HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, August 30, 2025 – In the age of deception, it’s easy to get turned around, especially in matters concerning God (which for us should be everything). That’s why God wants to simplify our lives. He knows the spiritual obstacles we face, and so he’s devised a framework that we can refer to for all our decisions, intending that we not lose our way.

The framework is very simple. We can learn it in a few seconds and then, based on the application of that learning, successfully sidestep every provocation and test the devil can throw at us. Here is the framework:

1. The Ten Commandments.
2. Jesus’ words in the New Testament.
3. Everything else in scripture.

As you can see, it’s a hierarchy of what to believe and in what order. Jesus taught us the framework and wants us to use it. He himself deferred to God and scripture in everything he did, but in cases where scripture could be misinterpreted and twisted to mean something else, the Ten Commandments provide clarity and therefore take precedence.

There’s nothing clearer than the Ten Commandments when it comes to what to do and what not to do. Which is why God, through his prophets, advised us not only to memorize his Law, but to surround ourselves with it in written form – on walls, doorposts, even our bodies. And then, knowing that even that might not always work, he carved his Law on our hearts.

Jesus’ words in the Bible are clear, too, but they can be twisted and taken out of context. They also run the risk of being mistranslated or removed altogether, if they counter the prevailing political or social narratives. So while we, as followers of Jesus, are to do everything that Jesus advised us to do, we need to make sure that what we’re being told are Jesus’ words are actually Jesus’ words. This we can do by prayer only, not by research. We need to go to God in prayer to find out if what Jesus is alleged to have said, Jesus actually said.

The same process of discernment applies to the rest of scripture. We can’t lazily assume and accept that everything in the Bible is God’s Word. Yes, we can assume and accept by faith that the Bible contains God’s Word, but we can’t assume and accept that all its contents are God’s Word. That would be spiritually lazy of us, and we’re not called to spiritually laziness. We’re called to discern the godly from the ungodly, and that includes what’s in the Bible.

We can use this simple framework – the Ten Commandments, Jesus’ words, everything else in scripture, in that order – to help discern truth from lies. Because discerning God’s Truth from the devil’s lies is the first order of business in the age of deception: Everything else hangs on it. If we don’t know whether we’re adhering to God’s Truth or succumbing to the devil’s lies, we can’t proceed as followers of Jesus. Everything we do will be done on a shaky foundation if we ourselves are unsure of our spiritual footing.

THE PRIMACY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

I love the Commandments. They are the Law of the land of the Kingdom: They’re written on our hearts. If we keep the Commandments in every conceivable way, as Jesus taught us—that is, if we keep not just the letter of the Law, but its spirit—we’ll remain on firm spiritual footing and never lose our way.

Like the psalmist, we should be meditating on God’s Law night and day, mulling it over and tasting it for its deep and rich flavors. What exactly does it mean not to covet? Can I have a mortgage or use a credit card and still claim not to be coveting? I think you know the answer to that. What exactly does it mean to honor my mother and father? Can I expose their sins if I say they later came to God? Would I still be honoring them? I think you know the answer to that. Is medical assistance in dying both murder and suicide (that is, killing and self-killing)? I think you know the answer to that.

We need to know God’s Commandments, but that’s just the start. We also need to understand them and apply them, but even that’s not everything. We need to preach them, and not just as a curious ten-point footnote to the Gospels but as the fundamental doctrine that informs our every decision. Note that I say “informs” not “dictates”, because the Law, despite being the greatest of all of God’s commands and the Law of the Kingdom, is voluntary for us to adhere to. We don’t have to keep the Commandments. It’s a choice to keep them.

Still, we need know the Commandments before we can keep them, and we need to learn them before we can know them. I hope you’ve learned and know the Commandments, and even more so, I hope you keep them and preach them. I hope you love them so much, you meditate on them night and day and use them as your guiding light. God wrote them on your heart for that purpose.

In the age of deception, where even committed Christians are falling for the lies of the devil, we need the Ten Commandments now more than ever. We need Jesus’ words, too, and the rest of scripture, but those words are vulnerable to mistranslation, misinterpretation, or outright fraud. The Ten Commandments are inviolable and clear. They’re part of us. God made them that way because he knew the rest of scripture would be messed with.

Don’t let yourself be messed with. Adhere to God’s three-point framework, setting his Commandments at the very top.