Keeping the 10 commandments appears to be less and less of a priority, especially with the rise of various ideologies, among the most prominent being the ‘woke’ movement.
The general feeling from christians appears to be that nobody is perfect, and that we can’t keep all the 10 commandments today. Some even go as far as to say that Jesus’ death is the reason we no longer need to keep the 10 commandments.
In this article we will be looking at what the scriptures actually say, rather than what christians think. We are told within scriptures that God's thoughts are not our thoughts…
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
And also that the heart (mind) of man is wicked, and who would know better than the creator himself?
Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Paul further expounds on these scriptures when he says that the flesh is at war with the Spirit. The flesh being our carnal nature and the Spirit being God’s Holy Spirit or the laws he has put in all men.
Romans 7:18 (Amplified Version)
18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. For the willingness [to do good] is present in me, but the doing of good is not.
Paul describes this battle within him as two opposites, his human carnal nature, which doesn't want him to do good, and a good within him.
A simple example could be knowing you should be saying or doing something but doing the opposite, such as telling a lie (Exodus 20:16), even though you knew it was the wrong thing to say. A case like this is most likely to occur when you’re put in a situation where there’s pressure. The best biblical example of this is Peter. He was asked three times if he knew the Messiah and he denied him 3 times (Luke 22:54-62)...
Luke 22:54-62
54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.
57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.
59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
What Can We Learn From Peter Denying Jesus?
Peter was later repentant and went on to do great works for the Messiah, which gives us all hope. I say all this to say it’s our duty as believers to follow god's law and not our own mind or opinion.
Perfection Explained
Before I discuss the Ten Commandments, it’s important to tackle a common misbelief when looking at the keeping of God’s 10 commandments, which is “perfection”. The common antithesis to keeping the 10 commandments is that nobody is perfect…
So let’s look at perfection biblically. When we read scriptures we find God telling Abraham to walk before him and be perfect, this was when Abraham was 99 years old.
Genesis 17:1
17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
We know that the only man that was without sin was the Messiah, so God telling Abram to be perfect is confirmation that God decides our perfect.
This is expounded upon when we realize that the Law of God is perfect.
Psalm 19:7
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
In both scriptures the word being used for perfect is Hebrew concordance number #8549 Tamim, which means complete.
How Do The Ten Commandments Apply Today
To get an understanding of the Ten commandments today we have to ask ourselves: what did Jesus (Yahusha) say about the Ten Commandments? When we ask ourselves this question we see instances where the Messiah addressed the Commandments partially.
In a particular exchange the Messiah is asked by a Hebrew ruler what he should do to inherit eternal life and the Messiah asks him whether he knew the Commandments, and then reciting the following to hm:
“Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.”
At which the ruler responds that he has kept all these commandments from his youth the Messiah then tells him that he lacks one thing and tells him to sell his belongings, This doesn't sit well with the ruler as he is a man of many riches.
This interaction is very poignant for Believers because it shows us that the Messiah was using the Commandments as the rule of law. You can read about this below:
Luke 18:18-23
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
Are The Ten Commandments Done Away With?
This leads us to a very common question which is, Are the commandments done away with? The answer should be a straightforward no, but unfortunately many Christians tend to believe that we no longer need the Commandments and nothing could be further from the truth.
As we look further into the words of Christ we are told by him that he came to fulfill the law and not to do away with it. We find this in Matthew 5:17-18
Matthew 5:17-18
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 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
In Christ's very words above he makes it abundantly clear that we should not even think that he came to destroy the law. He further elaborates by saying he came to fulfill the law and that the law would not pass away until all be fulfilled, the stipulation here is that this would not occur until heaven and earth pass away.
This should be a clear direction to all believers that the law is still good and should be used.
In the book of Daniel we see a clear outline of this fulfillment spoken of by Christ.
Daniel 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Here we see the fulfillment of Christ in this prophetic scripture, where we are told that his sacrifice would put an end to the “animal sacrifices and offerings”, such as grain offerings etc. After which those ruling (who were the Romans at the time, as they ruled Israel during the time of Christ. This prophecy also includes all future kingdoms, including our current time) would spread their abominations, and this will happen until “the consummation”, i.e. until the end, which is when Christ comes the second time.
So we know that Christ was crucified between 30 and 33 AD. This means that since this time we have been waiting for Christ to come back and from the time of his sacrifice the Laws of God have not been done away with, because heaven and earth have not passed away.
What Are The Two Greatest Commandments?
With further study we can see Christ referring to two of the greatest Commandments. Which are as follows:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
With a closer look at these two commandments we can see that they fully embody the Ten Commandments.
The first greatest commandment being a summary of the first four Ten Commandments and the second greatest commandment being a summary of the last six commandments of the Ten Commandments. Please take the time to look over them.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Exodus 20:3-11
(1) 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(2) 4 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.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
(3) 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(4) 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 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:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
When we look at these four commandments you see that they give us the perfect direction on how to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
First me must identify who God is, then ensure we don’t idolize anything except him, when we know his name we should be conversant and not use God's name frivolously, and finally we should model ourselves around God and give ourselves time to remember him rather than work 7 days a week.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Exodus 20:12-17
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
As you can see these six commandments give us a great insight on how we should love our neighbor as ourselves because they all deal with external actions towards other people.
This is also confirmed by Paul in the book of Romans 9:13
Romans 9:8-10
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, (1)Thou shalt not commit adultery, (2)Thou shalt not kill, (3)Thou shalt not steal, (4)Thou shalt not bear false witness, (5)Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
In the scripture above we see Paul summarizing the second greatest commandment using five Commandments which shows us he understood that this commandment could be understood better by using the Ten commandments.
Conclusion
I hope you can see that there is great benefit in understanding the Ten Commandments most notably because they are the directions for the two great commandments given to us by Christ.
It can clearly be seen that the Messiah cited the Commandments during his time on Earth. He also made it clear that he came to fulfill the law and not do away with it, which is the fulfillment of Prophecy in Daniel 9:27, where we are told that Christ would come and be sacrificed to put an end to the animal sacrifice and the offerings part of the law.
This is also confirmed in the book of Hebrews:
Hebrews 10:1-10
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 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;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
At no time does the Messiah say that the Ten Commandments are done away with, even after Christ's death and Resurrection we see Paul referencing some of the Ten Commandments (Romans 13:9). This further proves their validity and relevance to believers.
The greatest narrative I see within christendom is this idea that the Commandments were unable to be kept and that is why Christ came, but this is found nowhere in scriptures.
The truth is Christ came as a fulfillment of prophecy as seen in Jeremiah 31:33
Jeremiah 31:33
33 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.
With Christ as a final sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) this has enabled the laws to be written in our inward parts, because there is no longer a requirement for an animal sacrifice to atone for sin.
The truth is Israel disobeyed God's Ten commandments and failed to bring offerings when required, instead they worshiped idols and man-made gods which actually broke the Commandments especially the first and second commandment.
We can read about this in the book of Amos
Amos 5:21-26
21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
As you can see, the Most High is upset with Israel because they have not kept his commandments but instead are following other gods such as Moloch and images of Chuin, another false God (which can be seen in verse 26).
Even before this verse we see that this disobedience was an ongoing issue (in verses 25). Even while Israel was in the wilderness for 40 years before they were established in the land of Israel as a people, they were still breaking God's Commandments.
There is no case of anybody in the scriptures being unable to keep the Ten Commandments because the ten commandments were too difficult to keep; this is a fallacy perpetuated by Christianity that needs to be stopped.
The fact is true believers will keep the Commandments whether they are Israelites or gentiles, true believers will also acknowledge the Commandments because they are the product of the Holy Spirit which is the comforter Christ leaves with us when we believe in him.
Shalom! And Share this with someone that needs it.