Last week’s question was:

What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?

Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.

Our memory verse was Lev 19:3 – “Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.”

This week’s question is:

What does God require in the sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments?

Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate our neighbor, but be patient and peaceful, pursuing even our enemies with love. Seventh, that we live purely and faithfully. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else.

This week’s verse is:

Romans 13:9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Stephen Um: “Christians are obligated to obey the Ten Commandments, because what we find in the Ten Commandments are the laws of God. What we find in Jesus’ interpretation in the Sermon on the Mount is that the standards of the law are much higher than we had assumed.”

This week the laws get very personal. These speak directly to how we treat each other. And Jesus took these laws and expounded on them. The Apostle Paul said all of these laws are summed up in love your neighbor as yourself (Romans 13:9).

Have a conversation with your kids this week about the difference between the words of the law and the spirit of the law. Pharisees prided themselves on keeping the letter of the law, but Jesus showed them they were far from the spirit of it. We can fall into that same trap when we take our eyes off of the real purpose of the law, which is to draw us to God and recognize our unworthiness. Ironically, those that “keep” the law in word are often the farthest away in spirit. May it not be with us.

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