But showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:6
Although today’s reading is Exodus 21-22, I want to highlight the importance of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Up on Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments, or the moral law, from God. One thing we have to be very clear about is the fact that the Ten Commandments have signifi cance even until today. Nowhere is it even suggested that the moral law has been abolished for us in the new covenant.
Our Lord Jesus Christ says very clearly, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). To “fulfill” in the Greek text means to strengthen and expand on it. True enough, Jesus reiterated every commandment in the Gospels. The apostles did exactly the same in practically all their epistles too. Just like there were heretics during the Reformation who preached against the Ten Commandments, there are some today who brazenly call for their demise. The great reformers like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli stood boldly against these antinomians (those who reject the moral law) and so must we. The reformers made the weekly reciting and expounding of the Ten Commandments on par with the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.
In the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647, the church leaders and English Parliament affirmed that the Ten Commandments are binding to all Christians and doing so is “no evidence of his being under the law, and not under grace.” What is the new covenant? The new covenant is no longer the moral law written upon tablets of stones, but it is the moral law written upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:3). Especially with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, there should be an even greater appreciation for the Ten Commandments.
What are they?
(1) You shall have no other gods before Me.
(2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image.
(3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
(4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
(5) Honor your father and your mother.
(6) You shall not murder.
(7) You shall not commit adultery.
(8) You shall not steal.
(9) You shall not bear false witness.
(10) You shall not covet.
Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Although today’s reading is Exodus 21-22, I want to highlight the importance of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Up on Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments, or the moral law, from God. One thing we have to be very clear about is the fact that the Ten Commandments have signifi cance even until today. Nowhere is it even suggested that the moral law has been abolished for us in the new covenant.
Our Lord Jesus Christ says very clearly, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). To “fulfill” in the Greek text means to strengthen and expand on it. True enough, Jesus reiterated every commandment in the Gospels. The apostles did exactly the same in practically all their epistles too. Just like there were heretics during the Reformation who preached against the Ten Commandments, there are some today who brazenly call for their demise. The great reformers like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli stood boldly against these antinomians (those who reject the moral law) and so must we. The reformers made the weekly reciting and expounding of the Ten Commandments on par with the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.
In the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647, the church leaders and English Parliament affirmed that the Ten Commandments are binding to all Christians and doing so is “no evidence of his being under the law, and not under grace.” What is the new covenant? The new covenant is no longer the moral law written upon tablets of stones, but it is the moral law written upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:3). Especially with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, there should be an even greater appreciation for the Ten Commandments.
What are they?
(1) You shall have no other gods before Me.
(2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image.
(3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
(4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
(5) Honor your father and your mother.
(6) You shall not murder.
(7) You shall not commit adultery.
(8) You shall not steal.
(9) You shall not bear false witness.
(10) You shall not covet.
Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
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