The Seventh Commandment

"Thou shalt not commit adultery ."

With this commandment God enjoins husband and wife to preserve mutual fidelity, and the unmarried to be chaste in their deeds, words, thoughts and desires. In explaining this commandment, the Lord Jesus Christ added, " Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart " (Matthew 5:28). In other words, not only actions but all our thoughts and feelings must also be pure. In order to avoid sins related to sexual immorality, one must shun all that evokes unclean feelings, such as unbridled behavior, obscene
conversations, music and dancing which arouses lustful desires, watching of indecent movies and magazines, and the like.

To avoid sexual sins, the best remedy is to suppress sinful thoughts and desires at their root, not giving them an opportunity to strengthen and
take control over our will. Knowing how difficult it is for us to do battle with carnal temptations, the Lord instructs us to be resolute and unmerciful towards ourselves when confronted by temptations: "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:29). This figurative speech can be rephrased as follows: If someone is as dear to you as your own eye or hand, but tempts you to sin, quickly break off all relations with him or her. For it is better for you to deprive yourself of his or her friendship than of everlasting life.

Contemporary laws make it quite easy to divorce and remarry. However, Christian spouses should submit themselves to the Supreme Lawgiver, who instituted marriage and said: " What God has joined together, let not  man separate" (Matthew 19:6).

Despite all contemporary efforts to justify and even legalize homosexuality as something comparable to marriage, the Bible unambiguously declares it to be a grave sin. The ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorra were destroyed precisely because their inhabitants were homosexuals (See chapter 19 of the book of Genesis). Speaking of these cities, the Apostle Jude says, " As Sodom and Gomorra ... having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 1:7). The Apostle Paul, in the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans, speaks very harshly about homosexuals: " God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness  ..." (Romans 1:24-29).

Regarding carnal wantonness, the Scriptures warn: " Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body ," and " Marriage is honorable   among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and
adulterers God will judge " (1 Cor. 6:18; Hebrews 13:4). Besides being a sin, unconstrained life weakens one's health and spiritual capabilities,
especially his imagination and memory. It is extremely important to preserve moral purity because " we are members of Christ and temples of
the Holy Spirit. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him " (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

The Eighth Commandment

"Thou shalt not steal ."

This commandment orders us to respect the property of others. Sins against this commandment include theft, robbery, sacrilege (to misuse
that which belongs to the Church), extortion or bribery (requesting money or gifts for services which are supposed to be rendered free of
charge), usury (overcharging interest on loans), fraud (to appropriate someone's property by cunning). In general, robbery is committed by him
who gives false weight; by him who sells at exorbitant prices; by him who, for love of gain, adulterates provisions in the market; by him who
deprives his servants of their wages; by him who pays his employees starvation wages; by him who misappropriates common funds; and by him who forfeits paying a debt, conceals a find, etc.

Thirst for pleasures and material goods makes people greedy. To counter-weight this passion, the Christian faith teaches us to be honest, unselfish, industrious and merciful: " Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands for what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need"  (Ephesians 4:28). Total unselfishness and renunciation of personal possessions are great Christian virtues which are suggested to those who strive for perfection. The Lord said to the young man, " If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me " (Matthew 19:21). Such evangelistic idealism was followed by many of the faithful such as St. Antony, St. Nicholas the miracle worker, Sts. Sergey Radonezhsky and Seraphim Sarovsky, the Blessed Xenia of Petersburg, St. Herman of Alaska, St. Archbishop John of San Francisco, and many others. Monasticism places as its objective total renunciation of personal property and of the comforts of family life.

The Ninth Commandment

"Thou shalt not bear false witness ."

By this commandment the Lord God forbids all forms of lying, as for instance: perjury in court, false complaints, slander, gossip, and swearing. In particular, slander should be considered an act of the devil, bacause the very name "devil" means "slanderer." Mockery magnifies the shortcomings of another person in a comic and degrading way in order to humiliate that person. It is a sign of a proud spirit and a cruel heart, which are so contrary to what Jesus Christ taught.

Any lie is not worthy of a Christian and is not in accord with respect toward our neighbors. The Apostle Paul directs us: " Wherefore putting
away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another " (Ephesians 4:25). Regarding criticizing others, the
Savior categorically stated:  "Judge not and you shall not be judged!" (Matthew 7:1) A person does not reform through censure or ridicule but
through well-intentioned and constructive advice. Before judging others, one should remember his own or her own weaknesses. Because it is so easy to sin with the tongue, it is important to learn how to curb it and refrain from idle talk. Speech is one of the greatest gifts which likens
us to our Creator, whose word is all powerful. Animals do not possess this gift. That is why every word must be used only for a good cause and
to glorify God. Regarding idle talk, Jesus Christ taught: " For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of
judgment. For by your words you will be justified ,  and by your words you will be condemned"  (Matthew 12:36-37).


The Tenth Commandment

" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his field ... nor anything that is thy neighbor's ."

This last commandment orders us to refrain from envy and avoid all sinful desires. While the preceding commandments spoke preeminently
regarding external behavior, this last one turns our attention to our inner world - to our thoughts, feelings and desires. It calls on us to strive towards spiritual cleanliness. It is important to understand that every sinful act starts inside as a sinful disposition of our soul. When a person lingers on a bad thought, it becomes a desire, and as that desire strengthens, it draws the will toward accomplishing the sinful act. That is why, in order to successfully battle against temptations, it is important to learn how to overcome them at the very onset - in our
mind.

Envy is truly a poison for the soul. One who envies others always feels unhappy, even if he is the richest person in the world. The Scriptures
say, " The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord," and, "By the envy of the devil, death entered the world " (Proverbs 15:26 and Book of Wisdom 2:24). To help us to overcome any feelings of envy or discontent, the Apostle instructs: " Having food and clothing, with
these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare ... For love of money is the root of all evil "  (1 Timothy 6:8-10). It is very helpful to remind ourselves of the innumerable mercies which God bestows on us. He should have destroyed us for our many sins, but, instead, He keeps forgiving us and sends us His material and spiritual gifts. To save us from eternal damnation, the Son
of God came to our world, took our sins and spilled His Precious Blood to wash them out. With His Resurrection, He gave us eternal and blessed life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Shouldn't we every instant thank Him for His infinite love?

One of the main goals in our life is to purify our heart to make it a temple for the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ promises a great reward for
those who have abstained from all unclean thoughts and feelings: " Blessed are   the pure in heart for they shall see God " (Matthew 5:8). The Apostle Paul instructs, " Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple"  (1 Cor. 3:16-17).


Conclusion

When a young Jew asked Jesus what he should do in order to inherit everlasting life, the Lord replied:  "Observe the commandments,"  and
enumerated several commandments from the list of ten (Matthew 19:16-22). In many other sermons Jesus reiterated the importance of the Ten
commandments and explained their spiritual meaning.

In the above exposition, we saw that the first commandment teaches us to focus on God with our thoughts and aspirations; the second forbids
making anything more important than God; the third teaches us to respect God; the fourth dedicates to Him the seventh day of the week and, in
general, a part of our life; the fifth teaches us to honor our parents and elders. The following four commandments admonish us to respect our
neighbor's life, family, property and good reputation. Finally, the last commandment forbids envy and calls for purity of heart.

Thus, the Ten commandments give man fundamental moral guidance for the formation of personal, family and community life. Life shows us that as long as the government in its lawmaking guides itself with these moral principles and concerns itself with their observance, life within a
country flows at a normal pace. On the other hand, when it eschews these principles and begins to tread on them, be it a totalitarian or a
democratic government, life within the country falls into confusion and catastrophe becomes imminent.

The Lord Jesus Christ unveiled the deep meaning of all the commandments, explaining that through their essential points they merge toward the teaching of love of God and neighbor:  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the  Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

In order for God's commandments to do us any good, it is necessary to make them ours; that is, we should try to have them not only as a guide
for our actions, but they should also become our viewpoint, permeating our subconscious, or, according to the picturesque expression of the
prophet, they should be written upon the tablets of our hearts. Then, by personal experience we will be convinced of their regenerating power,
about which the righteous King David wrote, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the oath of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:1-3).


Missionary Leaflet 37E
Copyright © 2001 Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission
466 Foothill Blvd, Box 397, La Canada, Ca 91011

Editor: Bishop Alexander (Mileant)



 

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