Did you know Jesus taught about each of the 10 Commandments while He was on earth? I did not know this until I started The Jesus Said Project. This may surprise you, too, because there is a doctrine out there that the New Covenant did away with the 10 Commandments. However, that is not what Jesus said.
Referenced Scriptures:
Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 22:40
God Gave the 10 Commandments
The 10 Commandments were spoken by God himself (Exodus 20:1) and were written by the hand of God (Exodus 31:18, Exodus 32:16). God Himself said, “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6), so why have we allowed ourselves to be deceived into thinking He has changed what He wrote and said re: the 10 Commandments?
There is even scripture in Revelation 15:5 that tells us the 10 Commandments are in the temple in heaven and are a part of the events that will take place at the end of time. (Note: The 10 Commandments are called the Testimony in Revelation 15:5. See Exodus 25:21-22, Exodus 31:18, Exodus 40:20-21 where is it clear that the 10 Commandments were placed in the ark and the 10 Commandments are also known as the Testimony.)
God spoke the 10 Commandments, He wrote the 10 Commandments with his own finger, and He has them in the ark in the temple in heaven. All this evidence from a God who, by His own definition, does not change.
Jesus Taught the 10 Commandments
In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus clearly upheld the 10 Commandments when He said: ”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. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks 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 practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
To summarize, regarding the 10 Commandments, Jesus said:
- He did NOT come to abolish them
- He came to fulfill them
- The Law will not disappear until heaven and earth disappear
Since Jesus said He did not abolish the 10 Commandments, and heaven and earth have not yet disappeared, the Law must still be relevant. This leads to the question: What did Jesus mean by He came to ‘fulfill’ them? Does it mean, like I used to think, that because Jesus fulfilled the Law, it no longer applies? My study of this subject in The Jesus Said Project has revealed that is unsound doctrine.
Jesus Fulfilled the 10 Commandments
As stated at the beginning, as part of The Jesus Said Project, I studied out what Jesus said about the 10 Commandments and discovered that Jesus taught about each one of them while He was on earth. It became clear that Jesus did not say He was doing away with the 10 Commandments. Rather, by fulfilling them, Jesus said He was building on the 10 Commandments, expanding them, clarifying their meaning, and that they are the foundation of obedience to God. Jesus said the 10 Commandments are not just words to be obeyed literally. No! By saying He came to ”fulfill them”, Jesus meant He practiced them, lived them, and gave them new, expanded meaning, new life. He is the only being on earth who perfectly lived them.
Before Jesus, people just followed the letter of the Law. For example, the commandment of “Do not murder” was met if one did not physically kill someone. However, Jesus said even harboring angry feelings against someone violates this commandment (read Matthew 5:21-26). This is a higher standard, not a lower one, as the commandment itself is just the beginning, the foundation, for the expanded meaning that Jesus taught.
10 Commandments = Love God + Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Looking at the 10 Commandments as a whole, it is generally understood and agreed that the 1st through 4th Commandments have to do with our relationship to God, and the 5th through 10th Commandments have to do with our relationships with other people. Jesus affirmed this in Matthew 22:40 when He said, ”All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (referring to the commands to love God and love your neighbor). In The Jesus Said Project, we will follow this principle when studying out what Jesus said about the 10 Commandments.
Call to Action
In summary, we who call ourselves Christ’s followers have received Christ as our savior, and He now lives in us (Colossians 1:27). We no longer live; rather, by faith, He lives in us (Galatians 2:20). As we surrender to His lordship in us, He will lead us to follow and obey what He taught. Remember, by God’s own definition, obedience is love (John 14:21, John 14:23-24). It is only the power of the resurrected Christ in us that can live a life of obedience.
Pray to God and ask Him for the courage to study out the 10 Commandments with an open mind and open heart. Pray that you will not be deceived or place the traditions of man above God’s word, as Jesus warned us in Matthew 15:3-6.
Still not convinced? Still trying to get your head around the fact that Jesus said the 10 Commandments are still relevant? Does this go against everything you have been taught and have thought for years and years, making it difficult to understand and accept? Then you are like me when I started The Jesus Said Project. Like me, cling to what Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19, that the Law will not disappear until heaven and earth disappear. Last I knew, the earth is still here, so in some respect the Law must be, too; the question is, how is it relevant today?
One reason why the 10 Commandments are still relevant: sin. Sin is just as alive and well today as it was in the Old Testament. Paul taught that the law was given to show us what sin is (Romans 7:7-12) and points us to our need for a sacrifice to atone it (Hebrews 10:1-4). Today, don’t we still need to know what sin is? Don’t we still need to understand our need for a sacrifice to absolve us from sin? Absolutely! So what has changed? OUR FOCUS. Before Jesus, the focus was on the 10 Commandments and meeting their requirements. Now, the focus is on Jesus and the Cross. The Cross is the gateway to grace and the power to not sin. The Cross does not change the prophecy that tells us the 10 Commandments are still alive and well, in the temple in heaven, and will be part of end-time events (Revelation 15:5). The world may have tried to forget them, but God’s Law, like God Himself, does not change (Malachi 3:6).
Second, each of us will die and face judgment (Hebrews 9:27-28). What will we be judged by? In John 12:48 Jesus said that His words (teachings) will be what condemns people on the last day; and, as we are discovering in The Jesus Said Project, Jesus’ words include teachings on each of the 10 Commandments. If you are not born again, you did not accept Jesus’ words, and you will be judged by your own efforts to meet the requirements of the Law. However, if you are born again, you accepted His words, His sacrifice for you, and you will be judged by HIS perfect fulfilling of the Law, as noted in Matthew 5:17-19. Again, it isn’t that the Law is no longer relevant, it’s just that now Jesus fulfilled or met (NOT abolished) that requirement for you. Your job is to receive Jesus as your savior and keep your focus on Him, while He meets the requirements of the Law for you. He meets the requirements of the Law by His sacrifice on the Cross AND by the power of the Resurrected Christ living IN YOU! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:26-27). The second is just as important as the first, for this is POWER FOR LIVING, today and NOW!
Don’t throw out the Law because you have the Cross. Knowing and understanding the Law shows us what sin is. If we don’t have a clear concept of what sin is, how can we ever truly appreciate what God did by justifying us and saving us from the power of sin by Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross?
Article by – Christine Rosendaul: http://www.thejesussaidproject.com/jesus-said-keep-the-10-commandmentsoverview/
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2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” AND 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”