BIG TEN Have You Heard of the Original Big Ten?
1 You shall have no other gods before me. 2 You shall not make for yourself a carved image. 3 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 4 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 5 Honor your father and your mother. 6 You shall not murder. 7 You shall not commit adultery. 8 You shall not steal. 9 You shall not bear false witness. 10 You shall not covet.
In the New Testament, Jesus clarified the meaning of these laws of God. For instance, He taught that it is not only wrong to commit adultery, but even if you look on a woman with lust, you have committed adultery already in your heart. In the same way, it is not only wrong to murder, but if you hate someone, you have committed murder in your heart already. How big a lie do you have to tell before God considers you guilty of being a liar? How much do you have to steal to be found guilty by the perfect Judge of the Universe of being a thief? Have you been disrespectful to your parents? You see, you are guilty of breaking God's law. Being holy and just, God is obligated by His own law to render punishment for lawbreakers. Why? Because sin is destructive to the universe, far more destructive than we can understand! That is why His law is so severe, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Our own man-made standards will not be good enough to save us on judgment day. However, because of His great love, God made a way to save you from receiving the wages of your sin. He sent Jesus Christ to suffer and die in your place! Jesus is the only one who could have paid the price for our sin because He is the only one who never sinned. That is why Jesus is the only door to salvation. The Bible says in Acts 4:12 that there is no other name given among men whereby we can be saved except the name of Jesus (see Commandment #1). The wrath of God will be even greater toward you if you ungratefully reject such an act of love by Jesus, who paid such a high price to save you from a judgment which your rightly deserved anyway. First you must realize you have offended and sinned against the Holy
God of Heaven. Only then, when God sees a humble heart who is calling on
Jesus Christ for forgiveness, will He forgive you and change the wickedness
of your heart. If you recognize your sin and are willing to repent and
follow Jesus and His will as revealed in the Bible, you can be saved. The
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). That is Good News!
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