17 You shall not murder. 18 And you shall not commit adultery. 19 And you shall not steal. 20 And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. Deuteronomy 5:17-20 English Standard Version.

These verses show that God set a high standard for how the people He’d rescued out of slavery were to behave and we read of four things He commanded them not to do. We see too that they are linked by the little word 'and' which meant that, even if someone failed in just one area, they were guilty of having broken God's commandments. It's as if a person had a beautiful dinner set, or a complete collection of rare coins - even if just one plate of the dinner set was shattered, or only one of the rare coins lost – the whole set would be spoiled! So, have you ever been guilty of breaking ANY of these four?

I'd guess that, like myself, few who read these notes would feel guilty about vs 17 & 18. But what of vs 19 & 20? Have we ever forgotten to return something we'd borrowed? Have we ever spread a bit of gossip which may or may not have been true? But, perhaps even in these things we may consider ourselves to be innocent. So does that mean we are in the clear? Well, lets look at something Jesus said in His famous 'sermon on the mount'.

He said: “You've heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder - and if you commit murder, you are subject to judgement.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgement! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.'” (Matthew 5:21-22) Or again: “You've heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.'” (Matthew 5:27-28)

What does that tell us about how God looks at what obeying His commandments involves?

It seems that, in God's eyes, our attitudes are as important as our actions! We're not likely to murder anyone, but we may despise someone so fiercely we almost wish they would come to harm. Or we may simply 'kill them' with hateful words. We may never be physically unfaithful in marriage - but if our thoughts sometimes go astray, or we ogle at sexy images, then we’re guilty in God's eyes of breaking the rules and falling short of the pure love He longs for.

Luke tells us that Jesus also told a story to some people who had great confidence in their own righteousness and looked down on others. Jesus said: “Two men went to the Temple to pray, one was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘I thank you, God, that I'm not like other people - cheaters, sinners, adulterers - I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’” (Luke 18:10-14)

Which of those two men would you say passed the tough test of God's commandments?

Jesus finished that story by saying: “I tell you - this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

It will never be enough to keep God's commandments only on the outside. God sees the secret places of our hearts. He sees our motives. (Even when we do 'good things' like the man above who gave a tenth of his income to help the poor). God's commandments are not a step ladder to get into His good books – rather, they are meant to show us what He requires, and how much we need His forgiveness. We too need to pray as that tax collector did: “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.”