ARE 10 COMMANDMENTS STILL RELEVANT (4)?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) Can the ten commandments bring liberty? A generally accepted principle among many professing Christian churches is that all aspects of the old covenant served to point the nation of Israel to the coming sacrifice of Jesus Christ; once that sacrifice was made, the entire package of old covenant laws became obsolete. According to this concept, adherence to a written code of laws, like the ten commandments, is not relevant to Christianity because Christ now writes the laws He wants to be obeyed on our hearts.
1. The NEW Covenant
a) It is abundantly clear that God's law is not confined to the old covenant. Specific examples from the Bible make it evident that they were in effect from the very start of the human race. They formed the core of the old covenant not because they pertained only to the nation of Israel, but because they form the core of all peaceful, happy human existence. As such, they also form the core of the new covenant. In Matthew 19, a young man asked Jesus what he should do in order to have eternal life (verse 16). In verse 17, Christ answered him by telling him to keep the Commandments. In the next two verses, Christ told the man which ones He was referring to by giving five specific examples from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
b) As Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 42:21, Christ did not come to earth to nullify or make obsolete his Father's laws. Rather, He magnified them and made them honorable by illustrating in His daily life how to perfectly keep them to their full spiritual intent. This was true even of the much-maligned Sabbath Commandment. Christ's custom was to study and teach from the Bible on the Sabbath day (Luke 4:16-17). Though He also performed works of service for others on the Sabbath, nowhere in the Bible can an example of Jesus working at His job so that He could support Himself or His family be found. Christ did have a job as a carpenter (Mark 6:3), but He did not work at that job on the Sabbath. To have done so would have been in direct violation of God's law (Exodus 20:10). Christ realized that devoting the Sabbath day every week to the worship of God is still beneficial to humans.
c) In the Olivet Prophecy, Christ admonished end-time Christians to pray that they would not have to travel to a place of safety on the Sabbath day (Matthew 24:20). Obviously, this clearly indicates that the Sabbath Commandment is still relevant under the new covenant.
d) Obviously, John (one of Christ's disciples) was taught the importance of God's laws (Revelation 22:14). And in 1John 2:4, he explains that if anyone says he knows Christ but does NOT keep the commandments is a LIAR!
e) Could anything be more clear? Though many attempt to deny it, the Bible plainly shows that God's laws are not unique to the old covenant. Rather, they comprise the eternal, immutable laws set in place from the very beginning which reveal to mankind how God expects him to live. In a dying, chaotic and increasingly violent world where uncertainty has become the norm, nothing could be more refreshing than to understand what God expects of us. As we come to greater understanding about the truth of God's eternal law, we are given freedom unsurpassed by anything. We gain the freedom of knowing what we can do to please our Creator (John 8:32). And finally YES, the ten commandments ARE relevant in today's world!
0. Introduction
a) Can the ten commandments bring liberty? A generally accepted principle among many professing Christian churches is that all aspects of the old covenant served to point the nation of Israel to the coming sacrifice of Jesus Christ; once that sacrifice was made, the entire package of old covenant laws became obsolete. According to this concept, adherence to a written code of laws, like the ten commandments, is not relevant to Christianity because Christ now writes the laws He wants to be obeyed on our hearts.
1. The NEW Covenant
a) It is abundantly clear that God's law is not confined to the old covenant. Specific examples from the Bible make it evident that they were in effect from the very start of the human race. They formed the core of the old covenant not because they pertained only to the nation of Israel, but because they form the core of all peaceful, happy human existence. As such, they also form the core of the new covenant. In Matthew 19, a young man asked Jesus what he should do in order to have eternal life (verse 16). In verse 17, Christ answered him by telling him to keep the Commandments. In the next two verses, Christ told the man which ones He was referring to by giving five specific examples from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
b) As Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 42:21, Christ did not come to earth to nullify or make obsolete his Father's laws. Rather, He magnified them and made them honorable by illustrating in His daily life how to perfectly keep them to their full spiritual intent. This was true even of the much-maligned Sabbath Commandment. Christ's custom was to study and teach from the Bible on the Sabbath day (Luke 4:16-17). Though He also performed works of service for others on the Sabbath, nowhere in the Bible can an example of Jesus working at His job so that He could support Himself or His family be found. Christ did have a job as a carpenter (Mark 6:3), but He did not work at that job on the Sabbath. To have done so would have been in direct violation of God's law (Exodus 20:10). Christ realized that devoting the Sabbath day every week to the worship of God is still beneficial to humans.
c) In the Olivet Prophecy, Christ admonished end-time Christians to pray that they would not have to travel to a place of safety on the Sabbath day (Matthew 24:20). Obviously, this clearly indicates that the Sabbath Commandment is still relevant under the new covenant.
d) Obviously, John (one of Christ's disciples) was taught the importance of God's laws (Revelation 22:14). And in 1John 2:4, he explains that if anyone says he knows Christ but does NOT keep the commandments is a LIAR!
e) Could anything be more clear? Though many attempt to deny it, the Bible plainly shows that God's laws are not unique to the old covenant. Rather, they comprise the eternal, immutable laws set in place from the very beginning which reveal to mankind how God expects him to live. In a dying, chaotic and increasingly violent world where uncertainty has become the norm, nothing could be more refreshing than to understand what God expects of us. As we come to greater understanding about the truth of God's eternal law, we are given freedom unsurpassed by anything. We gain the freedom of knowing what we can do to please our Creator (John 8:32). And finally YES, the ten commandments ARE relevant in today's world!
Comments
Post a Comment