The Ten Commandments
The ten commandments are listed starting in Exodus 20:1
The commandments, laws, statutes, judgments and covenants are all one in the same.
Deuteronomy 4:13-14 "And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it"
To give a commandment is to give a charge, instruction, mandate, or a decree. It encompasses all the laws, statutes, judgments and covenants. The laws, statutes, judgments and covenants are a break down of his commandments.
Exodus 20:6 " And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."
Deuteronomy 6:25 "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us."
Galatians 3:10 "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
The keeping of God's commands make a person holy and perfect before God.
Numbers 15:40 "That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God."
1 John 2:3-5 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."
It is eternal
Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;"
It's living as God lives.
Deuteronomy 8:6 "Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him."
Ten Commandments as they are called, are a condensed version of the statutes, judgments and covenants by which a person is to live by. They are broken down into two great commandments from which the rest proceed, love for God and love for your neighbor. They are further defined as the first four commandments define how man is to love God, and the remaining six define how man is to love his/her neighbor.
It is how you show your love for God.
I You shall have no other god's before me II You shall not make unto thee any graven image III You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain IV Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy
How you show love for your neighbor
V Honor your father and your mother VI You shall not murder VII You shall not commit adultery VIII You shall not steal IX You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor X You shall not covet,
God's law is perfect.
Psalms 19:7 " The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
1 Kings 8:61 "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."
God's law is an expression of 'love' for God.
Deuteronomy 11:1 "Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway."
Deuteronomy 11:13 "And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,"
Deuteronomy 11:22 "For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;"
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
John 14:21 "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
1 John 5:2-3 "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
They create a blessing in ones life.
Deuteronomy 11:26-27 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:"
Revelation 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Those who keep the commandments have right to the tree of life.
Revelation 22:14 " Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
A statute defines how the principles of God's law are enacted in a given situation, such as, "Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind" "thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed", and clean and unclean statutes. There are too many to list.
The judgments spell out the blessings that occur for ones obedience, and punishments that occur for disobedience.
Some of the blessings for obedience are found in Leviticus 26:1-16.
Some of the punishments for disobedience are found in Leviticus 26:14-46
Deuteronomy 28:15 "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:"
Deuteronomy 28:45-46 "Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever."
A Covenant is an agreement between parties. One party may agree to do something in return for something from the other party.
Exodus 34:10 "And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee."
By keeping his commandments, you enter into a covenant.
Deuteronomy 4:13 "And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."
The covenant is valid for eternity to those who keep his commands.
Psalms 111:9 "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name."
As for those that claim the laws are nailed to the cross?
Many claim that Paul says there no longer required yet he said that he kept them:
Acts 24:14 "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: "
Acts 28:17 "And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans."
The priesthood had come up with it's own oral traditions, man-made doctrines and commandments which guided in the interpretation of the written law that was given by God. Eventually these where put into writing and embodied as part of the written law. It was these that were nailed to the cross, along with the temple laws, for Christ came to be our only Priest.
Matthew 15:9 "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Mark 7:7 "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Colossians 2:20-22 "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not. Which all are to perish with the using.) after the commandments and doctrines of men?"
Titus 1:13-16 "This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. hey profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
1 John 2:3-5 " And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."
The Ten Commandments are affirmed in the New Testament numerous times.
1. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matthew 4:10, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Timothy 2:5).
2. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21, Acts 17:29).3. "That the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed" (1 Timothy 6:1).
4. "He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works." "There remains therefore a rest [keeping of a sabbath] for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His" (Hebrews 4:4, 9, 10).
5. "Honor your father and your mother" (Matthew 19:19, Ephesians 6:1-2).
6. "You shall not murder" (Romans 13:9, 1 Peter 4:15).
7. "You shall not commit adultery" (Matthew 19:18, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
8. "You shall not steal" (Romans 13:9, Ephesians 4:28).
9. "You shall not bear false witness" (Romans 13:9, Revelation 21:8).
10. "You shall not covet" (Romans 7:7, Colossuans
3:5).
His law existed prior to Mt Sinai.
Genesis 26:5 "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
How did Christ fulfill the law?
Matthew 5:17-18 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
What does fulfill mean? The word as translated from the Greek means: 'to make full, to fill full, to fulfill.'.
Fill full = complete.
Christ came to bring to an end the animal sacrifices and temple rituals. The
animal sacrifices and other temple rituals were brought to completion through
the sacrifice of Christ.
Hebrews 10:5-12 "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;"
With Christ serving as High Priest in heaven making intercession for sin, the earthly priesthood was brought to completion. Now each believer acts as a temple for God's holy spirit.
Fulfill = do, carry out.
Christ revealed the full meanings behind the laws of God by preaching the
gospel in order to bring the knowledge of salvation through the obedience of the
commandments, not only by the letter, but in the spirit of the law. Christ
fulfilled the law by bringing it to its full meaning and intent. He magnified
the laws and commandments of God, and made clear the spiritual aspects of the
law.
"Fulfill" - fill to the full - does not mean eliminate or cancel.
If Christ had come to abolish the law he would not have magnified its meaning
and intent. The truth is if we love the Lord and Christ we will desire to keep
his commandments.
Conclusion
Jeremiah 31:33-34 "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."