The Decalogue contrasted with The Law of Christ

 The Decalogue contrasted with the Law of Christ, examined in Ten Points.

The Decalogue is tied to the Mosaic Covenant.

In four places in Scripture (listed below), the Decalogue is described as the Mosaic Covenant. While it is not the sum total of everything given to ethnic Israel (see Ex 34:32), the Decalogue is certainly the Tablets of Testimony of that covenant (Ex 25:16; 31:18, 32:15, 34:29).

Exodus 34:28 (HCSB) Moses was there with the LORD 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets.

Deuteronomy 4:12-13 (HCSB) Then the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice. He declared His covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which He wrote on two stone tablets.

1 Kings 8:20-21 (HCSB) The LORD has fulfilled what He promised. I have taken the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, where the LORD’s covenant is that He made with our ancestors when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

2 Chronicles 6:10-11 (HCSB) So Yahweh has fulfilled what He promised. I have taken the place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised. I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. I have put the ark there, where Yahweh’s covenant is that He made with the Israelites.

There are two versions of the Decalogue, and they differ in ways not explained by textual variances. Which version is authoritative? Secondly, the Decalogue, being carved in stone tablets and called "the Ten Words" would not fit on stone tablets if all the words found in the Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5 versions were counted as these ten words. If you see the Decalogue as God's "Moral Law" how do you derive what that "moral law" is? Which version of the 4th word is authoritative?

Consider Exodus 20:5-6 (ESV) You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Is this part of the "moral law" - being smack in the middle of both versions of the Decalogue? How do we conclude what words spoken by Moses were carved in stone? If the Decalogue is the eternal, unchanging moral law of God, why did YHWH repeal the vengeance found in Ex 20:5 in Deuteronomy 24:16? Fathers are not to be put to death for ⌊their⌋ children or children for ⌊their⌋ fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.

 

The Law of Moses was given to National Israel, alone.

Deuteronomy 5:1-5 (HCSB) Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully. The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to report the word of the LORD to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (HCSB) Be careful to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the LORD your God has commanded you. You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the foreigner who lives within your gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

This reissuing of the covenant and law provided the historical context ethnic Israel needed to ground them in their identity with YHWH. They, not others, were His covenant people. This version of the 4th word aligns with the introduction, clearly showing this law was given, as part and parcel of the covenant, to only those who were on Mt Horeb when YHWH gave the law and covenant to the infant nation of Israel. Moses makes it very clear that this law was not given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but to them who were on the mountain on that day.   

Nehemiah 9:13-14 (HCSB) You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions, and good statutes and commands. You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them, and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction through Your servant Moses.

John 7:19 (HCSB) Didn’t Moses give you the law?

John 8:17 (HCSB) Even in your law it is written that the witness of two men is valid.

Romans 9:4 (HCSB) They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises.

In both Old and New Covenant passages, the law of Moses is described as being given to ethnic Israel; not to the world and not to the saints.

 

The Law of Moses is a unit, not divisible into different categories.

Galatians 3:10 (HCSB) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: Everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

Galatians 5:3 (HCSB) Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law.

James 2:10 (HCSB) For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of ⌊breaking it⌋ all.

The law is consistently spoken of as a unit - keeping one point obligates one to keep every point; failing on one point is being guilty of the whole law. Every law given by God is moral, for He is pure morality. The covenant context reveals how and to whom His specific laws are to be kept. Those in Adam are bound to God's Universal Law (called the law of nature or law of conscience by some); those who were in the Mosaic community were bound to the Mosaic Law; those who are in Christ are bound by the Law of Christ. All of these laws have points in common for they all come from God.

 

Why the Law of Moses was given.

Romans 5:20 (HCSB) The law came along to multiply the trespass.

Galatians 3:19 (HCSB) Why then was the law ⌊given⌋? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come.

Galatians 3:22-23 (HCSB) But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.

Romans 7:7 (HCSB) What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

Many claim the law was given to restrain sin - I find that taught nowhere in Scripture. It provides the basis for punishing law-breakers, For the law produces wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15 (HCSB)

 

The Law of Moses was for a time.

Matthew 11:13 (HCSB) For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John;

Luke 16:16 (HCSB) The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed,

When John came, as the herald of the promised Seed, the Law's prophetic purpose ended.

Romans 7:1 (HCSB) Since I am speaking to those who understand law, brothers, are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives?

Romans 7:4 (HCSB) Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the ⌊crucified⌋ body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God.

Romans 7:6 (HCSB) But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

Galatians 2:19 (HCSB) For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God.

The Jews who were dead to Christ and alive to the law were under that law. Those Jews who were made alive in Christ were put to death in relation to the Law. They serve in the new and better way of the Spirit of God, not in the old letter that brought death. Paul goes so far (in Gal 2) as to say that in order to live for God one must die to the law. This lines up with what he wrote in Romans 7 - and it aligns with other Scripture that says if you live by the law you must do all of it and will be cursed when he does not. Far better to die to the law and be alive in Christ!

Galatians 3:19 (HCSB) Why then was the law ⌊given⌋? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come.

When the promised Seed came, the law as regulation ended - along with its covenant.

Galatians 3:22-26 (HCSB) But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

The law was the guardian (not tutor as some translations say - this is a modern definition which was not in use when Paul wrote this passage) for national Israel. The law kept, guarded Israel until the promised Seed came. Since Christ came, the law ceased in that function as well. No longer prophetic, no longer regulation, no longer guardian. Something new has come!

 

The Law of Moses was abolished.

Romans 10:4 (HCSB) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The law was ended, set aside as law, for all who believe in Christ.

Ephesians 2:15 (HCSB) He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.  

2 Corinthians 3:11 (HCSB) For if what was fading away was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.

Here we see the Mosaic Law, inclusive of the commandments written on stone, was abolished, annulled, ended, set aside, fading away (Strong's G2673 - destroy, abolish). This is not the same word found in Matthew 5:17, which is G2647; they are similar. The law was abolished, destroyed as law (Eph 2, 2 Cor 3) but not destroyed as revelation.

Jesus fulfilled the law, which all throughout Matthew does not mean "confirmed" or "kept" but means filled up, complete; brought to its intended end. The word "fulfilled" (pleroo) is used 16 times in this gospel; by far the preponderance of the appearances of pleroo are 'eschatological.' By this is it meant not that they have reference to the Second Coming, but that from the Old Covenant perspective they represent a future work of God tied to a particular age (i.e. the New Covenant). The fulfillment has to do with how the Old Covenant prophetic word is taken up in the person and work of Christ. One example is: When [Joseph] arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.' It is with this fulfillment in particular that we catch a glimpse of Matthew's vision with regard to the profound nature of Christ's fulfillment of prophecy. Throughout this gospel, "fulfillment" is part and parcel of the shadow/fulfillment process found throughout the redemptive story; it is not testimony of Jesus keeping the law.

Keep the law. tēreō (5083): from teros (a watch; perhaps akin to <G2334> (theoreo)); to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon.

 

Fulfill the law. plēroō (4137): from <G4134> (pleres); to make replete, i.e. (literal) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow). As one author put it: “That which was empty, sketchy, has become filled up, filled out, and thereby glorified.”

 

The New Covenant laws

We in the New Covenant are not without law; but we are not within the Law of Moses. New Covenant passages describe this new law as the Spirit's law of life, the law of Christ, the perfect Law of Liberty, and the Royal law. This law is based on the two great commandments, to love God and neighbor - not as taught by the Mosaic Law but as taught and modeled by the Lord Jesus, in light of the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1-2 (HCSB) Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Galatians 6:2 (HCSB) Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:21 (HCSB) To those who are without ⌊that⌋ law, like one without the law—not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law—to win those without the law.

James 1:25 (HCSB) But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does ⌊good⌋ works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

James 2:8 (HCSB) Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.

This phrase, love your neighbor as yourself, is the second great command, taken from Lev 19:18. It is the other side of the coin which also conveys the greatest command: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, cited from Deuteronomy 6:5. On these two commands, neither taken from the Decalogue, hang the Law and the prophets – all the scripture then in hands of man. This shows us that while the Law of Moses is not our master, certain truths that apply to all of God’s people are found in His books. Jesus draws out two and declares them to be supreme to the Old Covenant, the essence of the New Covenant – love for God and one another; love as defined and portrayed in the Bible, not as our culture as deceitfully defined it these past few centuries.

Contrasting Old and New Covenant laws

As Moses went up into a mountain to get the old Law, so Christ went up into a mountain to give the new Law (Mat 5-7; cf. 2 Cor 3).

John 1:17 (HCSB) for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Just as there is a distinct contrast between law and gospel, here John reveals a distinct contrast between law and grace & truth. The covenant given through Moses was a law-based covenant, with all the criminal sanctions for violations. The covenant made with the blood of Christ is a grace-based covenant, with forgiveness for sin and no legal code hanging over the heads of those within it.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the ethics of His kingdom with that of the kingdom of Israel, quoting two of the Ten Words exactly, showing how the law of His kingdom is a higher standard not found in the Mosaic Law. "Do not murder" does not teach "love others as I have loved you;" "Do not commit adultery" does not teach "love your wife as Christ loved the church." "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy" was not part of the Decalogue, but it was the way ethnic Israel lived - as they applied the Levitical law (cities of refuge, etc.).

The parable of the Good Samaritan shows that the Jews had the wrong idea of who their neighbors were - they thought only fellow Jews were their neighbors. That parable also showed how they hated their enemies, as the Pharisee crossed to the other side of the street to avoid the unclean person in the ditch. If the injured man had been a Jew, the Pharisee would have helped him; he wasn't a Jew, so he was a "dog" - an outsider and enemy of Israel. Jesus said, "Love your enemies, pray for them;" He was teaching that in His kingdom, everyone you come in contact with is your neighbor and we are to do good to all, especially those in the household of faith.  Different mindset than in the Mosaic community; one based on love rather than a legal code.

Christ teaches those things which Moses did not. How could the Decalogue be our law if Jesus gave us a higher, better law?

Acts 15:5 (HCSB) But some of the believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses!” Acts 15:10 (HCSB) Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? The light yoke of Christ is light because Christ is the "lead ox" but also because there's a different load being pulled. Not the tablets of stone but the law of Christ. Telling saints they must keep the law of Moses is testing God! This passage is not restricted to justification as the controversy was about justification and how Gentile Christians were to live. The charge from the Pharisees, the discussion, and the letter all reflect this larger scope.

2 Corinthians 5:14 (HCSB) For Christ’s love compels us. Law keeping is not what gives us love nor the ability to obey; the love of Christ does this.

Romans 8:1-2 (HCSB) Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Since Paul declared the law chiseled in letters on stone to be "the ministry of death" how can that law be the law of the New Covenant, wherein all is life? How can the Decalogue be for the saints when the Spirit's law of life in Christ has set us free from it?

How can the Decalogue be part of the Law of Christ when it is starkly contrasted with it in 1 Corinthians 9:19-21? For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. Paul described himself as being without - not having - the Law of Moses; he merely behaved as though he was under that law so his freedom would not distract Jews from his gospel. He made clear his true status in verse 21- not under the Law of Moses but under the law of Christ. How could the Law of Moses (its capstone - the Decalogue) be part of or equal to the law of Christ when Paul sets that against one another in several places?

Galatians 3:2-6 (ESV) Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by 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? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith — just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Having been given life by the Spirit, maturing in Christ is NOT by works of law-keeping!

Hebrews 7:11-13, 18, 19 (HCSB) If then, perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well. For the One these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. ... So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. Law is tied to covenant. The Mosaic Law was based on the Mosaic Covenant, administered by the Levitical priesthood. When the New Covenant came, the priesthood changed - and this mandated a change of law as well. The law of the Old Covenant was annulled as law, it was not translated into the New Covenant as law. The Spirit provides a better hope, by which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 10:1 (ESV) For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. The Law of Moses had its purpose in its time. It was unable to save and unable to make perfect anyone as it was mere shadow while the substance is Christ (Col 2:17).

John 15:12 (ESV) This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:17 (ESV) These things I command you, so that you will love one another. This is the Law of Christ - the rule for Christian living is not the Law of Moses, not the "moral Law of God" as the Decalogue is called by man.

Romans 13:8 (HCSB) Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:10 (HCSB) Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

Galatians 5:14 (HCSB) For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

There are some who claim Christians must live under the Decalogue as a rule of life or we will think murder is OK. Christians are indwelt by the Spirit of God and we have been shown that selfish anger at a brother is the same as murder, and we do not un-hinge the Old Testament from our theology. We read about how wicked murder is and see our anger at others is of the same sinful attitude. We read how we are to love one another as Christ loved us and see how great indeed the two Great Commandments are. We are not lawless, we are within the Law of Christ!

 

Great Commission: Teaching them all I have commanded you. Where did Jesus teach that His disciples are to keep the Decalogue? Jesus told His disciples the greatest commandment was to love God - something not taught in the Decalogue. He also told us the second greatest commandment is to love one another as He loved us - something not taught in the Decalogue.

How can the Decalogue be in the law of Christ when it doesn't command or teach us to LOVE? The Decalogue teaches what sin is.

Paul teaches that the Law is good and that it is the ministry of death. The best way to reconcile his statements is to see that the Law serves as revelation from God, and this is very good; it also serves as regulation for those under the law covenant, and this is very heavy. This is clearly seen in Romans 3:21 But now, apart from the law [as regulation], God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets [as revelation].

One rule of hermeneutics that is very helpful.

Law exists in Scripture as Regulation and Revelation. John Owen recognized this, saying, "The law is taken two ways: 1. For the whole revelation of the mind and will of God ... and 2. For the covenant rule of perfect obedience."

Law as regulation is given in context of the covenant to which it belongs. Violations of law bring consequences, which are spelled out in that covenant.

There is no exception to this, in that laws with punishments do not spill out of their covenant.

Since all of God's Word is Revelation, it is good for us if applied properly. This goes for law and narrative.

This is why a principle is seen in more than one law in more than one covenant - it's all from God. Don't confuse that with the papist fable of "trans-covenantal law."

 

Summary

Man is naturally wired for works righteousness. Having a codified list of "Do"s and "Dont"s satisfies our natural desire to prove ourselves. This is not how we, who are dead to the law and alive in Christ, are to live - for love does not keep records of wrongs (1 Cor 13:5). The Mosaic Law was not given as a rule for life for those indwelt by the Spirit of God. Christ has taught us and shown us how to love, He has given us His Spirit and His Word so we would not be left to figure it out on our own. And He has given us to one another so we can practice loving one another in spite of our differences and disagreements. May it please the Lord our God to continue to pour out His love and grace on us so we would shine as lights in this wicked world.

New Covenant, New Law

We're all familiar with the New Covenant reference in Jeremiah 31:31-33 (HCSB) “Look, the days are coming”—⌊this is⌋ the LORD’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ⌊This one will⌋ not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”—the LORD’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the LORD’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Many WCF Reformers deny the newness of the New Covenant, but that error is not my point right now.

Notice what the Spirit said through the prophet: The New Covenant will NOT BE LIKE the Old Covenant; that covenant made with the forefathers when He brought them out of Egypt. The New Covenant, established with the death of Christ, is a better covenant than the Old one (Hebrews 7:22).

Here's the question: SINCE the New Covenant is NOT LIKE the Old Covenant, WHY would His teaching (KJV says "law" - the Hebrew word can mean law, instruction, precept) be the same as that of the Old Covenant?  

In the epistle to the Hebrews, we read of differences between the Old and New Covenants. In chapter 7 the Spirit contrasts the priesthoods of the two covenants. In verse 11 we see that the Mosaic Law was received under the Levitical priesthood. Verses 13 - 17 tells us the priesthood of the New Covenant is different and indescribably superior to the priesthood of the Mosaic Covenant. Verse 12 tells us that the change of priesthood from old to new covenants REQUIRES a change of law. And then we read, Hebrews 7:18-19 (HCSB) "So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God." The "previous command" is the Mosaic Law (of which the Decalogue is the testimony) which was annulled. This aligns with Jesus' statement that He came to "fulfill" the law - which is to bring it to its intended end or goal. This aligns with Paul's statement that the law of Moses was a guardian of ethnic Israel until the coming of the promised Messiah.

We recognize that Jeremiah 29:11 is not directly applicable to us, though we learn much about man and about God in that entire passage. Why do so many not recognize this same reality with the law of Moses? The Decalogue was written on stone tablets, given to people with stone hearts who worshiped God in a stone temple. All of these stony things are gone, are not the substance of the New Covenant. The law of Christ is not a codified list of commands. Paul said of the fruit of the Spirit that against these things there is no law. Rather than a list of prohibitions and attending promises of punishment, the law of Christ is the law of love; written on fleshy hearts which are in spiritual people who are the temple of God.  Yes, the New Covenant Scriptures have many imperatives - written with pen on paper. These help us understand the law of Christ as we are still in these sinful bodies of flesh.

The narrow path is the path of love - since we are first loved by Christ, we love Him and one another. His written Word guides us, His spirit wills and equips us to do what is pleasing to Him. There is a ditch on either side of the narrow path: one side is the heavy yoke of the Mosaic Law, which no man can bear (Acts 15:10); the other side is antinomianism, the sin of thinking and living as is there is no law (1 John 3:4 - often wrongly translated as saying "sin is the breaking of the law". It says, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” There is no reference to ‘transgressing’ in that verse – it was added by the Geneva Bible translators, and other translations (KJV, Jubilee 2000, American KJV) simply followed suit. On the other hand, the NIV, New KJV, ESV, Berean Literal, NASB, CSB, NET, NAS1977, ASV, ERV, Young's Literal all agree: sin is lawlessness.)

The narrow path is Christ focused as He leads; we walk with Moses, not led by him.

Is the Decalogue the rule of life for Christians?

The beloved Puritan, Thomas Watson, described the Decalogue as a golden chain hung around the necks of the saints, a rule of life for God's children. And he called all who disagreed with him, antinomians.

One can search the Scriptures to see if YHWH describes these tablets in such terms, but that search will be in vain. He describes the Decalogue as the Tablets of Testimony of the Mosaic Covenant; as the ministry of death. His Word tells us the law was given to INCREASE sin.

Laws given to natural, carnal, unregenerate man are normally written against certain behaviors - do not murder, do not steal, etc. The Decalogue is MAINLY such law: do not make idols, do not worship idols, do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not covet what ain't yours.  8 of the 10 words on the Decalogue are against something. The two positive words command people to rest in their homes and to obey their parents. Which of these commands require faith in God to perform? None of them. They are fit for the unregenerate community (yes, there were some believers therein, but only a few) to which they were given.

What instructions are given to the saints? We read that we are to worship God in spirit and truth; love one another as Christ has loved us; bear one another's burdens; be humble; weep and rejoice with one another; etc. Against these things, Paul said, there is no law. Such commands CANNOT be kept by those without the Holy Spirit. New Covenant, new priesthood, new law.

The Spirit's law of Life has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8). The Law of Moses could not bring about obedience because it was limited by the flesh. The Spirit of God brings obedience, willing and equipping us to do what is pleasing to Him.

Contrary to Andy Stanley's view, we do not throw away or "unhinge" the Hebrew Scriptures. All of what was written is for our benefit (Romans 15, 1 Cor 10). Contrary to Thomas Watson's view, the apostles declared it was contrary to the faith to require the saints to keep the Law of Moses (Acts 15). 

I do not understand why so many people claim we must go back to the Mosaic Law to know what morality is, to live by it as rule for life. Paul had perfect opportunity to make it clear, if living by Mosaic Law was our charge:

Titus 2 gives qualifications for elders, encouragement for godly living to young men, exhortation to slaves to be faithful, and finishes with this:

Titus 2:11-15 (HCSB) For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. Say these things, and encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Not a smidgen of Moses. It's all grace. All the work of the Spirit in our lives. No written code of death that was given to an unregenerate community.

The right path is to fix our eyes on Christ, trust Him, seek wisdom to walk as Children of the light, and take care not to fall into the ditch on either side of the road.

A Look at Reformed Rules for Rightly Understanding the Ten Commandments

Chapter 4 of John Colquhoun's book, A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel, is a review of what he and other Reformers term Rule for Rightly Understanding the Ten Commandments.

These rules are required only if you have the view Colquhoun has: that the Decalogue is much more than tablets testifying of the law covenant given to national Israel and are a universal law of some sort. If one rightly discerns the covenant structure of Scripture, accepting that an unchangeable God DOES have different laws for different people under different covenants, it is easier to accept what the Bible plainly teaches about the tablets of stone.

RULE 1. Where a duty is required, the contrary sin is forbidden (Isaiah 58:13); and where a sin is forbidden the contrary duty is required (Ephesians 4:28). Every command forbids the sin which is opposite to, or inconsistent with, the duty which it requires.

Rather than being a categorical teaching on forbidding the contrary sin, Isaiah 58:13 is a very specific rebuke to national Israel for their long-standing, continual abuse of the Sabbath that was given to them as sign to them and no other people (Ezekiel 20:9-20). Where are those in the New Covenant told to keep the weekly Sabbath? Likewise, rather than being a categorical teaching that the contrary duty is required, Ephesians 4:28 is a very specific doctrine wherein one should work with hands to provide for himself and he should be willing to share with others. Telling a thief to stop stealing and to work for his food is not a sweeping command for everyone being rebuked for any sin is to stop that sin and do the contrary duty. Do we see such teaching in the epistles written to the saints? To develop such rules as if they were Scripture puts the teaching of men equal with Scripture.

RULE 2. Where a duty is required, every duty of the same kind is also required; and where a sin is forbidden, every sin of the same sort is prohibited. Under one duty, all of the same kind are commanded; and under one sin, all of the same sort are forbidden. ... When He commands us to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” He requires us to engage in prayer, praise, hearing the Word, receiving the Sacraments, and all the other duties of that holy day.

The Sabbath command has NO instruction anywhere in the Old Covenant law requiring "prayer, praise, hearing the Word, receiving the Sacrament, and all the other duties of that holy day." Reformers have invented a new Sabbath which includes these duties, but the command given to national Israel knows nothing of them.

Colquhoun continues: "Where the duties of children to parents are commanded, not only are all the duties of inferiors to superiors in every other relation required, but also all the duties of superiors to inferiors. On the other hand, when the Lord forbids us to kill, He forbids us also to strike or wound our neighbor, or to harbor malice and revenge against him (Matthew 5:21-22)."

He makes no effort to support the first point, but you will search Exodus 20 in vane looking for it. We do see in Ephesians 6 teaching on children obeying parents (vs 1-3) followed by teaching for slaves to obey their masters (vs 5-9). But Ephesians 6 does not posit the instructions to slaves as being the same command as given to children, but both commands are given in light of who God is in each situation. The basis is not the law given through Moses; it is the revelation of who God is given through the apostle.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not teaching the true meaning of the law given on Sinai; He is contrasting temporal Israel law with kingdom of God law. There is no teaching in the Old Covenant what we read in verse 22; this is a higher law given to those with the Holy Spirit.

RULE 3. That which is forbidden is at no time to be done; but that which is required is to be done only when the Lord affords opportunity. What God forbids is sin, and is never to be done (Romans 3:8); what He requires is always our duty (Deuteronomy 4:8-9), and yet every particular duty is not to be performed at all times (Matthew 12:7).

In general, this rule is not objectionable. There are some things, however, that are sin in one covenant but not in another. For example, Jews were forbidden from eating many foods; part of the law given them in the Mosaic Covenant to set them apart from the other nations. Generation before that law was given on Sinai, the covenant given to Noah and all creation gave similar but different regulations on food: Genesis 9:3-4 (HCSB) "Every living creature will be food for you; as ⌊I gave⌋ the green plants, I have given you everything. However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it." Many creatures were forbidden to the Jews. Peter was adamant that food forbidden by that covenant was unclean for him, a Jew. Yet in the vision given him and in the instructions given through Paul, we see that "everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:4).

Again, a proper understanding of the covenant structure of Scripture is essential in rightly applying the Decalogue and Colquhoun's rules.

RULE 4. Whatever we ourselves are commanded to be, do, or forbear, we are obliged to do all that it is possible for us to do, according to our places and stations in society, to make others around us to be, do, or forbear the same. We are strictly bound, according to our different stations, to endeavor that every duty is performed, and every sin is forborne, by all to whom our influence can extend (Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Leviticus 19:17).

This rule not only puts a heavy load to perform everything possible but it also takes being your brother's keeper to more than a full-time job. And none of the Scripture passages cited bear this rule out. Now we are to do all for the glory of God, whatever we put our hand to. How does one determine if his "places and stations in society" make our performance possible or "to make others around us" to do everything possible? I heartily agree we are to influence our neighbors and the world for God's glory; but is it our place "to endeavor that every duty is performed, and every sin is forborne, by all to whom our influence can extend"? Where is that taught?

RULE 5. The same duty is required and the same sin is forbidden, in different respects, in several and even in all the divine commands. The transgression of one precept is virtually a breach of all. They are so intimately connected together that if the divine authority is disregarded in any one of them it is slighted in all (Colossians 3:5; 1 Timothy 6:10; James 2:10; 1 John 4:20).

Here I think Colquhoun sees a truth (to break one law is to break the whole law) and stretches it to cover what it does not. The law of Moses is like chain - break one the chain, the whole law, is broken. Nowhere is it written that breaking one law is breaking all of them. And while the character of God is revealed in all law He has given His creatures, not all require the same duty nor forbid the same sin. If this was true, there would be but one law - kind of like in the New Covenant, where we are not bound by the legal code given to national Israel, but bound BY the Law of Christ.

RULE 6. Where a duty is required, the use of all the means of performing it aright, is required; and where a sin is forbidden, every cause, and even every occasion of it, are prohibited. ... when the Lord forbids the profanation of the Sabbath, at the same time He forbids all the employments and recreations by which men profane that holy day.

This rule is another that, on its face, seems good -even though he has no Scripture references to check. When we see the examples Colquhoun uses, we see the consequence of conflating the covenants in Scripture AND conflating ones confession with Scripture.

The Sabbath command in Scripture does not forbid recreation on that day. The command for the weekly Sabbath was to rest from work, in your home. You, your animals, your slaves. The Westminster Confession of Faith has a different Sabbath command, which forbids recreation and commands worship - things not touched on the weekly Sabbath given to national Israel.

Colquhoun also asserts, "Where He forbids murder, He also prohibits the wrath, malice, and revenge which prompt men to commit that crime (Matthew 5:21-22; 1 John 3:15)." Note how he has no Old Covenant reference to support this rule for interpreting the Decalogue on this item? The Old Covenant did not forbid anger within the law against murder. In the New Covenant, we see that our attitude towards a brother is as important as our actions. 1 John 3:15 doesn't forbid anger; it reveals anger as murder in embryo form, if you will allow that word picture. It's part of the teaching that love is contrary to evil and if we are in Christ we will love one another and not be angry with each other but seek reconciliation.

Life in the New Covenant is not a matter of keeping the law - any law - rightly; it's about loving one another as Christ has loved us; loving God because He first loved us. Natural man needs a legal code so other men can punish him for doing wrong. We have the Spirit of God within Who convicts us of sin and guides us in righteousness.

RULE 7. No sin is at any time to be committed in order to avoid or prevent a greater sin. We must not “do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8)

Again - in general, I am in violent agreement. But - Rahab was never rebuked for misleading the soldiers of Jericho in order to save the lives of the spies Joshua had sent. As a rule, this one is good - but I don't see how it relates to the Tablets of Stone per se. It does relate to our walk as saints in a very comprehensive way. All three of Colquhoun's Scripture references in this section are from New Covenant passages.

RULE 8. The commandments of the second table of the law must give place to those of the first when they cannot both be observed together. Our love of our neighbor, for instance, ought to be subjected to our love of God.

One thing to note in the way he has phrased this rule is his belief that the first and second great commandments given by Christ are the summation of the Decalogue, as is commonly taught by Reformed preachers, even though the passage in Matthew overthrows this error as Jesus says all of Scripture hangs on or depends upon these two commandments. This is why loving God and others is the fulfillment of the law - all of it! It's not required that a saint keep the law; it's required he love God and the brotherhood. This fulfills the law, which is why we are dead to it.

Now then, Colquhoun is right when he reminds us our love of God must outweigh our love for other people. Jesus made this clear when He said He came to bring division, mother against daughter, etc. (Matthew 10:34-37)

I would add, that one's view of love for God and man would have to be very low if the Tablets are your standard. Consider: Don't have other gods; don't worship an idol, don't blaspheme, rest in your home, honor your parents, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't covet. Jesus said to love one another as He loved us. We have a very graphic, specific revelation in Scripture as to how He loved and still loves us. We are taught to love our wives as He loves His own people. If a man loves his wife, he will not be tempted to adultery. The last word on the tablets was one not punished by the leaders of Israel - this was for YHWH to identify and punish. So every command on the tablets save the last has to do with BEHAVIOR and is easy for man to check. This is why law-keeping so appeals to our flesh. But love as Christ does - cannot be verified by man, cannot be measured by man. Natural man hates this law.

RULE 9. In our obedience, we should have a special and constant respect to the scope and final end at which the Lord aims by all the commandments in general, or by any one of them in particular. The great end at which God aims in general, in subordination to His own manifested glory, is perfect holiness of heart and life in His people, even as He Himself is holy (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15).

This is another rule that has no apparent attachment to understanding the Decalogue, but is a most excellent reminder at how we are to live, keeping our focus and heart's affection on the Lord Jesus and His glory. AMEN!

RULE 10. The beginning and the end, as well as the sum, of all the commandments is love. “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). “The end of the commandment is love” (1 Timothy 1:5).

If the right love of God and our brothers is the fulfillment and end of the law, why the focus on law-keeping? The proper focus for the child of God is to love Him and to love those He has purchase as His own. It's far easier, as 1st century Jews knew, to drum up a few hundred rules to follow and convince yourself and other that THIS was the way to walk. Living by sight - focused on religious rites and religious piety - leads people to reduce faith in Christ to faith in checking off their obedience. That is not the way to walk, do not be led down that path, for it is dangerous to your soul.

In his conclusion to this chapter, Colquhoun gives wonderful praise to the Holy Spirit for the work of regeneration and conversion. And claims that He writes the same ten words He supposedly wrote on our hearts before we were converted on the new heart of flesh He gives. No, saints. The Decalogue was only written on stone tablets, given to people with stone hearts, who worshiped God in a Stone temple. In the New Covenant, people with hearts of flesh have the law of Christ written on fleshly tablets, and they are the temple of God!

What is Your Standard of Righteousness?

From Webster's 1828 Dictionary: Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles.

Is the Decalogue a standard of righteousness?

1. Do not make other gods.

2. Do not make idols.

3. Do not profane the name of YHWH.

4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.

5. Honor your parents.

6. Do not murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not lie.

10. Do not covet.

Of the ten commandments, 8 are prohibitions against sin and 2 are commands to do something. The 4th command, as spoken by Moses in Exodus 20:8-11, provides instructions on how to keep it (rest from all work). The 5th command does not, merely giving a reason to obey.

Only God can know if a man worships idols or covets, though man may discern evidence of these sins.

How do these instructions establish righteousness?

Contrast the teachings of Moses found in the Decalogue with those of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 and consider: which truly describes righteousness? Perfect love, described in 1 Cor 13, is an attribute of Christ Jesus, alone among men. And He is our righteousness.

Consider what Jesus revealed as the greatest commandments: Matthew 22:37-39 (HCSB) He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." These two commands reflect a high standard of righteousness, one no mortal man can attain. Might these two words, which are NOT a summation of the Decalogue (see verse 40), be the highest standard given to us?