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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND MORE

The Law of the Old Testament (the Torah) was brought by God for a different purpose than most understand. The writer of Hebrews and the Apostle Paul make this very clear. Below is a summary of the Old Testament Jewish Laws and a discussion of the importance of these Laws to the ancient nation of Israel and to our lives today.

The Old Testament of the Bible conveys the history of the physical nation of Israel from the standpoint of God. In order to reveal His nature to the Israelis, God promulgated laws upon which the monotheistic nation was to govern itself both as a nation and as the individuals within that society. God made a covenant (contract) with the people of Israel that if they obeyed these laws their lives would be blessed by God (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). But He also warned that if the Laws were disobeyed there would be serious consequences Deuteronomy 28:15-68). The 10 Commandments were ten Laws that were part of over 600 laws that God enacted for the Israelites in the Old Testament (See Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy for the entire law). The laws covered everything from criminal law and punishment, civil laws, laws regarding the sick and dead, laws regarding foods, how to treat a stranger or your neighbor, animals, possessions, sex, offerings for sin and many others. The laws were both spiritual and practical. Provision was made within the laws for the removal of the consequences of breaking these laws, either intentionally or negligently, by sacrifice (see Leviticus Chapters 1-7). Since man seemed unable to obey the laws, he had to come to the priest periodically for cleansing of their sin, usually through animal sacrifice. Man had to be cleansed from sin since the consequence of only one act of disobedience (sin) resulted in death in God’s eyes. Romans 6:23 makes it clear that the wages (consequences) of sin is death. The single sin of Adam and Eve led to their ultimate death, and the death of all mankind (Genesis Chapter 2).

The most well known of these various laws are the 10 commandments. They are as follows:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them… Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;…Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Honour thy father and thy mother:…Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s. (Exodus 20:3-17 King James Version).

As we know from the writings of the Old Testament, Israel could never fulfill God’s law. Thus, through the law, without forgiveness, all men were condemned. The Law was enacted not necessarily to test Israel but to show them that they had sin. Without some plan of redemption man was therefore doomed to condemnation due to his sinful nature. The law was man’s teacher that, in himself, he could never please God. The Law showed man he needed something greater than this Old Covenant to be able to be righteous before God. The impossibility of being able to do the law is apparent in the scriptures. Jesus said that even looking upon another with lust has already committed adultery? Who is never anxious, unbelieving or otherwise sinful in our actions and thoughts? Who is able to love God with ALL his heart and his neighbor as himself? (see Matthew Chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount). Christ said our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, who were Hippocrates,, acting as if they were righteous when in fact they were not (Matthew 5:20). Trying to do the commandments and be righteous in ourselves is meaningless to God. God says our own righteousness is not impressive but rather repulsive to Him. Isaiah 64:6 says: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;”.

The Apostle Paul himself recognized that in himself he was utterly incapable of doing God’s will. As he writes in Romans 7:18-24: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (NKJV). So even if the eminent Apostle Paul could not control his own flesh, without help from some other means, neither can we.

So then the law which we cannot fulfill becomes our tutor leading us to Christ and the New Covenant where, through Christ, we are able to fulfill the law (Galatians 3:24). Christ said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. Through Him the law would be fulfilled to the last “jot or tittle” (Matthew 5:17-18). The Law would not be fulfilled through human effort; Israel proved that. It is fulfilled through Christ our eternal high priest. Since we couldn’t do it, it was either condemnation for sinful man or redemption by a perfect Son Jesus.

Under the New Covenant we are free from having to try to walk in the law, including the “10 commandments” in our human efforts. Does this mean the Law is irrelevant? No. The Law is promise of what we are to become under Christ’s New Covenant. In the Book of Galatians Paul chastises the Ephesian church for going back to trying to do the law in themselves rather than having faith in a Christ who had already fulfilled it for them.

Therefore through Christ our sins are forgiven. But that is only a means to an end. If we are forgiven, even if we stumble, our forgiveness allows us the opportunity to be one with God which has always been the ultimate goal.

Fulfilling the law yourself not only negates the need for Christ, it also gives man the glory, not God. Our righteousness comes by grace, a free underserved gift. Man says “Look what I’ve done. Aren’t I a good person? God says no, only my Son is righteousness. Scripture says:

“THERE is none righteous, not even one;

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

All have turned ASIDE; together they have become useless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one” (Romans 3:10-13; Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-30).

So righteousness comes by faith, not by doing the law (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6). The law, including the 10 commandments, were but a type and shadow, symbols of things to come (Hebrews 8:5), i.e. Christ and the New Covenant. The construction of the temple, the Passover lamb, the priestly sacrifices, the Jewish feasts all were symbolic of the fulfillment in Christ.

Paul was openly critical of the Galatians for turning back to thinking they had to follow the law to become righteousness (the Law includes the 10 commandments). He says:

“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:1-5).

Paul goes on: “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”

Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE righteous man shall live by faith.”

However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE who practices them shall live by them” (Galatians 3:10-12; Deuteronomy 27:26; Habakkuk 2:4; Leviticus 18:5).

“Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe”

(Galatians 3:21-22).

So for our purposes, all our efforts to keep or do the 10 commandments are dead works and filthy rags to God. We will do them, but only when they become part of our nature. Remember the Old Covenant was our tutor to lead us to Christ; to let us know we needed Christ. When He came, He delivered an entirely new covenant.

The New Covenant is:

After those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws into their minds,

And I will write them on their hearts.

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people”

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear (Hebrews 8:7-13; Jeremiah 31:33).

In order to walk in this New Covenant, without falling back into Old Testament legalism, we must have our consciousnesses cleaned by God. Hebrews says: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, CLEANSE YOUR CONSCIENCE FROM DEAD WORKS to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14). We all have a conscience that we believe guides us into right or wrong actions. We always try to do the right thing i.e. follow the 10 commandments. But our natural consciences do not lead us to the “right thing” according to God. It leads us into trying to be religious, following the does and don’ts of the law. Every church has its own set of laws telling us falsely that if we do these laws we will “go to heaven” (don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t dance, come to church every Sunday, discipline yourself to read the Bible, discipline yourself to pray and on and on). The only “work” we must do id believe Christ. He will, or has already done the rest for us. Then our works coming from a faith in Christ are no longer dead works but living works.

We inherited our human consciences from Satan, when man fell in the Garden. Satan himself is a religious spirit. Our fallen nature causes us to do dead works. Dead works include doing things we think are right to appease our consciences’. If we don’t pick up the Bible for a while, our conscience convicts us and out of obligation we start to read. If we haven’t prayed, our conscience convicts us and we begin to pray. If we haven’t “witnessed” to someone in a week or gone to church, our conscience tells we should get with it. These feelings are not from God. Our own feelings about right and wrong are very deceptive. We must move by a revelation from God. The works our consciences tell us to do not merit favor with God.

The most important of the commandments under the New Covenant is: “for if you are living according to the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being LED BY THE SPIRIT of God, THESE ARE SONS OF GOD (Romans 8:14). We must walk by the spirit, not by our flesh inherited from Satan.

There is much more to say on this subject which is discussed in detail in the Books of Hebrews, Galatians, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians etc. Suffice it to say that trying to do the 10 commandments in ourselves will never work, nor will our best efforts to be pleasing to God. We don’t “get to heaven” by doing the best we can. We get there by dwelling where Christ is, in the Spirit realm, where Christ is at the right hand of the Father. The Law only foreshadows what is to come. Israel in the Old Testament typifies those of us who walk in the SPIRITUAL ISRAEL in the end time.