I have recently replied to a friend's assertion that the Ten commandments, along with the Law, have been abolished:
Dear (brother). Thank you for making the observation from Heb. 7-9 that the first covenant has been made obsolete. However, I'm not sure if we can categorically assert, solely on the basis of Heb.9:4, that the Ten commandments has already been made obsolete too. This is because, we read in other places in the NT that:
- (a) we should "uphold the Law" (Rom. 3:31),
- (b) we are to practice love in fulfilling commandments like the 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th (Rom.13:9,10)
- (c) we are to obey the 5th commandment - it is the first of the Ten Commandments that carry a promise (Eph. 6:2), and
- (d) we can be sure that we know God, "if we keep his commandments" and live just as our Lord Jesus did.(1 John 2:3-6)
And finally, I'd like to ask with reference to Jeremiah 31:33, which is quoted Heb. 8:10 (see also Heb. 10:16):
. . . I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.What are THOSE laws that are put into our minds, and written in our hearts today? Are those some new laws that are different from the Law given in the OT, particularly the Ten Commandments? If so, why are we commanded to obey the commandments above? and If not, then shouldn't we uphold ALLthe Ten commandments?
This morning, at devotion:
Reading Romans 13, followed by 1 Cor. 9.
While Paul wrote in Rom 13:8-10 that he who loves another has fulfilled the law, and that love is the fulfillment of the law, he explicitly referred to several of the Ten Commandments in 8:9 as examples: regarding adultery, murder, theft, bearing false witness and covetousness.
This clearly shows that, to the apostle, the Ten Commandments have NOT been abolished, i.e. they are not to be ignored, but they are, instead, to be upheld in our lives. In other words, when we say we fulfill the law by practising love, we do NOT say that the commandments are obsolete or done away with. Instead, we make it come true in our lives.
Then, moving on to 1 Cor.9, my attention was drawn to Paul's detailed explanation of why he believed that, as an apostle who preached the gospel of Christ, he was entitled to "reap material things" from the Corinthian Christians. He did this by referring to Deuteronomy 25:4, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain" (NKJV), likening his work to that of the ox treading out the grain and hence his right to "eat and drink" (1 Cor.9:4), and arriving at the conclusion that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14).
Nevertheless, the apostle made up his mind graciously to forgo that right, and chose instead to preach the gospel of Christ without charge (1 Cor. 9:18)
To me, this morning's reading is one of the most inspiring occasions in my devotions over the recent months. It has answered a question which I have asked from time to time about what Paul wrote in Rom. 3:31, How shall we "uphold (establish) the law"?. It makes me ponder over the fact that very few preachers teach like him: using the truth of the Torah as the basis for reasoning and argument and for deciding on what is good for Christian living.
Brothers and sisters, let us imitate the apostle Paul in our reasoning and understanding. Let us use the truth of the Torah, along with the Neviim (prophets) and Chetuvim (writings) as the basis for our lives. This was the "Scripture" referred to in 2 Tim. 3:16,
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"Let us teach and practice the Torah.
