Guilty or Not Guilty? That's the question!

I had an interesting discussion with a gentleman years ago that I was recently reminded of. It seems that there is a group of folks that are pushing the Ten Commandments to be continued in the public eye. They are the basis for everything that we know in American government. God’s law is the foundation for our Christian nation.


And yet, there are folks who think that they’ve somehow kept them. Well, I haven’t! In fact, I’ve broken them all. Yes, you heard it here! I have broken all 10 of God’s commandments. That was how my discussion went with the above person. He stated that he might not be a great person but he knew that he wouldn’t go to Hell because he’d never broken the Ten Commandments.


To be honest with you, I was shocked at such a statement! I replied that I had broken them all. He asked me why I thought that, and I explained it this way.


James tells us in chapter 2 verse 10 that whoever breaks even one point of the law is guilty of all. That means all ten must be met. Then we find that Paul says in Galatians 3:24 that the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. So the law is good in making us aware of right and wrong. A lot of people don’t like obeying speed limits but they are there for everyone’s safety and good.

Jesus said that He didn’t come to do away with the law but to fulfill it Matthew 5:17. So we know that God’s law is still applicable.

Getting back to my statement of breaking all ten, my discussion turned with the aforementioned gentleman and he asked me “But how have you broken them all? Surely you didn’t murder someone, right?” This is the way that I explained it to him.

1) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me… I have put other gods before the Lord. I have put emphasis on material things and even people and worshipped them. I gave time and money to my gods.

2) Thou shalt not make a graven image… I have made lots of these. Many of the things that I have created were given more emphasis than I did for the Lord.

3) Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain. Even though I’ve never been in the habit of swearing and using God’s Name as a swear word, I have taken His Name in vain. I took His Name when I asked the Lord to come into my heart 30 years ago. Since then, I have not always lived up to or acted like the Christian that I was supposed to be. Therefore, I took His Name in vain every time.

4) Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy… I have not kept the Sabbath lots of times in my life. I remember a time when I went for weeks without resting and focusing on My Lord for weeks at a time. It is one of the hardest things to do for a workaholic.

5) Honor your father and mother… When I think about the times that I shamed my parents, I cringe. All the times that I should have honored them with my presence and didn’t are now coming back to me.

6) Thou shalt not kill…. Jesus said that if we hold hatred in our hearts towards others that we’ve already committed murder- Matthew 5:21-22. Many times in my life I have committed murder in my heart.

7) Thou shalt not commit adultery… That’s right, I’m guilty. Jesus said that even looking on a woman to lust after her is already guilty.

8) Thou shalt not steal…I’ve taken material possessions that weren’t mine and I’ve even stolen time away from my family for hobbies that weren’t worth my time… guilty!

9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor… yep, you’ve got it. I’m guilty of gossip and lies about those around me. I’m trying to learn to keep my big mouth shut…

10)Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s possessions…Oh, Yeah. I’m sorry to disappoint you but even a plain, non-materialistic Christian has a battle with coveting. Even though I don’t desire the flashier stuff of this world, I still covet tools, land and other items that someone else owns and at times wish that I had them.


You see, I’m guilty of them all. Every time someone accuses someone else of breaking the “Big Ten” they are right! I think you might even agree that you’re not innocent either! The truth is we’re all guilty. We’ve been caught!


So what is a person to do? If we’ve broken God’s laws, how can we ever pay the fine? When I looked it up to see what it would cost me, I realized that I didn’t have enough in my bank account to cover it! Romans 6:23-


Jesus said that we have to repent -Mark 1:14-15- That means to turn around and go the other way. Where a person has made decisions to break God’s law in the past, they must now live differently. If we’ve been truly Born-Again we have the Spirit of God living in us and we feel guilty for breaking the laws. If we do break them after that, the Holy Spirit disciplines us and we won’t have peace until we are sorry and ask for forgiveness.


You can’t have life without pain. Remember, dead people feel no pain! That’s why they can sin and not feel like it’s wrong. Those that are alive in Christ will have the law written on their hearts Jeremiah 31:33 and32:40


So to finalize, we are all guilty! We have only one advocate with the Father, through the Son, Christ Jesus. Aren’t you glad that he paid the cost? Turn from your ways and sin no more!

WRITTEN BY PAUL BURRELL