Are the Ten Commandments still binding on Christians?
The Ten Commandments, delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, represent a foundational expression of God’s moral will for humanity. For Christians today, they serve as a unique and enduring guide for living a life pleasing to God. While the New Testament affirms their moral core, it also presents them within the larger context of God’s redemptive work in Christ, shifting our understanding from a legalistic burden to a joyful response of love and gratitude.
The Ten Commandments remain a vital expression of God's moral will for Christians, understood through the lens of grace and love in Christ.
The Enduring Core of God's Character
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21) are often considered the bedrock of biblical law. They are unique in that God himself spoke them directly to the people and wrote them on stone tablets (Exodus 31:18). These commands are not arbitrary rules, but rather reflect the very character of God—holy, just, and loving. They reveal what a right relationship with God and with others looks like.
From the earliest days of Christianity, believers have recognized the enduring moral force of these commandments. Jesus himself affirmed the overarching principles of the Law, summarizing them as loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31). This summary doesn't abolish the Ten Commandments but rather provides the spirit and motivation for their observance.
Grace, Not Law, for Justification
It is crucial to understand that for Christians, salvation and justification before God are not achieved by keeping the Ten Commandments, or any other law. The New Testament makes it clear that we are "justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:28) and "by grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). The Apostle Paul vehemently argued against the idea that observance of the Mosaic Law, including circumcision, was necessary for salvation (Galatians 2:16, 3:2-3). The Law, in this sense, serves to reveal our sin and our need for a Savior, demonstrating that "through the law comes knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).
Therefore, while the Ten Commandments reveal God's righteous standards, they cannot grant us salvation. Our hope rests entirely in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
The Law as a Guide for Godly Living
So, if the Ten Commandments don't save us, are they still binding? The overwhelming witness of the New Testament is that the moral principles of the Ten Commandments do continue to guide Christian conduct. Nine of the ten commandments are explicitly or implicitly reaffirmed in the New Testament epistles as ethical obligations for believers. For example, regarding idolatry (1 John 5:21), profanity (James 5:12), honoring parents (Ephesians 6:2), murder (Romans 13:9), adultery (Hebrews 13:4), stealing (Ephesians 4:28), false witness (Colossians 3:9), and coveting (Colossians 3:5). The command to "love your neighbor as yourself" is even said to fulfill the Law (Romans 13:8-10).
The most debated commandment in terms of its application to Christians is the fourth, concerning the Sabbath. While the moral principle of taking regular rest and devoting time to worship is widely affirmed (Hebrews 4:9-10), the strict observance of the Saturday Sabbath as a legalistic requirement is generally not seen as binding for New Testament believers (Romans 14:5-6; Colossians 2:16-17). Many Christians observe Sunday as "the Lord's Day" in commemoration of Christ's resurrection, but not as a continuation of Mosaic Sabbath law.
In summary, Christians are not under the Law as a means of salvation or as a burdensome legal code. Rather, out of gratitude for salvation freely given in Christ, the Ten Commandments serve as a timeless standard of righteousness and a guide for how to love God and neighbor. They are an expression of God's holy will, to be embraced and lived out by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Bible verses about ten commandments
"And God spake all these words, saying, I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s."
"And he 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 great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets."
"We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law."
"for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;"
"because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin."
"Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfilment of the law."
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s."
"There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his."
"My little children, guard yourselves from idols."
Frequently asked
How did Jesus view the Law?
Jesus affirmed the eternal moral principles of the Law, stating he did not come to abolish it but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). He emphasized the spirit of the Law over a mere external obedience, teaching that true righteousness comes from the heart and manifests as love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). His perfect life and sacrificial death perfectly fulfilled the Law's demands, offering redemption from its curse.
What is the difference between Old Covenant law and New Covenant grace?
The Old Covenant law, exemplified by the Ten Commandments, revealed God's perfect standards and exposed humanity's inability to meet them, thus pointing to the need for a savior. The New Covenant, established through Jesus Christ, is based on grace and forgiveness, where believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live righteously, not by their own strength, but through Christ (Hebrews 8:6-13).
Does keeping the Ten Commandments earn salvation?
No. The Bible is clear that salvation is a free gift of God's grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:20). The Law serves to show us our sin and our need for a Savior, but it cannot justify us. Our good works, including striving to obey the Ten Commandments, are a grateful response to salvation, not a means of attaining it.
Why do some Christians observe a Sabbath on Sunday?
While the Old Testament Sabbath was on the seventh day (Saturday), most Christians observe Sunday as a day of worship and rest, often called "the Lord's Day." This practice emerged early in church history to commemorate Christ's resurrection, which occurred on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). It is generally understood as a New Covenant expression of the principle of regularly setting aside time for God, rather than a strict legalistic adherence to the Mosaic Sabbath law.
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