Exodus 20:1-17

1. No other gods before Me (1 Cor. 8:5,6; Acts 14:15; Mt. 22: 36,37; 1 Tim. 2:5).
2. No carved images (1 Jn. 5:21; Acts 15:20,29; 1 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 2:14).
3. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain (Jas. 5:12; Mt. 12:36; Rev. 13:6).
4. Remember the Sabbath.* (Col. 2:16,17).
5. Honor you father and mother (Eph. 6:1-3; Mt. 15:4-6; 19:19; 1 Tim. 5:3-4).
6. You shall not commit murder (Mt. 5:21; 19:18; Rom. 13:19; 1 Jn. 3:15).
7. You shall not commit adultery (Mt. 5:27; 19:18; 1 Cor. 6:9,18; Heb. 13:4).
8. You shall not steal (Mt. 19:18; Eph. 4:28; Tit. 2:10; Rom. 12:17).
9. You shall not bear false witness (Mt. 5:33; 19:18; Col. 3:9; Eph. 4:25).
10. You shall not covet (Eph. 5:3,5; Lk. 12:15, 16-21; Rom. 13:9; 1 Cor. 5:10).

* (Not re-taught by Jesus in the NT)

The preceding chart lists the Ten Commandments and the NT reference where each command was taught again. The exception is commandment four regarding the Sabbath. This command was not taught again because NT Christians are to worship on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1,2).

The Ten Commandments are viewed as the basis for our moral behavior, but they are not binding on us today as people like to think. They stand out because of the special circumstances under which they were given.  But, the Hebrew writer says that the Law was passing away (Heb. 8:13). This is a reference to the entire Law. Some people believe that only the ceremonial Law was being taken away on the cross. This makes an artificial distinction in the Law that is not found in the Bible. There is no distinction between the ceremonial and moral parts of the Law. The Ten Commandments are only a part of the Law. The moral aspects of the Law cannot be extracted from the ceremonial aspects because they are so closely linked together. Consider the fact that the two greatest commands, according to Jesus, are not in the Ten Commandments: The greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." And the second greatest, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt. 22:36-40; cf. Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18).

In Mt. 5:17-19 Jesus says that His purpose is not to destroy the Law and Prophets, but to fulfill. He does not elevate the Law to a higher plane than His New Law (Covenant), but He shows that He is the fulfillment of it. This means that He completed it. The Law (entire OT) prophesied of the coming of Jesus. When He came, He completed the Old Law.

Paul says the Law was being nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14). The Law referred to here is the entire Law, not just a part of it. That becomes clear when you understand how the Jews understood the phrase "Law and prophets."

Jesus referred to the three parts of the scripture as "The Law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms" (Lk. 24:44). This does not mean that the different parts are to be treated differently, but that the Jews did refer to them this way.

In Jn. 10:34, Jesus speaks of the OT as just "The Law." In this passage, Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6 and calls it the Law. Yet, in the previous passage He made a reference to the Psalms as a part of the scripture. What does this mean? It simply means that the Jews regarded all of the OT as "the Law." These references were just different ways of classifying the books, not distinguishing "the Law" from anything else.

The Hebrew writer said that Jesus was taking the Old Law away (Heb. 10:9). Therefore, as we have just seen, it means that Jesus was taking away or fulfilling all of the OT. That doesn't mean it isn't valuable anymore because 2 Tim. 3:16,17 tells us that "all scripture" is profitable, etc. Earlier, the Hebrew writer (Heb. 8:6-11), tells us that Jesus is the Mediator of a "better covenant" and that the "first covenant" (law) had faults. That was the reason for the second (better) covenant.

In 2 Cor. 3:7,11, Paul says that the Law was "the ministry of death." He says that it was "engraved in stone." And he said its "glory was passing away." Then, in verse 11 he says that the glory of "that which remains" (new covenant) was greater than the old covenant. Notice again that Paul said that which was engraved in stone was passing away. This would be the Ten Commandments. How then can we be bound by something which was "passing away?"

The Ten Commandments are good moral guidelines. We are bound by them only to the extent that Jesus incorporated them into His New Covenant, the New Testament. They are not binding on us today as many people mistakenly believe. We are bound by the new covenant which the Hebrew writer says was "better" because it "established on better promises" (Heb. 8:6). Why then would we want to cling to something inferior when God has given us something better?

Bobby W. Schrimsher, Jr.

Minister

Westview Church of Christ

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