Saints LightWhy Commandments at All?
God gave the commandments to a people He had just set free, to show them how to live in love and stay free. Catholics number them following St Augustine, while some other Christians group the same verses differently.
What this lesson teaches
- God gave the commandments after freeing His people, so they are a way of life for the free, not a burden for slaves.
- The commandments spell out what love of God and love of neighbor require in daily life.
- Catholics and Lutherans follow St Augustine's numbering; Orthodox and many Protestants group the same verses differently.
- Real freedom grows as we choose the good, because sin always ends up enslaving us.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 1950
- CCC 1733
- CCC 2055
- CCC 2066-2067
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Exodus 20:2-3; John 14:15; Psalm 118:32 (119:32 in most modern Bibles).
A sample question from this lesson
What does God say to Israel just before giving the commandments?
- That they must earn His favor by obeying
- That He brought them out of slavery in Egypt
- That the law will be replaced one day
- That only the priests must keep every rule
Show the answer
That He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. The commandments begin with God's rescue: "I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt." The law follows freedom, it does not buy it.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Decalogue
- From the Greek for "ten words": another name for the Ten Commandments.
- Moral law
- God's instruction on how to live well, written in our nature and revealed in Scripture.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"Why Commandments at All?" is lesson 1 of The Ten Commandments. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
Every course is open free for your first 14 days. After that, one payment of $14.99 unlocks every course. There is no subscription.
Related lessons
- Living as a Christian: Love, Commandments and Virtue (Start Here, free)