Simple Explanation Of Each Commandment

Simple Explanations of God’s Scriptural Ten Commandments, along with a brief explanation of each. 

1. Do not have any “gods of others” before My Presences. (No trespassing against the TRIUNE GOD.)
We should fear, love and trust in God [God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit] above all things.
The most common English translation of the First Commandment is, “You shall not have other gods before Me.”  This translation is the main source of confusion for many people who want to serve the One True God but reject Jesus Christ as God.  The first commandment does not prohibit worship of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit along with God the Father.  This view is reinforced in Psalm 45:6-7 (where God the Father calls Jesus Christ "God"), Acts 5:3-4 (where Peter calls God the Holy Spirit "God"), Genesis 16:7-14, 21:17-20 (Hagar, mother of Ishmael, declared Jesus Christ, God who sees and cares), Genesis 22:10-18 (when pre-incarnate Christ stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac), Genesis 31:10-13,32: 24-32  (when pre-incarnate Christ met Jacob), Exodus 3:2-22 (when pre-incarnate Christ met Moses), Exodus 14:19 (when pre-incarnate Christ led Israel through the Red Sea), Joshua 5:13-15 (Joshua bows down with his face on the ground and worships Jesus Christ, the Captain of the Lord's Army), Zechariah 3:4 (Jesus Christ pardons the guilt/sins of Joshua, the high priest), to name a few.

2. Do not make an idol for yourself. Do not worship or serve them. (No trespassing against the TRIUNE GOD.)
We should fear and love God, that we may not spend our God-given resources and energy on worthless idols, even in the name of the Triune God.  Idols have always been a trap in the life of God’s people.  God-given resources and energy should only be used to meditate and spread the Gospel.  Idols can take many forms including extreme devotion to family, other human beings, tradition, education, career, wealth, even church building instead of devotion to the Triune God. 

3. Do not use the name of the LORD your God in a useless way. (No trespassing against the TRIUNE GOD'S NAME, REPUTATION.)
We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft (includes astrology, palm reading, observing omen, talking to dead and similar activities), lie, or deceive by His (the Triune God’s) name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

4. Remember to keep the Sabbath day [rest day] holy. (No trespassing against the TRIUNE GOD'S WORD.)
We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Christians should refrain from using Sundays for shopping, entertaining, catching up with work, exercising, sporting activities, etc. Sabbath should be used to worship and learn more about the Triune God.

5. Honor your father and your mother. (No trespassing against AUTHORITY.)
We should fear and love God that we may not despise our parents and other authorities (e.g., a country's premier / president / prime minister, government authorities, boss at work, teachers, pastors, etc.), nor provoke them to anger, but give them honor, serve and obey them, and hold them in love and esteem.

6. Do not murder. (No trespassing against HUMAN LIFE.)
We should fear and love God that we may not hurt, harm or insult (Matthew 5:22) any human being in his/her body or soul, but help and support him/her in every physical and spiritual need.

7. Do not commit adultery. (No trespassing against SEXUAL CLEANNESS.)
We should fear and love God that we may lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say (no obscene words) and do, and each love and honor his/her spouse.

8. Do not steal. (No trespassing against YOUR NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY AND BUSINESS.)
We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or possessions, nor get them in any dishonest way, but help him/her to improve and protect his/her possessions and income.

9. Do not lie concerning your neighbor. (No trespassing against YOUR NEIGHBOR'S GOOD REPUTATION.)
We should fear and love God that we may not tell lies, betray, slander our neighbor, or hurt his/her reputation, but defend him/her, speak well of him/her, and put the best construction on everything.

10. Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female servant, his ox, donkey, or anything that is his. (No trespassing against having HOLY THOUGHTS or HOLY DESIRES.)
We should fear and love God that we may not scheme to get our neighbor's inheritance or house, nor get it in a way which only appears right, but help and be of service to him/her in keeping it.  We should also fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor's wife/husband, workers, animals, or gadgets [stuff] or turn them against him/her, but urge them to stay and do their duty. This commandment also requires us to guard against pursuing unethical profits (e.g. interest bearing loans), greed, materialism or consumerism. 

Christ's take on the Ten Commandments

“One of them, an expert in the Law, tested Jesus by asking Him, 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law (Ten Commandments)?’

Jesus answered the lawyer by first quoting "the Shema"; "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" [the first 4 commandments].  This is the greatest and the most important commandment.  Jesus then said, the next greatest commandment is like it: Love your neighbor like yourself [the last 6 commandments].  All the Law (Ten Commandments) and the prophets depend on these two commandments.

Matthew 22: 36–40 & Mark 12:28–30

NOTE: Although one should strive to lead a holy life, the 10 commandments are simply "impossible" for any human being to keep, except for Jesus Christ (who is also Creator of the heavens and earth, along with God the Father and Holy Spirit).  According to the Bible in James 2:10, one can keep the Ten Commandments 99.999% of the time and still not found to be worthy of heaven.  Also, one can steal a worthless pencil and end up breaking all the Ten Commandments at once.  Heaven according to Christians is a place where Jesus Christ is worshiped as Lord and King, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  The only way to heaven is to repent of one's sins and have faith that Jesus Christ paid for all your sins and kept the Ten Commandments perfectly for you.  A repentant sinner’s belief in Jesus Christ equals heaven—no matter how bad the sins have been.

NOTE:  Several of the brief explanations are modified from The Small Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther.