Are The Ten Commandments For Me?
The Ten Commandments are often misunderstood and therefore, like most things that are misunderstood, go largely unappreciated. To many, the Ten Commandments seem old and dirty, even outdated or irrelevant.
“The Ten Commandments suffer from a PR problem. They are seen by many as the observer utterances of a thunderous, grumpy God to a disobedient people, neither of whom seem very relatable or likable. Because we have trouble seeing any beauty in the Ten Words, forgetting them comes easily.” – Jen Wilkin
Sure, we see the functionality of them and may even be able to cite six or seven from memory. After all, they remind us not to steal, sleep around or commit other obvious acts of violence. The Ten Commandments are good, we concede, but are they necessary, and do they have any real value in the Christian life? What active role does God’s moral law play for those who have the Holy Spirit and enjoy grace because of our faith in Jesus? There may well be a deeper understanding and a newfound beauty available to us as we consider God’s timeless foundation of morality: the Ten Commandments.
To whom were the Ten Commandments given?
Not everything in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) was for Israel’s eyes and ears only. Just as with the promise of a Savior, God’s law was given first to Israel, but would be proclaimed to the whole world. God gave these commandments directly to His chosen people, but they would reveal to the whole earth the universal rule and reality of who God is and how mankind must live in response to its Creator. These Ten are unique to the other laws God gave to national Israel in the Pentateuch, in that they are for all people for all of time. To be sure, each of Israel’s six-hundred and thirteen laws were The Ten applied with careful specificity in such a way that would not have bearing outside of national Israel. For example, the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 recognized that circumcision was not required for new converts, while idolatry and sexual immorality would be consistently admonished. While the Moabite and the Ninevites were not expected to restrict their diet they way God had instructed Israel, their wickedness was manifest in their idolatry, sexual immorality and murderous violence, by which they violated God’s objected moral standard revealed in the Ten Commandments.
“The moral law became incorporated in the Mosaic Law, yet was sharply distinguished from it. Only the ten commandments were promulgated by the voice of God, written by the finger of God and laid up in the ark of the covenant…” – A.W. Pink
For this reason, the Ten maintain prominence and relevance throughout Scripture, Old and New Testament. When Jesus wants to give a convenient summary of our moral responsibility to our neighbor, he goes to the Ten Commandments (Mark 10). When Paul wants to give a summary of what it means to be a Christian living in obedience to God, he does the same. After establishing that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, he proceeds to rattle through the second table of the law (1 Tim. 1:8-10, cf. Rom. 13). All throughout Scripture, God makes it abundantly clear how He feels about false worship, idolatry, pride, murder, adultery, stealing, lying and coveting. These are the timeless moral laws that govern the universe. Take the law of gravity as an example. You do not have to understand how it works, or like that it keeps you from dunking a basketball or even be conscious of it for it to have its ubiquitous effect on you. So it is with God’s moral law.
“By Jewish tradition, there are 613 laws in the Pentateuch. They all matter because they all teach us something about love for God and neighbor. But the 613 can be summarized by the Ten Commandments, which can in turn be summarized by two; love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus certainly transforms the Ten Commandments, but He never meant to abolish them” (Matthew 5:17). – Kevin DeYoung
What was the law intended to do?
God’s great moral code was given for four reasons (as far as I can tell), to glorify Him, to bless us and to show us our need for a Savior. (The fourth we will discover at the end.) And it is at this point that we must resist the urge to gloss over the first two in a hurry to punctuate the ultimate practical purpose of pointing to Jesus. This would be a mistake, a noble and sincere mistake. It would be sort of like ignoring five-star accommodations at a gourmet restaurant, the quality of the food and the robust flavor pallet, and just being mindful that your body got the calories it needed until the next meal. There is such beauty and blessing in God’s law to be enjoyed – beauty as it reveals the holy nature of our God and blessing for all who obey and walk in the wisdom of God.
My sister once had a Ten Commandments charm bracelet. I first thought, “What an odd piece of jewelry!” No doubt that a cross necklace bears more immediate significance to the Christian. And yet, understood correctly, there remains beauty and meaning in God’s law worthy of a sterling silver reminder. For one, God’s law, and our obedience to it, puts His goodness on display, it glorifies Him.
Deuteronomy 4:6-8 - Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
Only a righteous and wise Lawgiver can issue righteous and wise laws. God deserves to be known as being understanding and righteous, and as the Lord our God who is near to His people. God sees His law as more than a mere tool to exposing our sinfulness. He expects the people of the world to see His law lived out by His people and give Him glory and to worship Him above all other (false) gods. He would stand out as the one and only good, all-wise and ever-present God, and it is He who gets the credit when the world sees us walking in obedience to God (Matt. 5:13-16). Inherent in this observation is a recognition of the goodness of God as well as the law’s second purpose – the blessedness of the people. God’s law is a blessing, and it makes those who obey Him wise and understanding.
Psalm 19:7-11 – The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Chapter 7 of Romans, Paul argues that while those who have trusted in Christ do not depend on the law for salvation, that the law is good (v.16, cf. Eph. 6:6). He goes farther in verse 12 adding that it is “holy and righteous.” God’s moral law has graciously revealed to Him God’s expectations as it relates to coveting, among other things, and he realizes that living in obedience to God’s law was far better than living according to the law of his flesh that wars within him. The Psalmist describes it this way in Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” In His law, God has graciously and generously revealed His holy character to the world, and we are blessed who trust and obey Him.
James 1:25 – But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
But herein lies the critical problem we have with God’s law. By nature of Him being holy, righteous and good, He happens to demand of His creation what He deserves from us – moral perfection. This we cannot give. And despite how beautiful and blessed His law is, it doesn’t take us long to have a Romans 7 experience, and say with Paul, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” As discouraging as this is, we do well to remember the law’s purpose was never to offer salvation, but instead it is through the law that we are made aware of our sin (Rom. 3:20). Deep down we “delight in the law of God” along with Paul, but the flesh is weak, and we all fall short of God’s holy standard (Rom. 3:23). On this point, James dismisses us from any self-righteousness by teaching us that to break just one law is to be guilty of the whole law (James 2:10). So, what hope do helpless sinners have in the hands of a good and righteous God? Well, to quote Paul once more from Romans 7, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v.25)!
This is the third purpose of God’s law – to show us our need for a Savior. Or as Paul describes the law, a tutor until Christ came, so we might be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24). From the beginning we would all need One who could free us from the penalty and power of sin. Enter Jesus Christ, our Lord, who is our hope (1 Tim. 1:1) and enter His Gospel – the good news that God saves sinners. It is not Christ’s death on the cross alone that saves us. Rather it is His sinless life lived on our behalf as the sacrificial lamb of God that made His death a satisfactory payment for sin (Is. 53:9, 2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 7:26, 1 Pt. 1:18-19; 2:21-24). This is how it had to happen – God taking the form of man in order to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus, the God-Man, lived the life of perfect moral obedience no human being was capable of living and died a death we deserved to die. So in a very real sense, we are saved by works, just not ours; Jesus’. Now, by trusting in who Jesus is and what He has done, we are forgiven, reconciled to God and (wonder of all gracious wonders) declared righteous. Praise God for salvation and the hope of eternal life with Him!
“These words bring life only to those who have been joined to Christ through faith. Our relationship has been purchased by the perfect obedience of Christ to the law. The life of Jesus fulfills the prophetic words of Psalm 40:8, “I will delight to do you will, O my God; ...you law is within my heart.” – Jen Wilkin
What now is our relationship to the law?
And now the question is sufficiently begged, “What is the Christian’s relationship to God’s moral law? If Christ has perfectly obeyed the law on our behalf, and we are now under grace, saved by faith alone, then are we obligated to obey the law?” The answer might depend on how you define the word “obligated.” Suggested synonyms of “obligated” include words like “indebted,” “required,” “beholden,” “forced,” “duty-bound” as well as words like “grateful,” “obliged,” “thankful,” “appreciative,” “compelled.” Notice how the former list is far more external in terms of motivation, we might say legalistic, and how the latter represents more internal motivation. It is in this second sense that our relationship to the law is best understood. Christ has satisfied the legal requirement of the law for us – we need not approach the law in this way. In fact, Paul makes it clear that all who depend on obeying the law in order to gain salvation are under a curse (Gal. 3:10).
This is where Jesus’ words on the topic are instructive. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus clarifies, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Like Paul in Romans 5-8, Jesus is saying two different things that are true at the same time. One, He has fulfilled the law and met the impossible standard of holiness. Two, the law doesn’t just go away or cease to exist, leaving us free of any instruction in holiness. Paul goes on to instruct Christians to present their members to God as instruments for righteousness (Rom. 6:13). Jesus goes on to say, “…unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul felt the need to clarify that just because he was no longer under the Mosaic Law, did not excuse him from being under God’s law (generally), which He now referred to as the law of Christ.
1 Corinthians 9:20-21 – 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
It should go without saying that Scripture is chock-full of moral instruction – even for those who are already saved. In fact, Paul reminds Christians, “you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20). But this is where we must tread carefully – land mines of self-righteousness and legalism abound. But we must proceed lest we give in to licentiousness (lawlessness). So, how can our righteousness “exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees,” groups notorious for diligent law-keeping? There are two important answers and they are found in the kind and the quality of our righteousness. Regarding our kind of righteousness, it exceeds the religious leaders’, because our righteousness is Christ’s own righteousness that has been imputed to us. The Christian has what Martin Luther called an “alien righteousness” – it is not ours, but Christs’. And regarding our quality of righteousness, it exceeds the religious leaders’, because our good works are performed from a place of faith (Heb. 11:6) and motivated by love (1 Cor. 16:14, Heb. 10:24).
Ultimately, every moral command in Scripture should be seen as a way to love. Jesus makes this abundantly clear in Matthew 22:37-40 when he says, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” All of the sudden, love takes center stage. The Ten Commandments then become a glorious means by which we arrive at the even more glorious end of love.
Romans 13:8-10 - Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
Because we have been freed from the penalty of sin and have died to the power of sin, we are now free and able to obey God’s law – and according to John, His law is not (not any longer) burdensome (1 John 5:2-4). Now, we delight in the law and don’t depend on it for right standing with God. Now, we are able to obey and not helplessly enslaved by sin (Rom. 6, 8:7-8). What changed? We have the Spirit of God resident in us that regenerates us, renews our mind according to the Scriptures, compels us to obey and makes us zealous for good works (Titus 2:14, cf. Rom. 6:19, Eph. 2:10, 2 Tim. 2:21). The ultimate fruit (evidence) of the Holy Spirit in the believer is love (1 Cor. 13:13), and as Jesus explains, our love for God is proven by our obedience to His commands (John 14:15-31, 1 John 2:3-6). This is the fourth purpose of the law – to teach us how to love God (commandments 1-4) as well as our neighbor (commandments 5-10).
What are the consequences when a Christian breaks God’s law?
Technically, one might assume that since Christ has fulfilled the law and His perfect righteousness has been credited to my moral account, that my sin is of little real consequence. After all, Christ has bled and died for my past, present and future sin (1 John 2:12), what is the use of further forgiveness? But this kind of cold and loveless rationale for sin is not permitted anywhere in Scripture. Such carelessness for sin (Rom. 6:1-4) and disregard for our loving Heavenly Father is foreign to biblical Christianity. The same strong force that compels us to obey is what compels us to seek forgiveness from God (1 Jn. 1:8), pray for strength against temptation (Matt. 6:12-13) and confess our sin to one another that we may be healed (James 5:16): love. We hate our sin, because we (are learning to) love our God and our neighbor as ourself. We do not consider the law of God impersonally, or as being detached from God Himself. No, to break His law is to sin against Him.
“When saints sin, they know they are not sinning against law but against love”. – Martin Lloyd Jones
This is the influence of the Spirit, making us increasingly sensitive to our sin and increasingly desirous of the things of God. He is powerfully at work in us conforming us into the image of Christ. We are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), with a renewed mind (Rom. 12:2) a heart of flesh and an inseparable intimacy with God (Gal. 4:6). So, when we struggle in the flesh with the remnants of our sinful nature, we say with Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Rom. 7:24). But note: In Paul’s cry, there is remorse, but there is no fear of God’s condemnation or retribution for his sin (1 John 4:18). In Romans 8, he deals in detail with the fact that there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ. We are sure to experience the pain of being unfaithful to Him and a loss of intimacy due to our sin, but He secures us in His love and no legal charge against God’s elect can stand. In fact, because of Christ’s full payment for our sin, it is precisely God’s justice and His faithfulness that guarantees that forgiveness is ours when we confess our sin (Cf. 1 Jn. 1:9; 2:1). This confidence sets us free to serve Him, worship – in a word, to love Him – according to His Word.