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Aside from
looking at the majesty of His creation, a second proof for the
existence of God is the CONSCIENCE. What is your conscience
anyway? Think about it. Your conscience is that little voice
inside of your head that tells you when you have done or said
something wrong. Even as a child your conscience spoke to you
and told you the difference between right and wrong. Where does
it come from? What does it say and why? The Bible says this:
- For when the
Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.
(Romans 2:14-15)
- For since the
creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
(Romans 1:20)
The law the Bible
speaks of here is the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). This is
God's standard of right and wrong which He has taken the time to
carefully engrave into the individual hearts of all men and
women. The conscience is UNIVERSAL. Everyone everywhere has a
conscience and everyone's conscience lines up exactly with the
Ten Commandments, even if they're never even heard of or read
the Bible before (examine
the evidence that proves God wrote the Bible here).
It is for this reason that everyone is "without excuse"
in Romans 1:20, because no one can ever say that they didn't
know the difference between right and wrong. Everyone has an
inner, God-given light that automatically gives them the
knowledge of right and wrong. In fact, the word "con-science"
literally means "with-knowledge." So every time you break one
of God's Ten Commandments, you know in your heart that you have done
something wrong.
The Bible says
that SIN is what you commit every time that you break one of the
Ten Commandments (1 John 3:4). It also says: It is appointed
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews
9:27). The Lord has set aside a day in which He will judge the
whole world in righteousness according to whether or not they
have kept His standard of goodness (Acts 17:31). Not only will
God judge your actions, He will also look at your thoughts and
the intentions of your heart. Nothing is hid from His eyes,
right down to every idle word you have ever spoken: Every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). How will you do on
the Day of Judgment? The most important question you must ask
yourself in life is this: Am I good enough to go to
Heaven? Let's go through the Commandments and just see how
well you will do when you stand before God on the Day of
Judgment. Examine your conscience and ask yourself if you have
obeyed the following:
The Ten Commandments
1. I am the LORD
thy God, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
 Is God the number
one priority in your life? Do you love God above all else? If
you're anything like me, you have not done this 100% of the
time. If you place more affection on anything else in your life,
whether it be money, a career, children, your spouse, hobbies,
food, clothing, entertainment, etc; more than you do on God,
then you are breaking this commandment. You are are choosing to
love the gifts rather than the Giver of these
gifts. In fact, Jesus said that the love we have for our own
family members and even our own lives should seem like hatred
compared to our love for God (Luke 14:26).
God also commands
us to love our neighbor just as much as we love ourselves. Jesus
spoke of a Samaritan who found an injured stranger, bathed his
wounds, carried him to an inn, gave money for his care and told
the inn-keeper that he would pay him back for his expenses (Luke
10). We call him the good Samaritan, but in reality he
wasn't "good" at all, he merely obeyed the basic command to love
his neighbor as himself. That is a picture of how God expects us
to love our fellow human beings. We should love them as much as
we love ourselves, whether they be our friend or foe.
Have you loved God
with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Have you loved your neighbor as much as you love yourself?
(Matthew 22:39) You be the judge. Will you be innocent or guilty
on Judgment Day of breaking the first Commandment? Judge
yourself before the Day of Judgment, when it will be too
late. The sentence for breaking this Commandment is death.
2. Thou shalt not
make unto thee any graven image.
  
Thou shalt not
make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate
me.
(Exodus 20:4-5)
God commands us not
to make a god to suit ourselves, either with our hands or with
our mind. Many people are guilty of this. If your god doesn't
mind sin, even a "white" lie or a "fib" here and there - then he
doesn't exist. This god is not the righteous God of the Bible,
he is a figment of your imagination, an "image" you have shaped
in your mind to suit your own sins. Is your God the One revealed
in Holy Scriptures? If not, then you have made your own god to
suit yourself and committed the oldest sin in the Book,
it's called IDOLATRY. The Bible warns that no idolater will
enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Revelation 21:8; 1 Corinthians
6:9-10).
3. Thou shalt not
take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not
hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Have you ever taken God's name in vain (Example: "Oh my G-d!") or
used it in anger? When you do this, you are taking the name of
the God who gave you your very life and everything you hold
dear, including every breath you draw, and substituting it for a
swear word to express disgust. This is called BLASPHEMY and it's
a very serious sin against God. Think about this: Adolph Hitler,
who is one of the worst war criminals of all time, murdered
millions upon millions of innocent people: his name isn't even
despised enough to use as a curse word but that is exactly how
you have used God's name when you commit the sin of blasphemy.
The Bible says that no blasphemer will enter the Kingdom of God.
4. Remember the
sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Most people have
completely ignored this commandment. Even though God has given
you the precious gift of life, have you ever once thought to ask
Him what He requires of you? Are you guilty of breaking this
Commandment?
5. Honour thy
father and thy mother.
Have you always implicitly honored your parents in a way
that's pleasing in the sight of God? Think back to your teenage
years when you were around fifteen to eighteen years old. Did
you ever speak back to your mother and father or just outright
disobey them? Ask God to remind you of the sins of your youth.
You may have forgotten all about them but God most certainly has
not. The penalty for breaking this commandment is death.
6. Thou shalt not
kill.
This commandment
refers to
MURDER, taking the life of an innocent person. Have you ever
murdered anyone? Perhaps you say that you haven't but Jesus said
that whoever hates his neighbor, is angry at him without cause,
or calls him a fool IS a murderer in his heart (Matthew
5:21-22). We can violate God's Law by action as well as intent.
He sees directly into our hearts. Despite what society may say,
God considers taking the life of an innocent unborn child
(abortion) to be murder. The Bible says that no murderer will
enter Heaven (Revelation 21:8).
7. Thou shalt not
commit adultery.
 Have
you ever committed the act of adultery? You may deny this but
Jesus warned, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old
time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That
whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).
Have you ever looked at another person with lustful thoughts and
desires? To God, this is the same thing as adultery. Even though
you may have not performed a physical act, He judges the intent of
your heart, that's how perfect He is and how high His standard
of goodness is. Remember that God has seen every thought you
have ever had and every sin you have ever committed. The day
will come when you have to face His Holy Law. We are told that
the all of the sexually impure and immoral such as fornicators
(those who have had sex outside of marriage) and adulterers will
not enter the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Homosexuality is also included in this Commandment, the Bible
says that no homosexual will be allowed into Heaven (Romans 1:
27-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Punishment for the transgression of
this Commandment is the death penalty.
8. Thou shalt not
steal.
 Have
you ever stolen anything? Here is the definition of theft in
case you need to be reminded: TAKING SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT
BELONG TO YOU. It could be anything; office supplies from work,
a candy bar from the store when you were a kid, music illegally
downloaded off of the internet, even stealing time from your
boss by leaving work early. If you have, then you are a THIEF
and you cannot enter God's Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The
value of the item you have stolen is irrelevant. If I opened up
your wallet and took out $1 or $100 it wouldn't make any
difference, I would still be considered a thief.
9. Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Have you ever told a lie? Then you are a LIAR. How many lies do you
have to tell to be a liar? Just one. If you murdered one person
you would be a murderer, if you raped one person you would be a
rapist, so if you even told just one lie during your life,
that makes you a liar. This includes white lies, fibs,
half-truths, over-embellishments, and plain boldfaced lies. How
many lies do you think you've told during the course of your
life? 1 lie? 10 lies? 38 lies? 182 lies? 1,527 lies? You have
probably told so many lies that you can't even count all of them, proving that you have the capacity and intent within
your heart to willfully deceive another person. You are
definitely a liar and so am I! The Bible warns that all liars
will have their part in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8).
You may not think deceitfulness is a serious sin but God does.
10. Thou shalt
not covet.
Maybe you think that you're doing good so far but wait until you
take a look at the Tenth Commandment. God commands you not to
desire anything that belongs to another person. Try turning on
the television set for fifteen minutes before seeing
something that you must have! However, when you do
this, you're implying to God that you're ungrateful and
unappreciative with what gifts He has already given you. The
Bible says that the covetous will not inherit the Kingdom of God
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
You may think that
you're good compared to other people, but the Bible says this:
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one
point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10) This means that
even if the only sin you've ever committed in your entire life
is telling one lie, to God you're just as guilty as a mass
murderer. None of us can escape the eternal weight of God's Holy
Law. There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.[…] For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-12,
23).
Many of us would agree that we are relatively good compared to
man's standards but when we look at ourselves under the light of
God's Holy Law we all fall miserably short (Romans 3:23). The Ten
Commandments are like a mirror, they allow you to see yourself
in truth.
The sight that you see in the mirror is definitely not pretty, but
if you don't face it and acknowledge that you are unclean, then
all that "dirt" will be presented on Judgment Day as evidence of
your guilt and it will be too late to be cleansed.
Please continue
to learn how you can obtain forgiveness from your sins on the
Day of Judgment to avoid spending eternity in Hell.
To
learn more about how to avoid spending eternity in
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