Top 10 Tuesday
Recently I heard a fellow Christian-friend talk about a survey he did with random people he met. He asked them questions like “How many beers can you name?” He said some could name off maybe a dozen, give or take.
Next question, “How many of the 10 commandments can you name?”
With results not as impressive as the first question he then asked, “Does it bother you that you know more about beer and less about the standard God will judge you by someday?”
Hmmm. He has a point, you know. Someday we will all… all… ALL stand before God. Your money, affluence, influence, talents, and or self-righteous “goodness” won’t amount to a hill of beans. In fact, I think we may wish we had a hill of beans to hide under on that day.
So I ask you, are you aware of this standard you too will be judged by one day? Oh and before you think that I think that I’m not guilty, let me assure you. I am guilty of breaking every. single. one. of these commandments. You know how I know? Because the bible says if we’ve broken just one of them, we are as guilty in God’s eyes as if we’ve broken them all. Period.
We will all be judged by The Judge, Himself. (Following are just brief mentions of what you’ll find in Exodus chapter 20).
1. Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me. (Sometimes we worship our careers, lovers, etc.)
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… (Do you put someone or something before God?)
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain… (For starters… “OMG– and G’D— it.” yeah…you know what I mean. But thats not the only way we can take His name in vain.)
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy… (God worked {created} in 6 days, rested on the 7th.)
5. Honor thy father and thy mother… (Are you disrespectful? Do you hurt them, are you taking care of them in their time of need?)
6. Thou shalt not kill… (Killing people. Jesus said in the gospels that to hate someone is the same as “murder”.)
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Not just physically being sexually involved but also lusting for someone other than your spouse…Jesus made this clear in the gospels as well. Sin is sin whether its committed in the heart/mind or with the body.)
8. Thou shalt not steal. (Steal. Doesn’t matter the value of the item…could be a piece of gum or a car.)
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Making up rumours, lying.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house… (Strongly desiring what isn’t ours.)
I know you’re thinking…there’s NO way. No way someone could go without breaking at least ONE of those! And…You’re right!
Thats why God humbled himself and put on flesh John chapter 1 and 3:16 (born as a baby) so he could fulfill ALL the law (including the 10 mentioned above) perfectly. And then be crucified on a cross. Because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. He became that sin for us so we could be made “perfect” in God’s eyes. Its a gift and it requires faith on our part to receive it. Are you willing?
It begins with being honest about “who” we are in God’s eyes and then putting our faith and trust in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. The book of Romans clearly tells us …”all have sinned” and that “the wages (payment) of sin is death”. Without Christ we are right now spiritually separated from God. After we die, we will be forever separated from God with no hope, ever.
Yes, we are in trouble now, apart from a relationship with God through Christ, but if you obey what God says in the bible you will receive forgiveness of all your (past, present and future) sins.
You might want to take the Good Test here. It might answer some questions you have right now.
If you’d like to read my testimony about me receiving Christ as my Savior, subscribe herefor my updates by email or RSS. I plan to share about this in a post within the next week or so.
