Ten equals two. I can’t be serious, right? This sounds like the kind of fuzzy math that some politicians use. But it’s not. I’m quite serious. Ten equals two. It’s not fuzzy math, it’s the truth as told by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the great miracle worker, condensed the Ten Commandments down to two commandments. He took the first four commandments of the Ten Commandments and condensed them into “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Then Jesus summed up the remaining six commandments by saying “And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
The first four commandments of the Ten Commandments have to do with our relationship with our Father God. The last six commandments have to do with our relationship with others. Jesus very succinctly summed up the whole Ten Commandments with these two commandments.
Later on, Jesus also said, “If You love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Now keeping the Ten Commandments in no way saves us. We have all fallen miserably short of the glory of God. Jesus didn’t say keep my commandments in order to save yourself. There is no righteousness in us of our own doing. No, salvation is from God alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
We keep the commandments because God first loved us. We keep the commandments out of our love for God. We don’t keep them in a legalistic way (thank God because none of us can keep them), but we try to keep them because we are grateful that God saved us. We try to keep them because God is Holy and He has called us to be holy.
So ten really does equal two. Are you tracking with Jesus’ math? Are you following Jesus the Christ? Have you submitted your life wholly to Him? Have you called out to God for Him to save you from your sins? Have you repented by turning away from your sins and put your faith in Jesus and in Him alone? If not, what is keeping you from doing so right now? What sin in your life is keeping you from bowing the knee and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? What is keeping you from everlasting life? God is patient and merciful but you must receive His free gift of salvation while you have breath in this life. We are not guaranteed our next breath. Get right with God now, before it’s too late.