Written by: Christopher Sernaque
Dear Readers,
Skeptics like to claim that the law, particularly the Sabbath commandment, was not in effect, or was non-existent before Mount Sinai. This view is erroneous, because while the 10 Commandments were codified at Mount Sinai, they have always been in existence because they are a transcript of the character of God. The Law is “holy”, “just” and “good” and so is God. (Romans 7:12, Isaiah 5:16, Deuteronomy 32:4, Luke 18:19). Here are five texts that conclusively prove that the 10 Commandments were present from the very beginning.
According to 1 John 3:4, “sin” is the transgression of God’s law. What is God’s law? The Apostle Paul in Romans 7:7 quotes from the 10 commandments when referring to the law of God. Furthermore, in Romans 4:15, the Apostle Paul reaffirms what John said, ie sin is the transgression of God’s law. Paul goes so far as to say that there is no sin without the law, because the very definition of sin is the transgression of God’s law. Now Paul then claims, in Romans 6:23, that the “wages of sin is death!” So, death is the wages of sin, and according to Paul in Romans 5:14 death was present from Adam to Moses! Did you catch that?
(1 John 3:4-Romans 7:7)- Sin is the transgression of God’s law.
(Romans 4:15)-There is no sin without the law because the definition of sin is the transgression of the law.
(Romans 6:23)- The wages of sin is death.
(Romans 5:14)- Death was present from Adam to Moses. Death is the wages of sin. Sin is the transgression of the law. So, Adam, in order to sin, must have had the commandments of God!
There is still plenty of scriptural evidence that the 10 commandments are in Genesis. Here is the application of each of the 10 commandments in Genesis.
1st Commandment: “And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.”- Genesis 24:48
2nd Commandment: “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.”- Genesis 35:2
3rd Commandment: “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.”-Genesis 4:26
4th Commandment: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”- Genesis 2:2-3 (See: Mark 2:27, Hebrews 4:4)
5th Commandment: “ And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.”-Genesis 48:11-12
6th Commandment: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;”- Genesis 4:7-11
7th Commandment: “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”-Genesis 39:9
8th Commandment: “So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.”- Genesis 30:33
9th Commandment: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.”- Genesis 3:4 and John 8:44- “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
10th Commandment: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”- Genesis 3:6
Let us be like Abraham who kept the law of God faithfully (Genesis 26:5). According to Paul in Romans 6:1-2, grace does not blot out the law. In fact, Christians are to establish the law of God (Romans 3:31)
How are we to establish the law of God? By living the law out in our lives. “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:16.
“If we ever know the truth, it will be because we practice it. We must have a living experience in the things of God before we are able to understand His word. This experimental knowledge is what strengthens the intellect and builds us up into Christ our living Head. {CT 97.2}”
