Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

Introduction

The moral law was written on Adam’s heart at creation. After he fell, it was defaced but not totally obliterated. According to Romans 2:14—15, some faint impressions of its requirements still remain on the hearts of all human beings, just like stubble in a field of wheat or corn after the crop has been harvested.

At Mount Sinai, God graciously gave an explicit record of that perfect moral law in the form of Ten Commandments. They were written by God himself (Exod. 32:15—16), unlike the civil and ceremonial laws which Moses wrote at his direction. Though given to the children of Israel after their deliverance from Egypt, they enshrine what Adam and Eve were expected to observe. They therefore go back to creation and are authoritative for all people in every time and place. They are a fixed, objective standard of righteousness, and so everyone should be concerned about his or her duty to Almighty God, the Creator and Judge of all the earth, who requires a perfect and perpetual obedience to his revealed will.

A. W. Pink wrote about the uniqueness of the Ten Commandments: Their uniqueness appears first in that this revelation of God at Sinai — which was to serve for all coming ages as the grand expression of his holiness and the summation of man’s duty — was attended with such awe—inspiring phenomena that the very manner of their publication plainly showed that God Himself assigned to the Decalogue peculiar importance. The Ten Commandments were uttered by God in an audible voice, with the fearful adjuncts of clouds and darkness, thunders and lightnings and the sound a trumpet, and they were the only parts of Divine Revelation so spoken — none of the ceremonial or civil precepts were thus distinguished. Those Ten Words, and they alone, were written by the finger of God upon tables of stone, and they alone were deposited in the holy ark for safe keeping. Thus, in the unique honor conferred upon the Decalogue itself we may perceive its paramount importance in the Divine government (The Ten Commandments, Swengel, Pennsylvania: Reiner Publications, 1961, p. 5).

This is borne out in the preface to the Ten Commandments, And God spoke all these words, saying: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage"’ (Exod. 20:1—2). This indicates that the Decalogue is a law of God’s own making and disclosing, which stems from his own nature and dealings with his people. He asserts his own authority and presents himself as the sole object of the worship and service which he requires. This is because he is the ‘I AM’, self-existent and all-determining, and as the LORD he is also the Redeemer. He who made all things brought his people out of Egypt, and so they belong to him by a double tie. Thus, love, grace and mercy are all related to the law and we must never totally separate them. Though the commandments themselves are brief, their scope is vast and the whole of Scripture is a commentary on them. The Bible is therefore like a great statute book of God’s kingdom, having in it the whole body of heavenly instruction, the perfect rules for a holy life and the gracious promise of eternal life.

The Law’s Relationship to Justification and Sanctification
The law and the gospel are the principal themes of divine revelation. Every passage of sacred Scripture is connected, either explicitly or in some related sense, to the one or the other. Even the historical portions of the Old and New Testaments narrate human actions in the light of conformity or opposition to the moral law, or belief or disbelief of the gospel. The ordinances of the ceremonial law, given to the ancient Israelites, were, for the most part, grafted on the Second and Fourth Commandments of the moral law; and in their typical reference, they were an obscure revelation of the gospel. The precepts of the civic law are all reducible to commandments of the moral law, and especially to those of the second table. All threatenings and promises, whether in the Old or in the New Testament, are threatenings or promises attached either to the law or to the gospel. In addition, every prophecy of Scripture is a declaration of future things, connected either with the one or with the other.

As the law and the gospel are the sum and substance of the whole Bible, it is important to relate and distinguish them properly. The clearer our view of the difference between them and their connection with each other, the better will our understanding be of the mind and will of God, and the more useful we will be in his service. But if someone cannot distinguish rightly between them, that person cannot rightly understand or declare divine truth. If he does not have a right and spiritual understanding of the holy law, he cannot have spiritual and transforming discoveries of the glorious gospel; and, on the other hand, if his views of the gospel be erroneous or wrong, his notions of the law cannot be right.

A proper understanding of the difference between the law and the gospel is therefore an essential mark of a minister who rightly divides the Word of truth. Some ministers fail in this task. Charles Bridges says on this:

The mark of a minister ‘approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed’, is that he ‘rightly divides the word of truth’. This implies a full and direct application of the Gospel to the mass of his unconverted hearers, combined with a body of spiritual instruction to the several classes of Christians. His system will be marked by Scriptural symmetry and comprehensiveness. It will embrace the whole revelation of God, in its doctrinal instructions, experimental privileges, and practical results. This revelation is divided into two parts — the Law and the Gospel — essentially distinct from each other, though so intimately connected that an accurate knowledge of neither can be obtained without the other (The Christian Ministry, London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967, p. 222).

The law and the gospel are bound up with the doctrines of justification and sanctification which, in turn, are inseparably joined in the application of God’s salvation. But while they cannot be separated, they must be distinguished. Let us therefore be clear on the definition of each of these two basic doctrines and how the law relates to each.

Justification
The answer to Question 70 of The Westminster Larger Catechism defines justification as follows:

Justification is an act of God’s free grace unto sinners, in which he pardoneth all their sins, accepteth and accounteth their persons righteous in his sight; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone.

One may ask, What do the Ten Commandments have to do with our justification? The answer is that they show us that we need a righteousness to stand before God, which we do not have; and, as a schoolmaster (Gal. 3:24), they therefore take us to Christ who is our righteousness. The law reveals two things which are necessary to be known for salvation:

1. The law reveals the character of God
God’s law comes from his nature. It is what God is like that determines what is right, and his will imposes that standard upon all his creatures as a moral obligation. The law is therefore perfect (Psa. 19:7), because it reflects the perfection of God’s nature.

Man is therefore not answerable to an abstract law, but to God himself. Behind the law is the lawgiver, and to find fault with the former is to malign the latter. The law is not the arbitrary edicts of a capricious despot, but the wise, holy, loving precepts of one who is jealous for his glory and for the good of his people.

2. The law reveals the condition of man
Human beings are born disobedient. But to walk up to someone and say, ‘All have sinned’, does not bring conviction unless that person knows what sin is. As sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4), so knowledge of sin comes by means of the law (Rom. 3:20). The knowledge of sin as a personal violation of God’s law brings conviction.

In days gone by, children learned the commandments before they learned John 3:16 because only then did John 3:16 have real meaning for them. Likewise, John Eliot’s first translation work among the Indians was not of John 3:16 but of the Ten Commandments, and he preached his first sermon on them. Did John Eliot think the Indians would be saved by the Ten Commandments? Of course not, but the commandments would show them why they needed to be saved — they were law-breakers, and they needed a law-keeper to be their substitute.

Similarly, John Paton, the great Presbyterian missionary to the New Hebrides, first taught the commandments. Why? Because people will never be properly interested in a relationship with the Redeemer until they see the terrible breach in their relationship to the Creator. The commandments are the moral mandate of the Creator to creatures. ‘The sharp needle of the law makes way for the scarlet thread of the gospel.’ The law is indispensable in biblical, God-centred evangelism.

Sanctification
Chapter 13 of the Westminster Confession defines sanctification as follows:

I. They who are effectually called and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified really and personally, through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

II. This sanctification is throughout in the whole man, yet imperfect in this life; there abideth still some remnants of corruption in every part: whence ariseth a continual and irreconcilable war; the flesh lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.

III. In which war, although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail, yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome: and so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

But many ask, Can the Ten Commandments have anything to do with sanctification? Was not the law fully abrogated by the coming of Christ into the world? Was not Christ made under the law in order that he might free his people from it? Does not the New Testament expressly declare that we are not under law but under grace? Is not the attempt to overawe men’s consciences by the authority of the Decalogue a legalistic imposition, altogether at variance with that liberty which the Saviour has brought in by his obedience unto death? The answer is that the Lord Jesus Christ himself said, ‘Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled’ and ‘Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 5:17—18, 20). It is true that the Christian is not under the moral law as a way of justification, nor as a ministration of condemnation, but he is not free of it as a rule of life, lived in love to the Saviour.

Such a view of the Ten Commandments, therefore, avoids both antinomianism and legalism. The former sees no relationship between the law and the gospel except that of being free; the latter fails to recognise the vital connection between the two. Some preach the law instead of the gospel. Some modify them and preach neither. Some think the law is the gospel, and some think the gospel is the law; those who hold these views are not clear on either. The relationship between justification and sanctification is summarised in Question 77 of the Westminster Larger Catechism as follows:

Q. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?
A. Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ; in sanctification his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued; the one doth equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation; the other is neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to perfection.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne made this relationship very clear by saying:

It is a holy-making gospel. Without holy fruits all evidences are vain. Dear friends, you have awakenings, enlightenings, experiences, and many due signs; but if you lack holiness, you shall never see the Lord. A real desire after complete holiness is the truest mark of being born again. Jesus is a holy Saviour. He first covers the soul with His white raiment, then makes the soul glorious — restores the lost image of God and fills the soul with pure, heavenly holiness. Unregenerate men among you cannot bear this testimony

There are many good reasons why the doctrines of justification and sanctification should concern every serious Christian:

1. They are the foundation of true conversion.
2. They put repentance back into the evangelistic message.
3. They bear directly on the many self-deceived church members who have walked aisles, troubled baptismal waters, signed decision cards, and had their names entered on church rolls, yet who give no biblical evidence of having been born again by the Holy Spirit. Can a serious-minded person look at present-day church members and not be moved with holy concern and compassion?
4. They deal a death blow to all second-work-of-grace teachings, such as the ‘higher life’, the ‘crucified life’ and the ‘deeper life’, which represent a wrong view of sanctification.
5. They should demolish the notion that one may have Jesus as a Saviour from hell without submitting to him as Lord and that obedience to his precepts is an optional extra.

The duties and sins found in the Ten Commandments teach the need of justification and are also the only fixed, objective standard for sanctified behaviour. The following truth cannot be overemphasized: The working of God’s Spirit in our hearts on earth and the cleansing of our sins by Christ’s blood in heaven are inseparably joined together in the application of God’s salvation. Justification and sanctification always go together in salvation. Any attempt to place the basic act of submission to Christ after conversion cuts the vital nerve of the new covenant and perverts biblical Christianity. To separate these blessings which God has joined together is to bring dishonour on the blood of Christ which was shed to enact the entirety of the new covenant.

Principles for a Right Understanding and Use of the Decalogue

The Ten Commandments must be understood according to the rest of Scripture and not in the light of moral philosophy or social custom. We must not restrict ourselves to a superficial study of the words in which they are expressed but should include material found in other portions of Scripture which is relevant to them. The following are the principles to be followed in studying the Decalogue:

1. The commandments must be understood according to the explanation that the prophets, Christ, and the apostles gave of them.
2. The commandments are spiritual; therefore, they go to the heart and require internal obedience. They require more than outward conformity; they require inward affection. They forbid not only the acts of sin, but the desire and inclination to sin. The Tenth Commandment shows this.
3. There is a positive and a negative side to each of the commandments. Where a sin is forbidden, a duty is commanded; where a duty is commanded, a sin is implied.
4. Where a sin is forbidden, what leads to that sin is also forbidden.
5. Our understanding of the commandments which deal with relationships between people must be governed by the commandments which deal with our relationship to God. If there seems to be a conflict, our duty to God personally must take precedence.
6. It is essential to remember that the purpose of the commandments is our good as well as God’s glory
7. Whatever is forbidden or commanded we are bound to try to prevent or see performed by others, according to our position in society and our relationship to them.
8. What is forbidden is not to be done at any time, while what is required is always our duty, and especially so at particular times.
9. The beginning and the end, as well as the sum of all the commandments, is love, which is the fulfilment of the law

These principles will help in a proper understanding of the commandments and will safeguard us from the twin evils of legalism and antinomlanlsm.

Conclusion

Let us ponder the words of four choice spokesmen regarding the law of God:

1. David, a man after God’s own heart, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said:

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it (Fsa. 119:35).

Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law (Psa. 119:53).

Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day (Psa. 119:97).

I hate the double-minded,
But I love Your law (Psa. 119:113).

It is time for You to act, 0 LORD,
For they have regarded Your law as void (Psa. 119:126).

2. Paul, the apostle to the Qentiles:

Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law (Rom. 3:31).

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good (Rom. 7:12).

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man (Rom. 7:22).

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24).

3. John, the 'apostle of Love':

He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4).

4. Our Lord himself:

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matt. 5:17—18).