Thinking, speaking, or acting in violence against another person is sin.

Six—To refrain from violence against another; the realm of peaceful conduct.

You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14—NIV)

To commit adultery is to enter a relationship with a person, thing, or circumstance, clutching it to ourselves, when such union is not ordained of the Lord.

Seven—To seek union with that which is not ordained; the realm of relationships.

You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15—NIV)

To steal is to take from someone else that which does not rightfully belong to us.

Eight—To touch that which is not rightfully ours; the realm of honesty.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16—NIV)

This is the realm of gossip and slander. Speaking falsely of someone else is the only aspect of lying set forth in the Ten Commandments. This is because transgressing any of the Ten Commandments actually is a form of lying, of falseness, of lack of faithfulness.

Nine—To not speak evil of another person; the realm of truthfulness and mercy concerning others.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17—NIV)

We never are to be envious or covetous concerning the things or circumstances of another person. As someone said, God has dealt us our own hand of cards and we have to play them out. We have no way of knowing what another person is experiencing.

To not be content with what we have been given, or with what we can gain by following and obeying Christ, is sin. It is a breaking of the eternal moral law of God.

Ten—To be content with the provisions God has made for us; the realm of contentment.

What Sin Is According to the New Testament

We have identified the ten realms of moral transgression. As the Lord said, the moral commandments have to do with loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Thus we see that morality has to do with relationships.

Sin is misbehavior in one or more of the following areas:

The love and worship of God; idolatry; reverence for God's Name; service to God; respect and obedience to authority; peaceful conduct; relationships; honesty; truthfulness and mercy concerning others; contentment.

It does not matter what Divine covenant we are under, improper behavior in terms of these requirements is sin.

The Ten Commandments tell us what sin is. But how does the new covenant deal with sin? I think this is an area of great confusion among us Christians.

First of all, we, while still very imperfect, are told in the New Testament how to behave. Because our adamic nature is opposed to God's moral law we have to be careful to live in the Spirit of God, and also to pray fervently without ceasing, if we are to be able to keep the commandments given by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles. Their commandments cover the areas set forth in the Ten Commandments.

To be continued.