Are We Under The Ten Commandments, Today?
Written by Harold Hancock
The Ten Commandments are not our Savior; Jesus is! As a code of ethics, the Ten
Commandments promoted allegiance to God and encouraged moral uprightness. But no man is
good enough morally to save himself. We all sin (Romans 3:23), and we all need the
forgiveness of sins found only in Jesus. Therefore, to be saved we must believe in Jesus as the
Christ (John 8:24), repent of our sins (Acts 17:31), confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), and
be baptized in the name of the Lord for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts
22:16).
Furthermore, the Ten Commandments are no longer in effect today. The Ten Commandments
were written on two tables of stone and given to the Jews at Mount Sinai when they came out of
Egypt (Exodus 20:3-17). These commandments were a part of the Law of Moses and the
covenant that God made with the Jews- the Jews would keep the commandments, and God
would make the Jews His special people (Exodus 19:5). The law of Moses, including the
Ten Commandments
, was
"nailed to the cross"
with Christ (Colossians 2:14). In times past, God spoke to Israel through the law of Moses, but
now He speaks to all men through Christ (Hebrews 1:1,2). Israel is no longer God's chosen
people, but those who are redeemed in Christ- the church- whether Jew or Gentile; they are His
people (Ephesians 2:13-16).
The fact that the law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, has ended does not mean
that one can worship idols, take God's name in vain, disobey parents, steal, kill, commit
adultery, or do other sinful things condemned in the
Ten Commandments
. Nine of the laws found in the
Ten Commandments
are repeated as a part of the New Covenant and must be obeyed today. These laws are binding
today, not because they were a part of the Old Covenant, but because they are a part of the
New Testament.
The one commandment found in the Ten Commandments that has not been made a part of the
New Testament is the commandment to
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy"
(Exodus 20:8). There is a good reason for not repeating this commandment in the New
Testament. The Sabbath was given to the Jews to remind them that God brought them out of
the land of Egypt "through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm" (Deuteronomy 5:15). It is
not the Sabbath day but the first day of the week, the day Christ arose from the dead (Mark
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Are We Under The Ten Commandments, Today?
Written by Harold Hancock
16:9), that has significance for followers of Christ under the New Testament. Therefore,
Christians are not commanded to keep the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16), but are expected to
assemble on the first day of the week and take the Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7).
The 10 Commandments
From Exodus 20
Commandents Repeated
The New Testament
Have no gods before me v.3
1 Cor. 4:8; Acts 14:15
Make no graven images v.4
Acts 17:29
Do not take the name of God
in vain v.7
Mat. 6:9
Keep the Sabath Day holy??????
v.8
Honor they father and mother
v.12
Eph 6:2
Do not kill v.13
Rom. 13:9, Rev. 21:8
Do not commit adultery v.14
Rom 13:9, Heb. 13:4
Do not steal v.15
Rom. 13:9, Eph. 4:28
Do not bear false witnessRom.
v.16 13:9, Eph. 4:25
Do not covet v.17
Rom. 13:9, Col. 3:5
One cannot be saved by "keeping the Ten Commandments." We are no longer under the
covenant that contains the Ten Commandments. The
Ten Commandments
were a part of the law of Moses that was given to bring the Jews to Christ (Galatians 3:24) and
that ended at the cross. That law, or covenant, condemned those who
"continued not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them"
(Galatians 3:10). In the New Testament there are still commands to be obeyed- even nine of
those found in the ten commandments. But under the New Testament there is forgiveness of
sins through Christ for the one who repents and is baptized (Acts 2:38), thus becoming a
Christian, and for the Christian who tries to live right and confesses his sins (1 John 1:7-9).
"And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means
of death, for the redemption of the transgressions..." Hebrews 9:15
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