What Are The Ten Commandments? What Do They Mean Today?

These are New Testament scriptures directed to us Christians by Jesus and His Apostles:

(John 14:15) "If you love me, keep my commandments."

(John 14:21) "He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

(1 John 2:3-4) "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

I could stop right here with these three specific statements from the Bible about Christians keeping this part of the Old Testament law. However, it’s clear that we do not need to keep the law to earn salvation. Instead, Christians are justified by grace, as stated in Ephesians 2:8 and Galatians 2:15. Most Christians recognize that grace, not law keeping, is the way to salvation. Yet, if we love Jesus, Christians will keep the commandment laws after being saved by grace. But which ones?

How Does The Ten Commandment Statutes Apply to Modern Life for a Christian After Being Saved by Grace?

Even though we are saved by grace, doesn't the Bible clearly state that obedience expresses love for God? Was Jesus speaking about keeping the Ten Commandments in Matthew 5 when He said "THESE," followed by magnifying several of them?

(Matt 5:19) "Whosoever therefore shall break one of THESE least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Did Jesus say these laws are "least" because they are unimportant? Or was it merely a contrast to the two great ones found in Matthew 22? Are these not all His commandments which Jesus said we are to keep? When asked what was necessary to obtain eternal life in Luke 18:18-20, Jesus had an opportunity to state that the old legal statutes were no longer necessary. Instead, He listed some of the Ten statutes Christians should keep.

"Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother."

This seems clear as Jesus tells Christians what the Bible really says about keeping the commandment statutes. Was He indicating that some laws still apply? Elsewhere He states that we need His shed blood to cover our sins; here He also emphasizes obeying God by keeping the commandments after salvation.

(Matt 22:35-39) "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

What Is The Importance Of Christians Keeping All Of The Ten Commandment Statutes?

The Bible states that the Ten Commandment Laws hang on the two great ones; it does not say they are replaced by them as many churches falsely teach. Nowhere does it say that! There are separate laws we should keep, differentiated as two great and ten least. Adding John 13:34 as another new commandment from Jesus shows that there are actually thirteen commands for Christians.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

Does this in any way indicate that the previous 10 statutes are now null and void? No, it does not! This is a single law we need to keep, which appears to be an addition for Christs’ followers.

Whenever the word “commandment” appears in the New Testament, does it refer to all of them? John 10:30 clearly shows that the Father and Son are one; therefore, wouldn’t their lawss also be unified?

“I and the Father are one.”

Isn’t it spiritually illogical to believe that God is divided? He gave one set of His eternal Law to the Jews and another set of magnified commandments for Christians. Have we been deceived into thinking that references to commandment keeping in the New Testament only pertain to two or three of them instead of all ten?

Two of them that are magnified in Matthew chapter five are clearly part of the original ten. They are taught that both must be kept literally and in spirit. For example, regarding adultery:

(Matt 5:27-28) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

The same principle applies to murder. The Bible states that not only can you not break the fifth commandment literally by committing murder, but you also must keep it in principle by not harboring hatred:

(Matt 5:21-22) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not kill,’ and whoever kills will be in danger of judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of judgment.”

The Bible did not need to list all ten again; They were already affirmed them earlier in Luke 18:18-20. Isn’t it clear that Christ is magnifying all ten laws through these examples? Doesn’t this indicate that keeping them applies to all ten, as He instructs us to obey them both literally and spiritually?

Many Christians resist God’s laws. Regardless of biblical teachings, they prefer emotional love for the Lord over the effort required to obey His laws. They find it too disruptive to their lives.

What Does The Bible Really Say About "No Effort" Keeping Of The Law Of God?

This “no effort” Christianity is often termed Easy Believism. This concept suggests that merely believing in Jesus suffices for salvation without a commitment to Christian discipleship or obedience to God’s laws out of love.

True faith in Christ will always lead to a transformed life. Genuine Christians saved by grace will desire to obey God and keep His laws out of love:

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:3)

If we believe God’s directive to keep His laws, there is no place for Easy Believism. Shouldn’t we demonstrate our love by adhering to what God commands? He affirms that His laws remain applicable today. To receive God’s blessings and live a fulfilling life, we should follow these simple laws leading to eternal life.