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Inherent in the Ten Commandments is the gospel. The first commandment has been edited by most but if we read the entire passage of scripture, we can readily see that God is not commanding us to do the impossible. The Ten Commandments begin:
Exodus 20:2 ” I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.You shall have no other gods before Me.”
In this small portion of the scripture is found the key to understanding our relationship to God’s laws, and how to find the power to obey them. Here is the gospel.
You may be thinking, “Hey, that first part isn’t a part of the law, because it doesn’t tell us something we must do or not do! Instead, it tells us of something God has done!!!” Yes, exactly! And that’s the point. The entire Ten Commandments start with something God has done, and not with something we must do. “I am the Lord thy God who has….” God did not give us His law and then say, ” Okay, if you manage to obey, then heaven is yours”, knowing that we would fail. He knows us well, that we are but dust, morally corrupt, and totally incapable in and of ourselves to render any righteousness that meets God’s requirements. That is why He starts His law with what He has done for us, and not what we are to do for Him.
God has delivered us from bondage. The deliverance God refers to is a direct reference to the Passover. To the blood of the Lamb. A deliverance only He has accomplished, all by Himself, and without any assistance from us. The Passover was symbolic of Calvary. The shed blood of the lamb pointed forward to the crucifixion. ( John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7)
So when God gave His law, He pointed first back to the Passover, which itself points to the future, the cross. And there you have the gospel embedded within the law, and far from being distinct from one another, the law and gospel compliment one another perfectly. Isaiah 44:22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Notice that the part we play in redemption comes after God plays His part. “Come to Me, for I have redeemed thee”. And notice also that Israel’s salvation and redemption and final entrance into Canaan was a process, not a one off act. First, the blood of the lamb brought deliverance from bondage, then came Sinai and the giving of the law, with the power to obey established already on the already accomplished work of God whilst they were yet in bondage. Romans 5:8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Our obedience doesn’t activate God’s grace, as many charge us with. It is God’s saving grace that activates our law-keeping. The power for all true obedience is present in our realizationf what God has already done for us in Christ by virtue of His ‘unearnable’ grace. We are simply called upon to come alive to and walk in the victory and the freedom from bondage that Christ has won for us.
Without Christ as the center of the law, without Christ not only as the law-giver but also the empowering agent behind the law, the Ten Commandments degenerate into a mere idealistic code of ethics, a kind of religious “wish-list”. The same goes for all those who look at the law as an impossibly attainable goal; they leave Christ out of the equation, even claiming that it is theologically acceptable to believe that Christ’s death annuls the law.
God loves us out of sin, and God loves us into obedience. Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Justified by Christ’s death, and sanctified by His life. Delivered from bondage by His blood, empowered to remain free by His Spirit.
And rather than impossible commands, with the love of Jesus motivating and empowering us, the precepts of the Ten Commandments become promises. Exodus 20:2 ” I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Actually, I find them extremely easy to keep as long as I keep in mind that I am to love others as myself.
And I'm certainly no saint. BUT when I focus on what I can do to benefit others, I always keep the commandments.
The law is for sinners, not the lawful.
But you are by nature sinful and unclean because of original sin. God demands that the law be kept perfectly. The only person known to have ever done that is Jesus. Because of his sinless life, death and ressurrection, we Christians have freedom of the law.
However, that doesn't mean the law doesn't have a purpose. For us Christians, it has three principal uses:
1. Curb - To reduce sinful behavior.
2. Mirror - To show that one is a sinner.
3. Guide - To provide a guideline on how one should live.
Another way of describing it is that Christians uphold the law, but they don't live under it.
But you are by nature sinful and unclean because of original sin. God demands that the law be kept perfectly. The only person known to have ever done that is Jesus. Because of his sinless life, death and ressurrection, we Christians have freedom of the law.
However, that doesn't mean the law doesn't have a purpose. For us Christians, it has three principal uses:
1. Curb - To reduce sinful behavior.
2. Mirror - To show that one is a sinner.
3. Guide - To provide a guideline on how one should live.
Another way of describing it is that Christians uphold the law, but they don't live under it.
Like I said... The law is for the lawless. WHEN I love others as myself, it is impossible for me to sin. In order to love others AS myself I must first properly love myself. IF I see myself as naturally sinful and lawless then I cannot see or treat others any differently. I see myself as God sees me, perfect and complete just the way he intended me to be. This allows and causes me to love myself, give myself forgiveness and grace, and in turn treat others with love, forgiveness, and grace.
The law cannot be broken while loving others.
1 Tim 1:9-11 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
Galatians 5:18, 22 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
If one does not consider themselves a sinner, they are a liar, because we are all sinners saved by His grace. There is none righteous, not one.
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