Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

Dave L

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Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?


Jeremiah said the New Covenant would replace the Old Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Moses said the Old Covenant was the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; Deuteronomy 9:9 etc.). And Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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.” (Matthew 5:17–18).

So how do we harmonize Jeremiah who says the New Covenant will replace the Ten Commandments? And Moses who confirms the Ten Commandments are the Old Covenant. With Jesus who says “one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Does this mean heaven and earth cannot end until he fulfills all? And that he would do this before the New Covenant could begin?

The solution is in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus shows how to fulfill the Ten Commandments with the Two Great Commandments. The Two Great Commandments teach: “…. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27 (KJV 1900) Calling for positive action based on love towards God and people.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan the passersby avoided the mugging victim. But they kept the Ten Commandments. They kept the eighth commandment by not stealing more from the victim while in a vulnerable position. But they still robbed him according to the Two Great Commandments. By not treating him as their equal and running to his aid.

So Why the Ten Commandments? The Ten Commandments aimed at controlling the wicked unbelievers in the nation. These were so wicked it took 40 years of toil to complete an eleven day journey from Egypt to Canaan. Wandering in the desert until all but faithful Caleb and Joshua dropped dead. God denied them the land promises because of their sin.

As Paul says: “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;” 1 Timothy 1:8–10 (KJV 1900)

It is obvious Abraham, Abel, Job and other believers did not need the Law or they would have had it too. When God removed the unbelievers from Israel under Christ (Romans 11), he removed the Ten Commandments with them (Colossians 2:14). Leaving only the moral law in its spiritual application for believers.

During the closing years of the Old Covenant Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Showing the Ten Commandments were morally equal to the Two Great Commandments when understood. As with the Good Samaritan, passively not stealing from someone according to the Ten Commandments is still stealing if you owe them the same treatment you lavish on yourself. Not stealing under threat of death does not make you good. It only makes bad people not do badly under threat of death. Only when obeyed actively in love for God and others did a person keep the Ten at a level equal the Two Great Commandments.

Jesus showed how to fulfill the Law. If he fulfilled the Ten Commandments on the cross as the unbelieving Jews understood them. He would not have lusted after Pilate’s wife. Or stolen his spear. Or coveted the soldier’s shield, and such. And then he would have felt good about himself for not doing these when he wanted to. This is the level most kept the Ten Commandments as seen in the Pharisees. And then perhaps thanking God as the Pharisee that he is not like others who do such.

But when Jesus fulfilled the Two Great Commandments, he fulfilled the Ten Commandments in a proper way too. Because when spiritually understood they have equal moral value to the Two Great Commandments. (Matthew 22:40).

So how did Jesus fulfill the Law?

“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27 (KJV 1900)

When Jesus fulfilled the Law on the cross, he Loved God with all his mind, body, soul, and heart and strength. And his neighbor as himself.

He gave all his body over to the worst death imaginable in love for God and enemies. He gave his entire mind and soul in love for God when he said “not my will but thy will be done”. And he gave his last ounce of strength in his love for God and enemies as we wrenched the last drop of blood from him. And he loved his enemies as his own self when he asked God to forgive them for killing him.

So Jesus when fulfilling the Two Great Commandments also fulfilled the Ten to the fullest extent. And in that he abolished them in their redundancy by nailing them to his cross (Colossians 2:14). So when we think of the Law as believers today, we see the Ten Commandments no longer in their elementary form. But in their spiritual form equal to the Two Great Commandments through the Sermon on the Mount. Providing a practical application of the Two Great Commandments for everyday life.
 

com7fy8

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Well, we fulfill the command not to murder, by not just keeping ourselves from killing people, but moreso . . . in our hearts . . . we keep from hating any person. Love "hopes all things" > in 1 Corinthians 13:7 > so, like Jesus on the cross, we have hope for any person.

So, it is not enough only to keep from practically murdering someone. In our hearts we need to love, instead of hating. And this means the way Jesus on the cross loved any and all people, having hope for any evil person, at all.

But the command which gets the most issue, maybe, is the command not to work on the Sabbath. Ones claim that others are not keeping God's word, since they do not keep the Sabbath; they might claim that if we do not keep the Sabbath, then why do we have to hold ourselves to any of the other commandments?

Ones making this accusation, of course, might not really keep the Sabbath, themselves.

After all, part of upholding the Sabbath was enforcing the death penalty required by Moses' Law, for doing any work on the Sabbath. How might this look? In my opinion, if you saw your mother sweeping the house, on the Sabbath, you were required to report her so she could be stoned to death. It says not to do any work. And this is enforced by the death penalty, under the Law of Moses.

And I have discovered another thing I have not noticed, for most of my life. It clearly says you must not have your service animal or your servant do any work. So, the benefit of the Sabbath rest is not only for you, but you are to . . . love others as yourself, including servants . . . by not having anyone do work for you. So, this is indeed a love command to love your neighbor as yourself by not having anyone else do work for you; so the Sabbath command is not just a one-day-a-week command which is only practical.

I see that its real purpose is to have you love others as yourself, in your heart > plus, you will more and more discover how to rest in the LORD and not do your own works, but become prayerful so all you do is in sharing with God and His grace satisfying and guiding you to do what He pleases >

"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

So, you might learn to submit to God, while resting on the Sabbath, but then this living and loving in submission to God is the standard of how to live and love, all through the week ! ! ! And so you possibly are doing what Jesus really means by fulfilling the Sabbath. You do not do your own work, all week, but God in us is doing the work :)

How you become while truly keeping the Sabbath is how to be, all the time, then. And if at any time we start to get away from resting in the Lord, we need to stop, immediately, and trust God to reset-restart-correct-adjust-tune us so we are with Him the way He desires >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)
 
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A_Thinker

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The OT Law (of which the 10 Commandments is a part) is a schoolmaster ... to bring us to recognition of our need for Christ. The Law points out our sin.

Galatians 3

23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

The OT Law (springing forth from God's command to LOVE, both Himself and your neighbor) ... STANDS as the standard by which non-Christians will be judged. And the 10 Commandments ... is an excellent guide to living in this world.

However, Christians will not be judged by the Law, for their sins have been atoned for through the sacrifice of Jesus. Christians are DEAD to the LAW. We now serve God ... through the Spirit ...

Romans 7

4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
 
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Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

Jeremiah said the New Covenant would replace the Old Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34).....

I don’t think Jeremiah is saying ten Commandments are not valid then. The commandments will be written in their heart:

… I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it...
Jeremiah 31:31–34

And the law is fulfilled by this way:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not give false testimony," "You shall not covet," [TR adds "You shall not give false testimony,"] and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love doesn't harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8-10

And the change in persons heart, as Jeremiah tells, can happen by the words Jesus told, they can make change in persons innermost.

...as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in his name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:12-13

It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.
John 6:63

…That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.'
John 3:3-7
 
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HARK!

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So how do we harmonize Jeremiah who says the New Covenant will replace the Ten Commandments?

Well, we could start by not misquoting Jeremiah.

(CLV) Jer 31:33
For this is the covenant which I shall contract with the house of Israel after those days, averring is YHWH, I will put My law within them, And I shall write it on their heart; I will become their Elohim, And they shall become My people.
 
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Dave L

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Well, we could start by not misquoting Jeremiah.

(CLV) Jer 31:33
For this is the covenant which I shall contract with the house of Israel after those days, averring is YHWH, I will put My law within them, And I shall write it on their heart; I will become their Elohim, And they shall become My people.
This is the New Covenant that replaced the Old.
 
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Dave L

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I don’t think Jeremiah is saying ten Commandments are not valid then. The commandments will be written in their heart:

… I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it...
Jeremiah 31:31–34

And the law is fulfilled by this way:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not give false testimony," "You shall not covet," [TR adds "You shall not give false testimony,"] and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love doesn't harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8-10

And the change in persons heart, as Jeremiah tells, can happen by the words Jesus told, they can make change in persons innermost.

...as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in his name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:12-13

It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.
John 6:63

…That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.'
John 3:3-7
The Ten Commandments forced wicked people to act good under threat of death. The Two Great Commandments are for believers of all time only.
 
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eleos1954

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Well, we fulfill the command not to murder, by not just keeping ourselves from killing people, but moreso . . . in our hearts . . . we keep from hating any person. Love "hopes all things" > in 1 Corinthians 13:7 > so, like Jesus on the cross, we have hope for any person.

So, it is not enough only to keep from practically murdering someone. In our hearts we need to love, instead of hating. And this means the way Jesus on the cross loved any and all people, having hope for any evil person, at all.

But the command which gets the most issue, maybe, is the command not to work on the Sabbath. Ones claim that others are not keeping God's word, since they do not keep the Sabbath; they might claim that if we do not keep the Sabbath, then why do we have to hold ourselves to any of the other commandments?

Ones making this accusation, of course, might not really keep the Sabbath, themselves.

After all, part of upholding the Sabbath was enforcing the death penalty required by Moses' Law, for doing any work on the Sabbath. How might this look? In my opinion, if you saw your mother sweeping the house, on the Sabbath, you were required to report her so she could be stoned to death. It says not to do any work. And this is enforced by the death penalty, under the Law of Moses.

And I have discovered another thing I have not noticed, for most of my life. It clearly says you must not have your service animal or your servant do any work. So, the benefit of the Sabbath rest is not only for you, but you are to . . . love others as yourself, including servants . . . by not having anyone do work for you. So, this is indeed a love command to love your neighbor as yourself by not having anyone else do work for you; so the Sabbath command is not just a one-day-a-week command which is only practical.

I see that its real purpose is to have you love others as yourself, in your heart > plus, you will more and more discover how to rest in the LORD and not do your own works, but become prayerful so all you do is in sharing with God and His grace satisfying and guiding you to do what He pleases >

"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

So, you might learn to submit to God, while resting on the Sabbath, but then this living and loving in submission to God is the standard of how to live and love, all through the week ! ! ! And so you possibly are doing what Jesus really means by fulfilling the Sabbath. You do not do your own work, all week, but God in us is doing the work :)

How you become while truly keeping the Sabbath is how to be, all the time, then. And if at any time we start to get away from resting in the Lord, we need to stop, immediately, and trust God to reset-restart-correct-adjust-tune us so we are with Him the way He desires >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

But the command which gets the most issue, maybe, is the command not to work on the Sabbath. Ones claim that others are not keeping God's word, since they do not keep the Sabbath; they might claim that if we do not keep the Sabbath, then why do we have to hold ourselves to any of the other commandments?

Very good question .... and it's not that some "might claim" ... many ... do in fact claim keeping the 7th day Sabbath is irrelevant and or "legalistic".

It was Jesus on Mt Sinai that gave the commandments. The 10 are eternal/everlasting ... the ceremonial/sacrificial laws were nailed to the cross (referred to as the laws of Moses) ... they were temporary and done away with.

Matthew 5:18
New International Version
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Now obviously this verse is not referring to "mosaic law".

Love is key in everything ... all commandments are to be kept out of love and for no other reasons.

John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him."

John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Remember ...
 
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Dave L

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Book, Chapter, Verse?
“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:13 (KJV 1900)
 
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HARK!

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“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:13 (KJV 1900)

1.) That's not Jeremiah. That's Hebrews.

2.) The verse you posted doesn't mention anything about the Decalogue.
 
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...The Two Great Commandments are for believers of all time only.

And the ten are included in those two. But, it is true, in old covenant people obeyed because of fear. In new people should obey because they love. And that is a great difference.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
1 John 5:3
 
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Dave L

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And the ten are included in those two. But, it is true, in old covenant people obeyed because of fear. In new people should obey because they love. And that is a great difference.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.
1 John 5:3
Remember, Jesus said the Ten hung from the Two. That is the Two preceded the Ten and replaced them in the New Covenant.
 
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Dave L

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Again, Book, Chapter, Verse.
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will make a new covenant With the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand To bring them out of the land of Egypt; Which my covenant they brake, Although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 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.” Jeremiah 31:31–34 (KJV 1900)
 
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