Just when we are about to be driven to total despair by the law, Scripture assures us with the gospel that God has sent his one and only Son to keep the Ten Commandments for us. Even though we can’t keep all of these rules, Jesus has kept the law—all of it—for us by living a perfect, holy, righteous, obedient life.

Spirituality is all the rage these days. “I’m spiritual, but not religious!” is a common phrase, even if this kind of saying is impossible to achieve in practice. Even if you practice isolated spirituality, you are still following a religion of your own making. This kind of individualized religion is widely practiced in America, so it is a religion in its own right.

Instead of seeking out our own commands to follow, we should listen to what God has already set down for us. In the Ten Commandments, we learn from God what true spirituality actually is.

The first commandment is that we worship “no other gods.” We are to fear, love, and trust in God alone above all other people and things. Sin is a refusal to trust in the one true God who has revealed himself in the Bible.

The second commandment teaches us to worship the right God in the right way. That way is set down for us also in the Bible.

The third commandment shows us that God’s holy name matters. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us of this when we pray, Hallowed be thy name. God’s name is sacred, and he is not only to be worshiped but also revered.

The fourth commandment reminds us that we are only human. We need to hit the pause button on our life movie and reset it by sitting under the preaching of the Word. It’s not our story—it’s His. We are to attend the public ministry of the word often and make use of this for our sanctification. We also get to rest one day in seven.

The fifth commandment is all about respect. For our parents, yes, but also for all whom God has placed in authority over us. This includes governments, bosses, and people in our lives who deserve our respect and obedience.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]