When God finished creating the world, He rested. And He set aside a way of resting for all of His creation to observe from that day forward. God did not rest because He was tired; He rested to show that everything was complete and perfect in Him. Nothing else was needed. It was finished. When we keep God first in our life we stop living like we are gods, as if everything depends upon us. We show that God is in control of all that He created-including us!

If we live in the reality that God is the only true God, we do not have to live frantic, frenzied lives. Because God is great and powerful, we can rest. And now, the amazing truth is, we can live a life of Sabbath rest because of Jesus’ completed work on the cross. There is nothing left to do…it is finished!

When we read this 6th Commandment, ‘you shall not murder’, we all sigh a breath of relief, “At least I’m keeping this command!” But remember, Jesus really raised the bar on this when he taught that if we have hate or hard hearts toward another person it is the same as if we murdered them. Ouch. Now we’re not doing as well. Murder, either physical or via our hearts, is a big deal to God because it infringes on his rule and reign. He created all people and relationship, and he alone has control over our lives. If we keep the first command to have no other god before God, then we can never place our self in the position to take a life. Murder happens because someone wants to change a situation to his or her liking by removing another person-either physically or by rejecting them. That is playing God.

This is another one of the 10 Commandments that Jesus taught on. No longer could we keep this command by simply abstaining from sleeping with another person’s spouse. Jesus revealed that our hearts commit adultery if we even lust after someone sexually (Matthew 5:28). God instituted marriage as a display of his glory. When a man and a woman submit themselves humbly before God in marriage, the world gets a picture of how God really is. Again, if we live in obedience to the first commandment of keeping God alone as God, we would want to have the same heart toward others as he does. We break both commandments when we see someone merely as an object to be used for our own pleasure. That is playing God and not relating to others in the way that he intended. Taking someone (another persons spouse) physically, sexually or in our hearts is actually stealing from God. He gives marriage to couples as a gift and display of his glory. Keeping God first in our life protects us from adultery.