Christians are often perceived as having to live by a lot of rules. Sometimes it feels as though we are known more for what are supposedly “against” instead of what are “for”! So, what about it? Is Christianity about keeping a lot of rules?
Over the next few Wednesdays, I’d like to take a look at what Scripture has to say about itself, about those “rules”. I expect to spend some time in the Old Testament, as well as to hear what the New Testament tells us. At this point, I don’t know where all this will lead us but I hope you will come along on this journey with me. Who’s in ? :)
First, what do we mean by “commandments” or “rules”? Most commonly, I expect that refers to what is known best as The Ten Commandments. These are introduced to us in Exodus 20:1-17, when God introduced them to His people. God gave these commands to His servant Moses shortly after He delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. These ten “laws” are essentially an overview (summary) of what is referred to as the Old Testament Law. By these, God is revealing His holiness to His people and separating them from the rest of the world, proclaiming them as uniquely His. The Law was designed to help them understand His perfection…and their own sinfulness. Deuteronomy 5:6-21 records them again for us, and much of these two Old Testament books are spent explaining what is required to be holy. Although we American Christians have expended a lot of energy insisting on our right to have these displayed in public places, I wonder how many of us could actually name all ten, much less explain them! So let’s take a moment and remind ourselves what these commandments are:
1) “You shall have no other gods before me.” This command is against worshiping any god other than the one true God. All other gods are false gods.
2) “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.” This command is against making an idol, a visible representation of God. There is no image we can create that can accurately portray God. To make an idol to represent God is to worship a false god.
3) “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” This is a command against taking the name of the Lord in vain. We are not to treat God’s name lightly. We are to show reverence to God by only mentioning Him in respectful and honoring ways.
4) “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.” This is a command to set aside the Sabbath (Saturday, the last day of the week) as a day of rest dedicated to the Lord.
5) “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” This is a command to always treat one’s parents with honor and respect.
6) “You shall not murder.” This is a command against the premeditated murder of another human being.
7) “You shall not commit adultery.” This is a command against having sexual relations with anyone other than one’s spouse.
8) “You shall not steal.” This is a command against taking anything that is not one’s own, without the permission of the person to whom it belongs.
9) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” This is a command prohibiting testifying against another person falsely. It is essentially a command against lying.
10) “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.” This is a command against desiring anything that is not one’s own. Coveting can lead to breaking one of the commandments listed above: murder, adultery, and theft. If it is wrong to do something, it is wrong to desire to do that same something.
(recopied from gotquestions.org)
How are we to view these commands that God delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai? In addition to these ten simple commands, the books of Leviticus, Exodus and Deuteronomy contain hundreds of more complicated rules pertaining to many many things including diet, cleanliness, worship, relationships, and governance. Some of these commands are affirmed and repeated in the New Testament (such as sexual morality, doing good, rejecting greed, and the structure of family). Do we obey them all?
There seem to be two contrasting viewpoints, neither of which I believe to be God’s desire for us. One is to see them as a set of rules that we must follow in order to be right with God and make it to Heaven. The other is to discard them as “law” from the Old Testament and consider them obsolete since we are now living under New Testament grace. Instead, we learn in Matthew 5:17-19 how Jesus views the law: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you , until Heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.”
So then, are we to strive to keep these rules in order to be made right with God? Is this the lesson we learn in Romans 7:12 - So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good ?
We might try with all our might but we can’t keep them perfectly. Even in the Old Testament, when His people were “under the Law”, we see that no one can do it! Ecclesiastes 7:20 tells us Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. Likewise, Romans tells us that we all have sinned (3:23) and that we deserve permanent separation from God as a result (6:23) and that the Law can never justify us before God (Galatians 3:11)!
As Christians, we realize our predicament and understand that salvation comes not from following God’s holy law but rather is the free gift of God in Jesus, received by grace through faith in Him. (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8,9)
So back to the Law. What is its purpose? What is our relationship to it as Christians?
First it’s purpose and coming weeks will look at our relationship to it.
Galatians 3:19-24 explains it clearly:
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was iput in place through angels jby an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, tin order that we might be justified by faith.
The Law helps us understand the holy perfection of God…and our complete inability to ever reach that ourselves. In the midst of seeing God’s holiness, we see our own helplessness and we realize we need a Savior. Faith in Him is a result of God’s revelation through the Law. Hallelujah!
Next week: How do we see the Law?