The Ten Commandments

MYTH

Now that I have your attention, and you have not deleted me to the heretic file, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you the purpose of the Ten Commandments and the place they hold for Christians.

Hopefully, you have already read the resource The Proverbs 31 Woman Myth, for it holds the same truth that the Ten Commandment Myth holds. I’ll jump to the main point so as not to lose you from shock. If you were like me, as a child you probably memorized the Ten Commandments. That is not a bad thing. I need to be clear, I am not saying the Ten Commandments don’t have a place, for they do! What I am addressing is the place they hold for the Church age believer. Keep reading and I’ll show you that we Christians are held to a higher standard than the Ten Commandments.

First…Context!

When we read Scripture, we must always follow the rules of interpretation (hermeneutics), and the first rule is context. We need to discern the who, what, and when of the passage. The Ten Commandments is found in Exodus 20, which gives us the when, specifically the Old Testament. The who of this passage is explicitly the Nation of Israel, and the what is the Mosaic Law.

So, we now know from Scripture that the Ten Commandments were part of the Mosaic Law that was given specifically to the Jews of the Old Testament. I need to add that the Mosaic Law was given by God as His divine morals and standards for the Jews to live by, and the ten Commandments are basic divine laws for all mankind to follow. However, look at what scripture says in 1 Timothy about the purpose of the law…

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals. 1 Timothy 1:8-11

Here and other scripture is clear that the Law was meant for sinners, to bring them to an understanding of their need of a savior. They are God’s moral standards for all mankind.

Progresive Revelation

Progressive revelation is a rule that simply says God reveals His Truths in a progressive manner. Think of Christ in the Old Testament compared to Him in the New Testament and you will see what I mean. The revelation of the Holy Spirit is another example, along with the Trinity, and for our purpose…the law progressing into grace. More importantly, the progression to God’s higher command for Christians to not be moral…but Holy.

The Old Testament believers did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that Christians do. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is one of the things that make us a “New Creation.” The Old Testament Saints did not have this incredible gift…they had the Law. They were commanded to follow the Ten Commandments to meet God’s righteous standards; we are required something higher. We are commanded to “be holy, as He is holy, and to walk in the light and Spirit of Truth. Instead of following the Mosaic Law, we are commanded to put off the flesh by being filled with and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Are the Ten Commandments wrong? No. If we break them, we sin. But to use them as the goal of our spiritual walk, puts us into a works-based faith instead of a grace-based faith. So, in principle, we follow the Ten Commandments, but if we follow them as a way to holiness, we fail, for holiness is achieved only by walking in the Spirit, Truth, and Light of God’s Word. And this walk cannot happen unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

The filling of the Holy Spirit is different than the indwelling of the Spirit. The indwelling is permanent from the moment of salvation and can’t be removed no matter what sin we commit. However, the filling is not permanent and is lost when we grieve and quench the Holy Spirit through sin. But God has provided a remedy for the sins we commit after salvation…confession. Confession is not to be made to anyone but God the Father. It is not a matter of feeling sorry for our sin, but simply naming our sin to God, agreeing that it was a sin and we offended God. A sin that was already paid for on the cross. By naming our sin to God, our fellowship with God is restored. This is what 1 John 1:9 says...

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

It is from this place of fellowship that we walk in the Spirit as Jesus commanded. When we are out of fellowship because of sin, we walk in the flesh instead of the Spirit and our Christian life is neutralized because we can no longer operate with the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the protocol for the Church Age believer…not the Mosaic Law. Instead of following the Mosiac Law, we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit!

Oh, while we are on this subject…guess who doesn’t want you walking in the Spirit? That’s right, Satan! Satan knows he can’t take us from the Father’s hands, but he can neutralize us as believers when we are out of fellowship. When we are out of fellowship, we no longer operate from the power of the Holy Spirit.

As Church Age believers, our focus is not the Ten Commandments that were given to the Jews as moral law. If you want more proof, consider this. How can we follow the Ten Commandments as Christians, when it is impossible to fulfill the fourth commandment, which is to keep the Sabbath. It is impossible, because we are not Jews and to practice the law of the Sabbath goes against the work of Christ on the cross when he “fulfilled the law.”

God’s command to Church age believers is to “Be holy for I am holy” and walk in the Spirit. It is by walking in the Spirit that we do not fulfill the lust of the flesh, not by obeying the Ten Commandments.

Instead of teaching the Ten Commandments to our children in order to “please God”, we need to teach them how to be Holy. There is a difference, and we are different. The Old Testament Jews are only the “nation” of God. We are the very family of God, Royal Priest, ambassadors, adopted Sons, brothers of Jesus, and co-heirs to the throne.

So much more can be said, but I hope that I have shown enough for you to see that our focus should not be on obeying the Law, but on being filled with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit…just as Jesus did during His life on earth, leaving an example for us to follow…the Holy Spirit, not the Ten Commandments.