The Ten Commandments Today

If you want to succeed ― in anything ― never stop working on the fundamentals.

I have vivid memories of that concept from my youth. My basketball coach always stressed the fundamentals: dribbling, shooting, passing — and lots of running. In piano it was the same: lots and lots of scales and exercises. In any endeavor, no matter how much you learn or how far you develop, you always have to pay attention to the basics.

The first 17 verses of Exodus 20 contain a brief list of regulations which have come to embody the “basics” of Bible morality. They are part of God’s great covenant with Israel, but these few commands are special. God apparently spoke them in the hearing of all the people (see Exodus 20:19-22; Deuteronomy 4:10-13). And He Himself engraved them on tablets of stone (Exodus 32:15-16). The Hebrews called them “the Ten Words” (Exodus 34:28). We know them as the Ten Commandments.

Of course, the Ten Commandments as they appear in Exodus 20 are part of a covenant that is no longer binding. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses and took it away (Ephesians 2:14-16; Hebrews 8:13; 9:15-17; Galatians 3:24-25). While some have argued for the continuance of the Ten Commandments based on a distinction between the “moral” and “ceremonial” parts of the Law, the Scriptures make no such distinction. The whole Law was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14).

The Ten Commandments are important to us because they are repeated as fundamental teachings of the New Testament. “You shall not murder” is not binding because of Exodus 20, but because of such passages as Romans 13:9 or Galatians 5:21. “You shall not steal” is not binding because we find it in Exodus 20, but because we find it in Ephesians 4:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:10. Only the sabbath commandment is not repeated in the New Covenant. And though the sabbath law is not binding today, its principle of worship and reverence toward God certainly is.

As we study the Ten Commandments, we should bear in mind a few important things:

First, they are Divine revelation. God gave these commandments to regulate the lives of His covenant people. In Christ, we are partakers of a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6); so it’s no surprise that this New Covenant contains these same basic teachings of morality. That both testaments follow the same ethical principles speaks of the unchanging nature of God who gave them (cf. Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).

Second, they are commandments. News anchor Ted Koppel famously observed that what Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai was not the “Ten Suggestions.” God spoke, and Israel understood their obligation to obey. We are under law to Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21); so if these commandments have been repeated to us, then we must obey, too. “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). God’s instructions are “for our good always” (Deuteronomy 6:24). We ignore them to our own hurt. Cecil B. DeMille, who directed the movie The Ten Commandments, remarked, “It is impossible for us to break the Law. We can only break ourselves against the Law.”

Third, every prohibition also affirms a positive truth. Eight of the Ten Commandments are stated as negatives (“You shall not…”). Yet they say as much about what I should do as what I shouldn’t. “You shall have no other gods” teaches me to respect the Lordship of Jehovah. “You shall not murder” teaches me to respect the life of my fellow man. “You shall not steal” teaches me to respect his property. “You shall not commit adultery” teaches me to respect his marriage (and my own). “You shall not bear false witness” teaches me to live in honesty and integrity. These ageless principles show us not only evils to avoid, but values to cherish and uphold.

The Ten Commandments are not the sum total of God’s law — for Israel or for us. The Mosaic Law involved much more than these few statutes. And the gospel certainly calls us to more than mere adherence to a handful of precepts (cf. Mark 10:17-22). But perhaps no other passage of Scripture better sums up the principles in which Biblical morality is rooted. “In some ways, they have been God’s code of ethics for every dispensation — Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian. These principles govern man’s relationship to God, his neighbor, and himself” (Mark White).

It goes without saying that our society sorely needs to return to the principles of the Ten Commandments. Instead, we frequently hear of efforts to have these immortal words removed from classrooms and courtrooms across the land. Yet even if that happens, we can still ensure that they aren’t removed from our hearts. A better life, a better family, a better society, and a better church all begin with these God-given directives. Let’s learn them again.

(To be continued)