture teaches us to avoid sin, ways to avoid sin, and to aim for a life pleasing to God. We are “born again” to serve the Lord. We were created to do good works (Ephesians 2: 10).
AMEN
Being born again is a one time occurrence. It is the beginning of a new life in Christ. Sanctification, on the other hand, is a process. We are being made holy through the power of the Holy Spirit day by day.
Sheryl the Holy Spirit does not say one thing to one person and something different to someone else when it contradicts but He may share something with you that you can share with me or I with you but it will always be confirmed in Scripture, the Holy Spirit is not rude, disrespectful or Sarcastic.
As you said Theology can be enlightening but it can also be incorrect, Jesus is our only Teacher and will lead us into all Truth, we are no longer under the old Covenant with it’s rules and regulations but we keep those that pertain to Love and as we walk in perfected Love we show we are Spiritual Jews. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabbath, He is our rest. I do not encourage others to seek after me for understanding but Jesus.
I’m 64 and have much more life wisdom than you Sheryl and I have also asked for and received God’s wisdom and empowering but it is not me as I said before who will lead you into all Truth, it is Jesus Christ.
You are not understanding what the Churches are all about in Revelation, they are not past they are now, they are us, Jesus is showing us the need to be perfected in Love putting our Carnal flesh to death that causes us to become lukewarm and sadly some also fall away meaning reject Jesus because they become hardened by sin.
We see in the Church of Philadelphia the Perfected Church or person, which we are all to aim for, Love does not sin when perfected in Christ Jesus.
You advise others Sheryl to hold onto the Truth in Scripture but are rejecting it yourself, read again those I have shared, I did not share Doctrine but God’s inspired words in Scripture which can only be understood by the empowering of The Holy Spirit. (1Corinthians 2:9-16) without Him their deeper Truth is foolishness. I was willing to share other Scriptures with you too so you could continue to Mature Spiritually in Jesus but you are rejecting those that show the way as many others do, trusting in their own understanding or what they have been taught in error or half error.
I will say goodbye for now Sheryl, if you want me, you know where to find me or follow the link below to The Garden Sanctuary.
Wisdom- http://alifeofhopeandjoy.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/the-garden-sanctuary/
Christian Love in Christ Jesus – Anne
Anne, I’m 67. ❤
Sorry my mistake Sheryl, I missed the Born Again but than you can’t be if your continuing to sin .
1 John 3:9 No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been Born of God.
1 John 5:18-20 We know that no one who is Born of God sins; but He who was Born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man/woman deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.
But since we were Born are in the same Generation our time on earth is limited compared to the younger Generation but than we do not know when our allotted time has come although I do know mine has been extended more than once as Medically Documented but unable to be explained, perhaps it was to be able to reach those like you with God’s Truth before Jesus returns, which is in this Generation.
Blessings – Anne
Anne, my apologies for my “sarcastic” remark. I will edit that sentence out of my post. I was irritated because I felt you were talking down to me. I am born again. Repented of my sins and asked Jesus into my life 35 years ago. Instantly I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.. Have I sinned in the past 35 years. Well . . . Yeah. I think I sinned, for example, when I answered you with a sarcastic remark. Now I’m asking you to forgive me. If I were not born again, I wouldn’t dream of apologizing. We don’t seem to be communicating well. Not sure what the problem is.
Anne, I was reading some of your comments just now, and I would like to explain my position. For example, you said that the seven churches are not in the past but pertain to today. I would say that those churches were in the past, but they also pertain to today. Regarding the seventh day Sabbath, it’s the fourth commandment. The Sabbath is the seventh day because it’s part of the creation, the day when God rested. I am not opposed to worshipping God on Sunday, the first day of the week. In fact, you’ll agree that we should worship God every day. But we should not ignore the Sabbath. Yes, Paul talked about a Sabbath rest. You see, the Sabbath, is both literal and prophetic. The Sabbath is one of the feast days listed in Leviticus 23. The others are Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost (Shavuot), Feast of Trumpets, Yom Yippur (Day of Atonement), and the Feast of Booths. Each has a literal meaning and a prophetic meaning. For example, Jesus fulfilled the Spring feasts with His First Coming. He will fulfill the Fall feasts with His Second Coming. The feasts days (which are generally not about food) are also referred to as God’s Appointed Times. They are dress rehearsals for future events. God bless you. Love in our Messiah Jesus,
Sheryl
Regarding the Old and New Covenant, here is the difference. See Jeremiah 31: 31-33 and 2 Corinthians 3: 3-4 and Hebrews 10: 16. The Old Covenant was written on tablets of stone and sealed with the blood of an animal. The New Covenant is written on the heart (not tablets of stone) and sealed with the blood of Christ. That is why Paul calls the New Covenant “a better covenant.” ❤