Conclusion
To the young man’s question about what he must do to inherit eternal life, the Lord Jesus Christ answered: “Keep the commandments!” and listed the commandments presented here (Mt. 19:16–22).
Summarizing them, we have seen that the first commandment calls us to place God at the center of our thoughts and aspirations; the second forbids bowing down to or serving anything instead of God and teaches us not to become enslaved to passions; the third teaches reverence toward God and His name; the fourth teaches to dedicate the seventh day of the week to Him and, in general, a portion of our life; the fifth teaches to honor parents and elders in general. The following four commandments instill respect for one’s neighbor and forbid causing him any harm: depriving him of life or harming his health, encroaching on his family life, his property, or damaging his honor. Finally, the last commandment forbids envy and calls for purity of heart.
Thus, the Ten Commandments provide people with the basic moral guidance necessary for building both private, family, and public life. Life shows that as long as a state in its legislation is guided by these moral principles and cares for their observance, life in the country proceeds normally. But when it departs from these principles and begins to trample them underfoot—whether it be a totalitarian or a democratic state—life in the country falls into disorder and catastrophe draws near.
The Lord Jesus Christ revealed the profound meaning of all the commandments, explaining that in essence they are reduced to the teaching of love for God and neighbor: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Mt. 22:37–40). In the light of such a deep understanding, the significance of the Ten Commandments lies in the fact that they clearly and precisely define in what our love should be expressed and what contradicts love.
In order for God’s commandments to benefit us, it is necessary to make them our own, that is, to strive so that they not only guide our actions but become our worldview, penetrate our subconscious, or, in the figurative expression of the prophet, be written by God on the tablets of our heart. Then, through personal experience, we will be convinced of their renewing power, about which the righteous King David wrote: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Ps. 1:1–3).