Ten Commandments...not Ten Suggestions

Good Morning,

Exodus 20:1-17 (NIV)
And God spoke all these words:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
"You shall have no other gods before me.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
"You shall not murder.
"You shall not commit adultery.
"You shall not steal.
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Emphasis mine...DRB)

I've been asked about the Ten Commandments on several occasions. There are those who say that because these rules for life that were given directly by God to Moses are in the "Old Testament" that they no longer really apply to us. The reasoning is that we are no longer under the "Law" but now under grace by faith in Jesus Christ. I do, of course, agree that we are saved and forgiven of our sins only by the grace of God because we have chosen to accept Jesus Christ into our lives as Lord and Savior. There is no other way, no other sacrifice that can be offered for the forgiveness of sin...only Jesus can be that for us and only God can forgive us because of Jesus.

Okay. We agree on that, I would venture to say. But how about that "not under the law" thing and that maybe the "rules" of the Old Testament no longer apply? Well, to that I would have to ask, "What is it that gives us the idea and concept of what we might be doing that's against God and constitutes sin?" I think it would be safe to say that a good place to begin this quest would be to see what it is that we ought and ought not to do in our lives that comes directly from the mouth of God. I think that we would all agree that Moses did get the Ten Commandments right from God and didn't deviate when he wrote them down. So, it seems to me that the "rules" of the game here, that which is considered sin and sinful, come from God. Therefore, I would contend that we ARE still under God's laws when it comes to sinning...what we should do and what we shouldn't do. He, God, is the one who makes that determination. He made it when He spoke to Moses and the Israelites those many millennia ago and His words are just as true today as they were then.

The one thing that I have a bit of a challenge with is when people say that when Jesus came, died, and rose again the law no longer applies because we now have grace. I agree that we now have grace for the forgiveness of the sins we commit that go against the laws God set down, of course. But, well, what did Jesus say about this very subject? "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Mat. 5:17-19) And, remember, He went on to give us a few more rules we are to live by, as well.

So, when I think of the Ten Commandments, I think of them as the basic rules I am to live by, at least do my best in trying to live by. Just because I am under grace for His forgiveness, does NOT mean that I have the liberty to go out and do as I please without regard to God's laws. Paul wrote, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Rom. 6:1-2) And, how do we know what is or is not sin if we don't have the laws to tell us?

All right. This can be a complicated, long, and drawn out discussion, I know. All I guess I really want to say, at least to myself, is that God set down some laws at one point and I belive they apply to me. For me, although not "under law" because of the grace of God, the laws still apply and when I break one, I sin. Oh, one other thing. This isn't a "pick and choose" kind of thing. If I believe that ONE of the laws is true and applies to me, then the ALL are true and apply to me. It's not up to me to decide which of God's laws are OK and which are, well, out dated.

All or none...at least for me.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David