7 God's commandments. The Basics of Orthodoxy - the Commandments of God

The law of God for every Christian is a guiding star that tells a person how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. For many centuries, the significance of this Law has not diminished. On the contrary, the life of a person is increasingly complicated by conflicting opinions, and therefore the need for an authoritative and clear leadership of God's Commandments increases. That's why many in our time turn to them. And today, the regulators of our life are the commandments and the seven major mortal sins. The list of the latter is as follows: despondency, gluttony, lust, anger, envy, greed, pride. This, of course, is the main, most serious sins. 10 commandments of God and 7 deadly sins - this is the basis of Christianity. It is not necessary to read mountains of spiritual literature - it is enough to avoid what leads to the spiritual death of a person. However, this is not so easy as it seems at first glance. It is not easy to completely exclude from my life all seven deadly sins. And the ten commandments to observe - also a difficult task. But we must at least strive for spiritual purity. God, as is known, is merciful.

Commandments and laws of nature

The foundations of Orthodoxy are the commandments of God. One can compare them with the laws of nature, for the source of both is the Creator. They complement each other: the former give the human soul a moral basis, while the latter regulate soulless nature. The difference is that matter obeys the laws of physics, a person is free to obey the laws of morality or ignore them. The great grace of God is to give each of us freedom of choice. Through it, we are spiritually cultivated and can even become like the Lord. Nevertheless, moral freedom also has the other side - it imposes on each of us responsibility for the committed acts.

Seven deadly sins and 10 commandments are the foundation on which the whole life of man must be built. If we consciously violate God's commandments, we degenerate spiritually and physically. Failure to comply with them leads to suffering, slavery and, in the end, disaster. We suggest that you get acquainted in detail with the commandments of God. They are the basis of both modern and ancient legislative systems.

How did the commandments appear?

The most significant event of the Old Testament is their reception from God. The very education of the Jewish people is connected with the 10th commandment. Before they were received, a tribe of hardened and disenfranchised Semite slaves lived in Egypt. After the appearance of the Sinai legislation, in fact, a people emerged called to serve God. Later, apostles, great prophets, saints of the first times of Christianity came from him. Of him, according to the flesh, Jesus Christ was born. Having accepted the commandments, the people promised to observe them. This would be the covenant (that is, the union) between the Jews and God. It consisted in the fact that the Lord promised the people his protection and mercy, and the Jews had to live righteously.

The First Three Commandments

The first three commandments are dedicated to the relationship to the Lord. According to the first of them, a person should not have other gods, except the true one. The second one warns us against the creation of an idol, from the worship of false deities. The third commandment calls not to utter in vain the name of the Lord.

We will not dwell on the meaning of the first three commandments. They are related to the attitude to God and, in general, understand. In detail we will consider the other 7 divine commandments.

The fourth commandment

According to her, it is necessary to remember the Sabbath day in order to hold it holy. Six days a person should work and do all the work, and the seventh day should be dedicated to God. How to understand this commandment? Let's figure it out.

The Lord God commands us to do the right things and work for six days - this is understandable. It is not clear what should be done on the seventh day, is it not? It must be dedicated to holy works and to the service of the Lord. The following things are pleasing to Him: praying at home and in the temple of God, caring for the salvation of the soul, enlightening the heart and mind with religious knowledge, helping the poor, religious conversations, visiting prisoners in prison and sick, consoling the grieving, and other charity.

The Sabbath in the Old Testament was celebrated as a remembrance of how God created the world. It says that on the seventh day after the creation of the world, "God rested from His works" (Genesis 2: 3). The Jewish scribes after the Babylonian captivity began to explain this commandment too rigorously and formally, forbidding any kind of deeds, even good ones, on that day. From the Gospels it is clear that even the Savior the scribes were accused of "breaking Sabbath", because Jesus healed people on this day. However, it is the "man for the Sabbath", and not the other way around. In other words, the peace that is established on this day should benefit the spiritual and physical forces, and not deprive us of the opportunity to do good works and not to enslave a person. Weekly elimination from everyday activities provides an opportunity to gather your thoughts, to think about the meaning of earthly existence and your labors. Labor is necessary, but the salvation of the soul is the most important thing.

The fourth commandment is violated not only by those who work on Sunday, but also those who, on weekdays, are lazy and evade their duties. Even if you do not work on Sunday, but do not dedicate this day to God, but spend it in entertainment and fun, indulging in excess and revelry, you also do not fulfill the Covenant of God.

The Fifth Commandment

We continue to describe the 7 commandments of God. According to the fifth, it is necessary to honor the father and mother in order to live happily on the earth for a long time. How can this be understood? To esteem parents means to love them, to respect their authority, not to dare insult them by deeds or words under any circumstances, obey them, take care of them if they need something, help their parents in their labors, pray to God for them, as in life , And after the death of parents. Not respecting them is a big sin. Those who cursed mother or father in the Old Testament were punished with death.

As the Son of God, Jesus Christ respectfully treated his earthly parents. He obeyed them, and Joseph helped carpentry. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees that they denied the necessary maintenance to their parents under the pretext of consecrating their property to God. This they violated the fifth commandment.

How to treat strangers? Religion teaches us that it is necessary for everyone to show respect, in accordance with his office and age. Fathers and spiritual shepherds should be respected; Civilian leaders who care for the well-being, justice and peaceful life of the country; Teachers, educators, benefactors and senior in age. Those who do not respect old men and elders sin, considering them to be outdated concepts, and their own people - backward people.

The Sixth Commandment

It says: "Do not kill." The Lord God forbids taking life away from himself or from other people by this commandment. Life is the greatest gift, only God can set its limits for every person.

Suicide is a very serious sin, because in it, besides murder, there are others: lack of faith, despair, murmurings against God, as well as rebellion against His fishing. It is also terrible that a person who forcibly cut off his own life does not have the opportunity to repent of perfect sin, since repentance after death is null and void. A person is guilty of murder even when he does not kill himself, but promotes it or allows others to do so. In addition to killing the corporeal, there is also a spiritual, which is no less terrible. It is committed by one who seduces his neighbor to a vicious life or to unbelief.

The Seventh Commandment

Let's talk about the seventh commandment of the law of God. "Do not commit adultery," she says. God commands to keep mutual loyalty to the wife and husband, to be chaste unmarried - pure in words, deeds, desires and thoughts. In order not to sin against this commandment, you should avoid all that excites unclean feelings in a person, for example: "juicy" jokes, profanity, shameless dancing and songs, reading immoral magazines, watching seductive photos and films. The seventh commandment of the law of God indicates that sinful thoughts should be stopped at their very appearance. You can not let them master our will and feelings. Homosexuality is considered a grave sin against this commandment. It was for him that Sodom and Gomorrah, the famous cities of antiquity , were exterminated.

The Eighth Commandment

7 God's commandments concern different aspects of human life. The eighth is devoted to the relation to the property of other people. It says: "Do not steal." In other words, the appropriation of the property belonging to other people is prohibited. Varied types of thefts: robbery, theft, sacrilege, bribery, lasciviousness (when taking advantage of the misfortunes of others, take a lot of money from them), parasitism, etc. If a person restrains an employee's wages, weighs and measures at the sale, hides found, evades payment of a debt , Then he commits theft. In contrast to the greedy pursuit of wealth, faith teaches us to be merciful, hardworking and selfless.

The Ninth Commandment

It says that you can not perjure your neighbor. The Lord God in this way forbids all lies, including: slander, denunciations, false testimony in court, slander, slander, gossip. Slander is a diabolical affair, for the very name "devil" means "slanderer" in translation. A Christian is unworthy of any lie. It does not agree with respect and love for others. We should refrain from idle talk, monitor what we say. The Word is the greatest gift of God. We are like the Creator when we speak. And the word of God immediately becomes a matter. Therefore, this gift must be used only for the glory of God and for a good purpose.

The Tenth Commandment

We have not described all the 7 God's commandments. We should stop at the last, the tenth. It says that it is necessary to refrain from unclean desires and envy of one's neighbor. While the other commandments were primarily about behavior, the latter draws attention to our desires, feelings and thoughts, that is, what happens inside a person. It is necessary to strive for spiritual purity. It should be remembered that a bad idea is that with which all sin begins. If a person stops at her, a sinful desire appears, which pushes to commit the corresponding deed. Therefore, in order to combat various temptations, it is necessary in the very beginning to suppress them, that is, in thoughts.

For the soul, envy is poison. If a person is exposed to it, then he will always be unhappy, he will always miss something, even if he is very rich. In order not to succumb to this feeling, we should thank God that he is merciful to us, sinful and unworthy. We could be exterminated for our crimes, but the Lord not only tolerates, but also sends His mercies to people. The task of each person's life is to acquire a pure heart. It is in him that the Lord rests.

Commandments of bliss

The commandments of God, discussed above, and the evangelical commandments of bliss are of great importance for every Christian. The latter are part of the commandments of Jesus, which he uttered during the Sermon on the Mount. They enter the Gospel. They got such a name because following them leads to eternal bliss in eternal life. If the 10 commandments forbid something that is sinful, then the blessings of the beatitudes say how you can achieve holiness (Christian perfection).

Seven commandments for the descendants of Noah

Not only in Christianity there are commandments. In Judaism, for example, there are 7 laws of the descendants of Noah. They are considered the necessary minimum, which the Torah places on the whole of mankind. Through Adam and Noah, according to the Talmud, God gave us the following 7 commandments of God (Orthodoxy, in general, says about the same thing): the prohibition of idolatry, murder, blasphemy, theft, adultery, and the prohibition to use flesh that was Cut off from a living animal, and the need to create a fair judicial system.

Conclusion

Jesus Christ to the young man's question about what to do in order to inherit eternal life, answered: "Keep the commandments!". After that, he listed them. The Ten Commandments given above give us the basic moral guidance necessary to create life, both public and family and private. Jesus, speaking of them, noted that they all boil down to the doctrine of love for others and God.

In order for us to benefit from these commandments, we should make them our own, that is, let them guide our actions, our worldview. These commandments should take root in our subconscious or, figuratively speaking, should be written on the tablets of our hearts by God.