I just wanted to mention Matthew 21 : 16...Outta of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou has pefected Praise...These Children are the result of the seed of the sower...The living words of God the contents of the book ...As Jesus said the good seed are the Children of the kingdom that are gonna be born in us who hear his words and keeps them...Whosoever receiveth one such Child in my Name receiveth me...impling the Kingdom....These babes and sucklings scriptures originate from David Psalms 8 :2 kjv...outa of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou has perfected Praise....That you might still the enemy ( satan our old carnal minds are in rank with the Devil our enemy...But these children are Baby Christ as that which is born of the spriit is spirit...as God is Spirit.
...But God had these babes and sucklings in mind when he made that Great Promise that Christ wd be multiplied as the Stars of heaven in Multitude...That was the great Promise that Christ wd be multiplied as the Stars of Heaven thus the Children of the Kingdom which are spirits as the Babes and Sucklings are spirits...Which is the H.G. the Children of Promise that heavenly Gift...An Israel of God..Thats y Jesus wants to sow his precious seed in our hearts that we might birth one of these heavenly Children in our hearts which is the H.G..Thats y he is saying whosoever receiveth one such Child IN MY NAME RECEIVETH ME...And unless ya receive the Kingdom of God as a lil Child you will in no wise enter there in.
...We have a demonic enemy which is our carnal minds the flesh thus we must BIRTH a new heart and a new spirit...Which is the H.G. that Child of Promise A BABE and Suckling...That New Born babe desiring the sincere milk of the WORD is the H.G. that CHILD OF PROMISE...Thats y the woman in rev. 12 is giving birth to the babe and sucklings the H.G. the spirit of truth that is gona rule all nations..Humanity is the woman,...The world is gona have a Baby Christ,..Kings shall be your NURSING fathers.GB
Here's just my opinion, Hopefully others can help.
I believe it's prayer not a particular verse to meditate on is what's needed. However God may cause you to remember verse you have read or send a message or messenger to you, but I personally believe your focus should be on prayer and let God provide you the fruit needed for your request such as Forgiveness, Longsuffering, ect. these are things we can't manifest ourselves. I will say this, God knows what you need before you ask.
Hi , some one recently asked about an age of accountability but I can't find exactly where so I shall answer here if thats ok , just going from what God Himself has said in the Old Testament , these things may be worth consideration : Israelites were not permitted to go to war until they were twenty years old , Levites were not lowed to help carry the Tabernacle until they were twenty five years old and Levites were not permitted to perform priestly duties such as offering sacrifices etc until they were thirty years old and , the adults that wandered the dessert for forty years were not allowed to enter the promised land but their 'children ' of twenty years old and under were allowed to enter the promise land .
I believe the question is, "is water baptism ESSENTIAL for salvation?" No! It's the Holy spirit that gives life to a sinner dead in trespasses and sin.
Ephesians 1:22-Ephesians 2:1 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."
I was water baptized, it was ritual and pointed to what has already taken place once I believed. I was put into the body of believers by the spirit."
Now whatever good I do is by the power of the Holyspirit. that is what the baptism is all about. A NEW LIFE! The focus is on the resurrection! By which way were we given new life?
Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4.
The disciples were given a command to go out teach all nations baptizing them, which was a dispensational teaching. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matt 28:19.
What we have here is a picture of those being saved grafted into the genuine vine, one that gives life and produces fruit as seen in john 15:1-5. And Paul hammers at this in Romans 11.
The emphasis is on the Holyspirit empowering the believer.
Thanks for pointing that out. It should read "Here we have the quickening spirit by the "last" Adam that gives life under a new covenant where the old covenant brought death to the fleshly descendants of the first Adam. 1 Corinthians 15:45-50.
Hi again Betsy , I just remembered that when the adult Israelites were forbidden to enter the promised land , God permitted all their children of twenty years old and under to enter the land . Again , another indicator of God's thoughts on this matter .
Hi Betsy , hope you don't mind my input , if we look in the Old Testament we read that an Israelite was not allowed to go to war until they were twenty years old , a Levite was not allowed to help carry the Tabernacle until they were twenty five years old and a Levite could not do any priestly duties e.g. offer the sacrifices until they were thirty years old . Obviously these things do not apply to us , though they are an indication of God's thoughts on these matters .
The more precise translation of the original greek word in 1 Timothy 1:10 is "slave traders, enslavers". Probably the archaic English "menstealers" means quite the same.
How does our Lord teach us to forgive people who have truly hurt you, and with malice. and knowledge, and purpose? What verse can I have that will make this doable for me?
" 1 timothy 1:10" may this translation be better: for adulterers, for men who have sexual intercourse with men, for people who engage in human trafficking, for liars, for those who swear falsely and everything else that stands in the way of sound doctrine. Just to name it: KJV is the best translation, the one best understood by All Bibles in this world.
Stay strong in the word and God bless u and yours in Jesus name, love u in Christ. John 5:24-29
Good choice. I'm baptized as well for the same reason. I was merely stating a fact that we are baptized of the spirit already tho it wont hurt to do both. God bless "Texsis"
Most likely to avoid eating any meat in case it was offered to an idol. But it could mean being vegetarian, claiming that in the beginning man was not to eat meat. But that was changed by God with Noah after the Flood.
I believe that we should obey the commands of Jesus Christ given to us from His mouth in His earthly life before He died and resurrected along with those commands He gave us after His resurrection. He commanded us to be baptized. So, to me, it is a small thing to chose to obey Him in this. It is how we show that we love Him.
The rest of the chapter speaks about how to build an altar, offer sacrifices, and warns against making anything manmade for worship, whether it is an idol or a graven altar. Both are not allowed ever. The last command is to not have steps to ascend to an altar because this may expose the priest's nakedness. So, altars are to be ground level, priests are to dress modestly so that they are not exposed in approaching God for their duties. I like this idea of having our worship, worship aids, and attire be "down to earth" level. I think that we are to be humble and not fancy, not showy, not immodest, not ornamented, when we worship, whether we lead worship or lift our worship up in the congregation. Our worship should be lifted up, not ourselves, our altar (our heart), our skills to create fancy things.
The last commandment is concerning covetness. This is a "thought" sin. It is desiring in our hearts to have what rightfully belongs to another. We are not to scheme ways to acquire such things or person by deceit or wrong dealings. We are to not be envious of others or jealous of what they have, thinking that they should surely be made to share their wealth with others. (It is up to the wealthy to decide what to do with their wealth, not us or the government.) It is to think snarkily about others who are prospering. It is to encroach on a property line inch by inch. There are so many ways to covet. It begins in our minds and then moves to scheming to find ways to obtain what they have and then acting on these schemes. We get to keep what we have earned and worked for and others get to do the same with their own property, wealth, family, and "stuff" (even job position, if you work with someone-even a promotion or honor given to another).
These are the 10 commandments. These are not the whole of the Law God gives to the Israelites, but it is the basic tenets that keep a society civil and moral. If God had said, "Love God and love your neighbor" without spelling it out as He did, people would redefine this in so many nefarious ways, allowing for multitudes of sinful ways to be seen as o.k.
Jesus later takes theses commandments down to even a finer detail in the Sermon on the Mount.
Well, the people saw all of the thunderings of the trumpets and lightning flashes and the mountain smoking. They trembled and drew farther back away from the base of the mountain, telling Moses to have God speak to him, not to them, fearing they will die if God speaks directly to them. Moses tells them not to fear, for God has come to them to keep them from sinning. Moses then returns and draws near to the thickening darkness where God was. Are we willing to go into such a state as Moses did to be where God is and is ready to meet with us personally?
As a spouse, we are to love our spouse even when we don't "feel" like it. In such times we should pray for God to create a deeper love for our spouse than we currently possess. We should be willing to go the distance with our spouse, never giving a foothold for the devil to tempt us away from our commitment to him/her. We should guard what we see, hear, do as well as who we spend time with. We should not keep company alone with someone who is not our spouse (of the opposite sex). This is a doorway to temptation to adultery, whether physical or emotional.
The next one: You shall not steal (they neighbors wife/husband-for one). We are to be honest in our business dealings with others. Respect the business owner by paying fairly for goods and services. Don't excuse cheating someone out of what they are owed because "they are rich and can afford to have me steal this." Do not steal other people's time by not paying them for work done that you hired them to do. Also, don't steal away someone's opportunity to learn, such as disrupting class in school regularly. We are to value the time, effort, and skill of others and be willing to pay a fair compensation for these. We are to make proper use of office or work supplies, not taking some home for private us or mismanaging equipment for private use.
We are to do the work we are hired for with diligence, not be a loafer. We are to honor the hiring contract of our boss and work the specified hours without taking short cuts or doing sloppy work. This is stealing company time.
We are to keep from lying to or giving false information about someone else. We are to tell the truth. We should not withhold truthful information and so implicate another by ommission of information that can clear them. We are not to over-embelish the truth, exaggerate, or skew the information to make us look good. This commandments is mostly about testifying for or against another in court. But it applies to all areas of life.
The seventh day is to be reserved for rest from work. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God did not need to rest. He has no need for the Sabbath, but man needs such rest and time to focus on rejuvenating his strength and refocusing his life onto God. God refers back to the order of creation from Genesis and the establishment of the seventh day rest for the first time in history.
Honor thy father and mother. This command comes with a promise of long life in the land God brings them to. We are to obey our parents as children as unto the LORD. (as if we are obeying God). But honoring them is an additional matter. We honor them by speaking well of them to others, by being grateful to them, by taking care of them as they age, and remembering them with respect after their passing.
Then we come to the prohibition against murder. This is not referring to self-defense nor to war. But it is about the preserving of life as much as we are able to do. It means we do not do anything to do harm to another's body/health/ or life. WE do not do anything to hasten the death of another. We do not actively do anything that will end a life. We recognize that each person is made in the image of God and therefore worth preserving and upholding. This commandment is all about loving others. It is about respecting others and refusing to dehumanize anyone no matter if they are in the womb, very impaired, or very aged. It means that we recognize that all life comes from God and He alone is the one to determine when a life begins and when a life will end.
Next, we come to adultery. This command covers all sexual sins. It limits sexual expression to marriage between one man and one woman. Anything done sexually outside of marriage is sinful and harmful to those engaging in it. it defiles the marriage bed, whether this exists to the person at present or is in the future. As a married person, we are to honor our spouse all of our life.
God goes on to warn that He is a jealous God. This is saying He claims the Israelites as His own people; they need to claim Him as their only God. He has every right to claim them and to set them apart for His glory. He warns them that the iniquities of those before him will be visited upon their future generations if they come to hate Him by worshipping other gods. This is interesting. The Bible is clear that each person is guilty of their own sins, not those of others. So what does He mean by this? I think it means that breaking these first commands concerning worshipping Him alone without images will be hard to break from the practice of their families coming after them. It will have a devastating effect on their future generations. It is difficult to undo such sin in ones family line. Tradition is hard to break.
But to those who stay true to Him, He will bless them with mercy upon mercy, time and time again. Those who love Him and keep His commandments will be favored by God. Jesus is the only one who kept these commandments perfectly. He was the Beloved Son in Whom the Father is well pleased.
The next command is to not take the LORD's name in vain. Not only does this address using the LORD's name in a cursing way, but also in a flippant way, or as an expression of surprise or shock, as is common in our society today. We should always use our God's name reverently and with sincerity. If we call on Jesus to help us, we do so in faith. If we exclaim in wonder using the LORD's name, we should be sure that we are honestly praising Him. I think that being a guard over our speech is very important. It is a witness to others concerning our value of our God and our commitment to Him and His ways. Jesus never said an idle word, a wrongly applied word, an unnecessary word. May we also, keep a close watch over our conversations.
The next command concerns the keeping of the Sabbath. It is to be taken after six days of work.
This is the chapter where God gives the Israelites the 10 commandments for the first time. First of all, Verse one says that God SPOKE all of these words of the commandments. These commands did not come from the mind of men, but rom the wisdom and perfect will of God. He didn't impress onto Moses' mind to inspire Moses to write these commands. God TOLD Moses audibly. It think this is significant. God wanted to make it plain that it was Him and Him alone who determined these commandments. And since He is the originator of these commands and the true God, He alone has the right to demand obedience to them.
He clearly states that He is THE LORD (the Supreme One) who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It was he Who performed the great miracles and deliverance for the people, not Moses. Moses was His instrument that He worked through. We should always remember that it is God Who is at work in us to do His will and works. God brought them out of bondage. They are now free, but this freedom must be used to obey God and serve Him alone. Verse 3 commands that the Israelites are to refuse to accept any other gods but Himself. They were familiar with the many gods of Egypt and will encounter the polytheism of the Canaanites soon enough. In our society today we are being pressed to "accept" the religious beliefs and practices of non-Christians as being "on par' with Christianity. We are to not compromise on this! Not tolerate, nor accept anything pagan.
Verse 4 absolutely prohibits the manufacture of any graven image to be used as an idol in worship, even if it is an "image" for Himself. They are not to carve or mold anything in the likeness of any created thing, either of heaven or of earth. So, this leaves out images of angels, animals, ancestors, idealized humans, hybrid creatures, or any image of the imagination. We are to not give any form of worship to such things, whether bowing down, setting up in a niche. NO, NO, NO! NEVER
what is the correct translation for 1 Timothy 1:10 - "For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;" ? some translations say menstealer like the KJV does while others say salve traders, enslavers, ect.
1 Corinthians 12:13 - For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Bible verses related to Baptism Of The Holy Spirit from the King James Version (KJV) by Book Order. John 3:5 - Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 1:5 - For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost
Not sure what is meant by 2nd Adam or conversation in times past.? Only 1 Adam in the bible and we only live once till we die and go to heaven with Christ or hell with satan.
Thanks Suze for the good thought. Gen. 25:34 "Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright". It was like it meant nothing to him. Hebrews 12:16 is another warning to us as believers "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright".
Qs...I've heard 2 different things about baptism. What is your opinion? I believe that once Christ resurrected for us and we are spiritually baptized once we except Him in all that apply, there is no need to get water baptism. can yet not necessary. Yet I keep getting flack for it.
The "Age of Accountability" matter has come up here before, where someone asked what that age might be - he/she suggested 8 yrs of age, if I remember. Various answers were given, from age 5 to teen years. My understanding of the 'age of accountability', which would differ between children, is the age when the child knows that he has committed sin, that sin is both wrong and is accountable before God, and the child needs to recognize that his sin has separated him from God. And then, to understand the message of the Gospel, to repent, & to receive Christ. If this doesn't happen at this 'early' age, then there will be many children going to Hell without receiving Christ & being born again. Sin is sin, no matter our age - when we do wrong & display our carnal nature, we are accountable for it - there isn't a time of grace where manifested sin is overlooked.
So, when you asked, "So you do not believe in the scriptural "Age of Accountability"?", I do believe in an 'age of accountability', but unsure what you mean by the "scriptural Age of Accountability". Is there one even given, or does that age not actually represent an age in years, but an age of understanding & giving an heart-felt response? Those living in Jesus' Day & under the Law, were taught from childhood about the Law, obedience to it, of God's Character, & days to be observed. They lived under the Law & by it God judged them. After the crucifixion, the Law was abrogated, the Law that only brought death ( Romans 7:10). "for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law" ( Galatians 3:21) & there wouldn't have been a need for Jesus' Death. So, I simply share this to highlight that, pre-Cross, the Hebrew child was taught the Law, of sin & urged to keep the Law (age was of no concern). Post-Cross, the child is alerted when wrong is committed (i.e. God's Law is broken), but now there is an immediate solution found in the Cross, & faith in Jesus.
God has permitted all His Words to be brought together in the Bible we have now that we may know everything He wants us to know. I don't think you're referring to the many versions of the Bible available now (e.g. KJV, NIV, etc.), but to the Bible with the accepted Books within. If so, then what we have now, as has been canonized by reputable, studied men of God, should be sufficient for our spiritual needs. And this canonization wasn't a haphazard putting together of various manuscripts collected from various sources, but a dedicated attempt to analyse texts, authors, references against each other, and so on, thereby eliminating other spurious writings (of which there have been many) that have contradicted or opposed accepted Scripture. This is not to say there is no Truth in these extra-biblical writings, but when error is detected, then great caution must be taken about incorporating them into the Bible, as readers can be led to believing error - and many are not alert or informed sufficiently to easily detect such errors.
So I believe what we have in our hands now is what God has allowed, or ordained, guiding not only the writers of the Books (of the Bible), but also those who were tasked of incorporating particular books into the Bible we have now. So, it then becomes a matter of whether those extra-biblical books should be read and/or incorporated in the Bible. This then is the personal choice of the reader to make. Since the Infancy Gospel has come up now, I regard this as a particularly vile account of Jesus' early life, a time of His Life that none of the four Gospel writers were inspired to include - and I feel sure they would have certainly done so, if prompted to do. Jesus would have grown up as a normal little boy, yet demonstrating holiness in life, separation from the wrong-doings of the other kids, & sharing wisdom beyond His years & spiritual maturity. This I don't consistently see in this gospel, hence rightly regarded as spurious.
Why do the church always dress Jesus's in fancy clothing?
Why does the church always dress Jesus's, Mother Mary and the Angels with gold, silver and diamonds?
...But God had these babes and sucklings in mind when he made that Great Promise that Christ wd be multiplied as the Stars of heaven in Multitude...That was the great Promise that Christ wd be multiplied as the Stars of Heaven thus the Children of the Kingdom which are spirits as the Babes and Sucklings are spirits...Which is the H.G. the Children of Promise that heavenly Gift...An Israel of God..Thats y Jesus wants to sow his precious seed in our hearts that we might birth one of these heavenly Children in our hearts which is the H.G..Thats y he is saying whosoever receiveth one such Child IN MY NAME RECEIVETH ME...And unless ya receive the Kingdom of God as a lil Child you will in no wise enter there in.
...We have a demonic enemy which is our carnal minds the flesh thus we must BIRTH a new heart and a new spirit...Which is the H.G. that Child of Promise A BABE and Suckling...That New Born babe desiring the sincere milk of the WORD is the H.G. that CHILD OF PROMISE...Thats y the woman in rev. 12 is giving birth to the babe and sucklings the H.G. the spirit of truth that is gona rule all nations..Humanity is the woman,...The world is gona have a Baby Christ,..Kings shall be your NURSING fathers.GB
Here's just my opinion, Hopefully others can help.
I believe it's prayer not a particular verse to meditate on is what's needed. However God may cause you to remember verse you have read or send a message or messenger to you, but I personally believe your focus should be on prayer and let God provide you the fruit needed for your request such as Forgiveness, Longsuffering, ect. these are things we can't manifest ourselves. I will say this, God knows what you need before you ask.
God bless.
Thanks for replying.
I believe the question is, "is water baptism ESSENTIAL for salvation?" No! It's the Holy spirit that gives life to a sinner dead in trespasses and sin.
Ephesians 1:22- Ephesians 2:1 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."
I was water baptized, it was ritual and pointed to what has already taken place once I believed. I was put into the body of believers by the spirit."
Now whatever good I do is by the power of the Holyspirit. that is what the baptism is all about. A NEW LIFE! The focus is on the resurrection! By which way were we given new life?
Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4.
The disciples were given a command to go out teach all nations baptizing them, which was a dispensational teaching. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matt 28:19.
What we have here is a picture of those being saved grafted into the genuine vine, one that gives life and produces fruit as seen in john 15:1-5. And Paul hammers at this in Romans 11.
The emphasis is on the Holyspirit empowering the believer.
God bless.
Thanks for pointing that out. It should read "Here we have the quickening spirit by the "last" Adam that gives life under a new covenant where the old covenant brought death to the fleshly descendants of the first Adam. 1 Corinthians 15:45-50.
God bless.
.
Stay strong in the word and God bless u and yours in Jesus name, love u in Christ. John 5:24-29
I believe that we should obey the commands of Jesus Christ given to us from His mouth in His earthly life before He died and resurrected along with those commands He gave us after His resurrection. He commanded us to be baptized. So, to me, it is a small thing to chose to obey Him in this. It is how we show that we love Him.
The rest of the chapter speaks about how to build an altar, offer sacrifices, and warns against making anything manmade for worship, whether it is an idol or a graven altar. Both are not allowed ever. The last command is to not have steps to ascend to an altar because this may expose the priest's nakedness. So, altars are to be ground level, priests are to dress modestly so that they are not exposed in approaching God for their duties. I like this idea of having our worship, worship aids, and attire be "down to earth" level. I think that we are to be humble and not fancy, not showy, not immodest, not ornamented, when we worship, whether we lead worship or lift our worship up in the congregation. Our worship should be lifted up, not ourselves, our altar (our heart), our skills to create fancy things.
The last commandment is concerning covetness. This is a "thought" sin. It is desiring in our hearts to have what rightfully belongs to another. We are not to scheme ways to acquire such things or person by deceit or wrong dealings. We are to not be envious of others or jealous of what they have, thinking that they should surely be made to share their wealth with others. (It is up to the wealthy to decide what to do with their wealth, not us or the government.) It is to think snarkily about others who are prospering. It is to encroach on a property line inch by inch. There are so many ways to covet. It begins in our minds and then moves to scheming to find ways to obtain what they have and then acting on these schemes. We get to keep what we have earned and worked for and others get to do the same with their own property, wealth, family, and "stuff" (even job position, if you work with someone-even a promotion or honor given to another).
These are the 10 commandments. These are not the whole of the Law God gives to the Israelites, but it is the basic tenets that keep a society civil and moral. If God had said, "Love God and love your neighbor" without spelling it out as He did, people would redefine this in so many nefarious ways, allowing for multitudes of sinful ways to be seen as o.k.
Jesus later takes theses commandments down to even a finer detail in the Sermon on the Mount.
Well, the people saw all of the thunderings of the trumpets and lightning flashes and the mountain smoking. They trembled and drew farther back away from the base of the mountain, telling Moses to have God speak to him, not to them, fearing they will die if God speaks directly to them. Moses tells them not to fear, for God has come to them to keep them from sinning. Moses then returns and draws near to the thickening darkness where God was. Are we willing to go into such a state as Moses did to be where God is and is ready to meet with us personally?
As a spouse, we are to love our spouse even when we don't "feel" like it. In such times we should pray for God to create a deeper love for our spouse than we currently possess. We should be willing to go the distance with our spouse, never giving a foothold for the devil to tempt us away from our commitment to him/her. We should guard what we see, hear, do as well as who we spend time with. We should not keep company alone with someone who is not our spouse (of the opposite sex). This is a doorway to temptation to adultery, whether physical or emotional.
The next one: You shall not steal (they neighbors wife/husband-for one). We are to be honest in our business dealings with others. Respect the business owner by paying fairly for goods and services. Don't excuse cheating someone out of what they are owed because "they are rich and can afford to have me steal this." Do not steal other people's time by not paying them for work done that you hired them to do. Also, don't steal away someone's opportunity to learn, such as disrupting class in school regularly. We are to value the time, effort, and skill of others and be willing to pay a fair compensation for these. We are to make proper use of office or work supplies, not taking some home for private us or mismanaging equipment for private use.
We are to do the work we are hired for with diligence, not be a loafer. We are to honor the hiring contract of our boss and work the specified hours without taking short cuts or doing sloppy work. This is stealing company time.
We are to keep from lying to or giving false information about someone else. We are to tell the truth. We should not withhold truthful information and so implicate another by ommission of information that can clear them. We are not to over-embelish the truth, exaggerate, or skew the information to make us look good. This commandments is mostly about testifying for or against another in court. But it applies to all areas of life.
The seventh day is to be reserved for rest from work. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God did not need to rest. He has no need for the Sabbath, but man needs such rest and time to focus on rejuvenating his strength and refocusing his life onto God. God refers back to the order of creation from Genesis and the establishment of the seventh day rest for the first time in history.
Honor thy father and mother. This command comes with a promise of long life in the land God brings them to. We are to obey our parents as children as unto the LORD. (as if we are obeying God). But honoring them is an additional matter. We honor them by speaking well of them to others, by being grateful to them, by taking care of them as they age, and remembering them with respect after their passing.
Then we come to the prohibition against murder. This is not referring to self-defense nor to war. But it is about the preserving of life as much as we are able to do. It means we do not do anything to do harm to another's body/health/ or life. WE do not do anything to hasten the death of another. We do not actively do anything that will end a life. We recognize that each person is made in the image of God and therefore worth preserving and upholding. This commandment is all about loving others. It is about respecting others and refusing to dehumanize anyone no matter if they are in the womb, very impaired, or very aged. It means that we recognize that all life comes from God and He alone is the one to determine when a life begins and when a life will end.
Next, we come to adultery. This command covers all sexual sins. It limits sexual expression to marriage between one man and one woman. Anything done sexually outside of marriage is sinful and harmful to those engaging in it. it defiles the marriage bed, whether this exists to the person at present or is in the future. As a married person, we are to honor our spouse all of our life.
God goes on to warn that He is a jealous God. This is saying He claims the Israelites as His own people; they need to claim Him as their only God. He has every right to claim them and to set them apart for His glory. He warns them that the iniquities of those before him will be visited upon their future generations if they come to hate Him by worshipping other gods. This is interesting. The Bible is clear that each person is guilty of their own sins, not those of others. So what does He mean by this? I think it means that breaking these first commands concerning worshipping Him alone without images will be hard to break from the practice of their families coming after them. It will have a devastating effect on their future generations. It is difficult to undo such sin in ones family line. Tradition is hard to break.
But to those who stay true to Him, He will bless them with mercy upon mercy, time and time again. Those who love Him and keep His commandments will be favored by God. Jesus is the only one who kept these commandments perfectly. He was the Beloved Son in Whom the Father is well pleased.
The next command is to not take the LORD's name in vain. Not only does this address using the LORD's name in a cursing way, but also in a flippant way, or as an expression of surprise or shock, as is common in our society today. We should always use our God's name reverently and with sincerity. If we call on Jesus to help us, we do so in faith. If we exclaim in wonder using the LORD's name, we should be sure that we are honestly praising Him. I think that being a guard over our speech is very important. It is a witness to others concerning our value of our God and our commitment to Him and His ways. Jesus never said an idle word, a wrongly applied word, an unnecessary word. May we also, keep a close watch over our conversations.
The next command concerns the keeping of the Sabbath. It is to be taken after six days of work.
This is the chapter where God gives the Israelites the 10 commandments for the first time. First of all, Verse one says that God SPOKE all of these words of the commandments. These commands did not come from the mind of men, but rom the wisdom and perfect will of God. He didn't impress onto Moses' mind to inspire Moses to write these commands. God TOLD Moses audibly. It think this is significant. God wanted to make it plain that it was Him and Him alone who determined these commandments. And since He is the originator of these commands and the true God, He alone has the right to demand obedience to them.
He clearly states that He is THE LORD (the Supreme One) who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It was he Who performed the great miracles and deliverance for the people, not Moses. Moses was His instrument that He worked through. We should always remember that it is God Who is at work in us to do His will and works. God brought them out of bondage. They are now free, but this freedom must be used to obey God and serve Him alone. Verse 3 commands that the Israelites are to refuse to accept any other gods but Himself. They were familiar with the many gods of Egypt and will encounter the polytheism of the Canaanites soon enough. In our society today we are being pressed to "accept" the religious beliefs and practices of non-Christians as being "on par' with Christianity. We are to not compromise on this! Not tolerate, nor accept anything pagan.
Verse 4 absolutely prohibits the manufacture of any graven image to be used as an idol in worship, even if it is an "image" for Himself. They are not to carve or mold anything in the likeness of any created thing, either of heaven or of earth. So, this leaves out images of angels, animals, ancestors, idealized humans, hybrid creatures, or any image of the imagination. We are to not give any form of worship to such things, whether bowing down, setting up in a niche. NO, NO, NO! NEVER
So, when you asked, "So you do not believe in the scriptural "Age of Accountability"?", I do believe in an 'age of accountability', but unsure what you mean by the "scriptural Age of Accountability". Is there one even given, or does that age not actually represent an age in years, but an age of understanding & giving an heart-felt response? Those living in Jesus' Day & under the Law, were taught from childhood about the Law, obedience to it, of God's Character, & days to be observed. They lived under the Law & by it God judged them. After the crucifixion, the Law was abrogated, the Law that only brought death ( Romans 7:10). "for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law" ( Galatians 3:21) & there wouldn't have been a need for Jesus' Death. So, I simply share this to highlight that, pre-Cross, the Hebrew child was taught the Law, of sin & urged to keep the Law (age was of no concern). Post-Cross, the child is alerted when wrong is committed (i.e. God's Law is broken), but now there is an immediate solution found in the Cross, & faith in Jesus.
So I believe what we have in our hands now is what God has allowed, or ordained, guiding not only the writers of the Books (of the Bible), but also those who were tasked of incorporating particular books into the Bible we have now. So, it then becomes a matter of whether those extra-biblical books should be read and/or incorporated in the Bible. This then is the personal choice of the reader to make. Since the Infancy Gospel has come up now, I regard this as a particularly vile account of Jesus' early life, a time of His Life that none of the four Gospel writers were inspired to include - and I feel sure they would have certainly done so, if prompted to do. Jesus would have grown up as a normal little boy, yet demonstrating holiness in life, separation from the wrong-doings of the other kids, & sharing wisdom beyond His years & spiritual maturity. This I don't consistently see in this gospel, hence rightly regarded as spurious.