JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

December 1987

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your inquiry concerning the Ten Commandments being listed differently in our literature from the way millions have always been taught.

This is an important question, and the answer is clear when we are guided by God's Word. There is no doubt as to the NUMBER of the Commandments. There are ten (Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4). It is their CONTENT which is of vital concern.

It was not until the fourth century A.D. that this confusion even began to exist. It was then that Augustine (Catholic bishop of Hippo in North Africa) devised a new way of presenting the Ten Commandments in order to allow the use of images and statues in religious worship. He dropped the Second Commandment altogether, divided the Tenth into two "commandments," and then renumbered his revised list of ten.

Dropping the Second Commandment makes it appear that there is only one commandment against idolatry. But, there are two kinds of idolatry -- and two distinct commandments prohibit these two major sins. The First Commandment forbids worship of anything in the place of God (Ex. 20:3). The Second Commandment is altogether different and forbids bowing down to, serving, or otherwise using statues in the worship of God (Ex. 20:4-6).

As mentioned above, in order to retain the correct number of commandments, Augustine made two "commandments" out of the Tenth (Ex. 20:17). According to Augustine's mistaken idea, the Ninth Commandment is: "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife," and the Tenth is: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house."

Notice how a New Testament servant of God was inspired to quote five of the Commandments -- including the Tenth. Paul wrote: "For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not COVET,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Rom. 13:9, RAV).

Unlike Augustine, Paul made no distinction between coveting a neighbor's wife and a neighbor's house. Paul elsewhere wrote, "For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet'" (Rom. 7:7, RAV). Clearly, only one principle is involved, and only one commandment governs it.

The King James Version of the Bible contains two complete lists of the Commandments. They are found in Exodus 20:1-17 and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. This is the way you will find the Ten Commandments listed in our literature.

We hope you will let us know whenever we can be of additional assistance in your study of the Bible. It is our pleasure to serve you.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT