Deuteronomy 4: 2
(V. 2) You shall not add to the Word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
God has given us everything we need to know in order to live our lives in a godly manner (II Timothy 3:16). Anything we would add to it would only distort it. And anything we would take away from it would leave an opening for wrong to fill the gap. Both has been done.
"The Jews," the Jewish leadership in Jesus' day, had added so much to God's Law that Jesus accused them of being "whitewashed sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27) for adding to the Law all kinds of extra rules that would benefit themselves, at the expense of the people they were supposed to lead.
And the Christian church in the Middle Ages subtracted the Second Commandment by combining it with the First so they could introduce idolatry by putting statues in the church buildings to be prayed to instead of God. This and other atrocities ("doctrines of demons") precipitated the Reformation.
Let's see what these 10 Commandments are:
Deuteronomy 5: 6-21
[Since] I am the Lord your God . . .
(1st) You shall have no other gods before (or besides) Me.
(2nd) You shall not make for yourself an idol (statue) in the form of anything (anywhere) . . .
(3rd) You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God (use for no purpose, like an expletive) . . .
(4th) Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy . . .
(5th) Honor your father and your mother . . .
(6th) You shall not murder.
(7th) You shall not commit adultery.
(8th) You shall not steal.
(9th) You shall not give false testimony (lie) against your neighbor.
and,
(10) You shall not covet (anything that belongs to your neighbor).
We cannot "break" these laws, we only break ourselves over them when we disobey them.
I can give you many examples of how we are breaking our society over these Laws by disobeying the principles underlying them, but I'll only give one for each.
(1) We have priorities above or in addition to wanting to please God.
(2) There are statues in churches that the people are encouraged to pray to and light candles in front of, elevating these "saints" and "angels" into the position of God.
(3) People all over, and even children, say, "O my God!" when it means nothing because it is not meant to be taken as a serious oath.
(4) How many people work every day, not taking off a day each 7 in order to maintain their own good health and well-being or acknowledging God at all? Very common.
(5) People seem to have little respect for the elderly, instead devaluing them as past their ability to "contribute" to the society in which they live.
(6) What about all the pre-born babies that are discarded as being inconvenient, or not "perfect"?
(7) Many marriages are destroyed by disobeying this one.
(8) We say, "Let the buyer beware" and "Finders keepers, losers weepers" and consider anything not against the civil laws to be okay, not considering the morality of the "business proposition."
(9) How many stories have I heard about people being paid to say what the payer wants them to say?
(10) So much of the adultery and legal stealing is the result of disobeying this commandment to not covet. Very prevalent all over.
I am sure you can think of many more examples of how our societies all over the World are disregarding these principles of righteousness, this moral path that God designed this Creation to operate by. It is the cause of every problem we have, every injustice and cruelty that is perpetrated against vulnerable people everywhere.
Let us "be careful" to know, remember, and live according to these guidelines. We cannot "break" these laws any more than we can "break" the Law of gravity--we only break ourselves and destroy our societies over them.
O my Father, please help us: Help Your children in every family, every language, every tribe, every region, every society to follow Your path, even in the face of strong opposition. Protect Your children who are in the public eye as they proclaim Your righteousness: May all the weapons forged against them fail.
Strengthen us to be courageous and not fear the opposition as we live our lives according to Your good ways, the path You have set each of our feet upon. Help us, O Lord, to continue to know Your Word and Your ways; and to go forth into the World scattering, broadcasting, the seed of Your Gospel, Your Good News for all people everywhere. To release the captives, heal the broken, and rescue the perishing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
