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What About The 10 Commandments?

Nothing shaped my religious childhood more than the Catholic Church, all thanks to my devout catholic mother. As far as I remember, that was the only time I learnt something about the Ten Commandments – never again! Until today, the question still remains: why has Christianity at large been so silent about such a thing as important as the Law of the holy God? Let me go on to say – with shame – that it is still hard for me to memorise all those commandments by head. Can someone please, clearly explain why was that law even given to us?

There are those who would say that the commandments were given so that by keeping them we may enter heaven after we die. On the flip side are those who confidently suggest, “We don’t need the 10 commandments because we live by grace not by law”. Which one of these two camps has the truth? Answer: both wrong!

Let us learn. The first question we need to ask and answer is why did God give us the 10 commandments in the first place, what was His reason?

To teach us about Himself
Right under the smoking Sinai is where the Israelites were caught bowing down to a man-made god called a golden calf. Can you blame them? That is what they imagined God to be like. They didn’t know Him – His true nature. Therefore came that law that at least gave them an idea of who He is and how He expected them to worship Him. Have you noticed that the first 4 commandments are all about what man must do in relation to who God is? It’s all about Him because He is first and foremost in everything. It all echoes in the words, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me.” Think of it this way, how can we know that the Lord is holy unless He has told us “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain”? Every attribute of God such as His love, wrath (anger) and wisdom is all displayed in His Law. Therefore, through the law of God we get to learn about that God of the law. That is why the commandments were given.

To teach us how to treat and relate to fellow humans (morality)
The rest of the 6 commandments go on to address man’s relationship to his fellow kind. It is like God was saying, “The world you live in would be a better place if you do not covet, steal and kill each other.” Jesus did give us a summary of the whole Law, that is “You shall love the Lord your God...and you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Proving to us that the Almighty was not only concerned about our relationship to Himself but also how we relate to one another. Hence through the commandments, we get to define what they call the ‘moral standard’ of every society.

To show us our need for a Saviour
Finally, the stone tablets were given to the Israelites (and us) to show that we cannot in our flesh please the Holy One. We have in fact never kept these laws – a whole lot of us humans. Breaking the law is what we Biblically call sin, the very thing that separates us from His presence.  If I were to pause here and ask you just a few questions: How many times have you lied, stolen and coveted someone’s wife or property? In all honesty; many times. If you are judged by this on Judgement Day do you think you would be found innocent or guilty? Guilty of-course. Do you then deserve heaven or hell? Definitely hell. An awareness of your inability to perfectly keep these commandments is what must drive you towards the One who was given as a Ransom for sinners, or better yet; the One who perfectly kept the law on your behalf so that He could take your sins to give you His perfect righteousness. To quote the words of the Apostle, “The Torah (law) is our guardian to bring us to Christ (Gal 3:24).

In simple terms:  the Decalogue (10 commandments) cannot save you no matter how you try to live by them. Their job is to show you that you have broken them. You need something or someone else to save you. We use the mirror to view our dirty faces so we can run to the water. In the same way, the holy Law of God reveals that we are unholy because we cannot perfectly keep it. Well then, to the waters of Calvary is where we must all run to. Therein is – according to the old hymn – a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains! My dear, are you still without understanding?

Let’s conclude then. The law of God is still perfect and useful today just as it was at Horeb. The best thing we can do for our Christian faith, society around us and even our future generation children, is to re-discover the Law of God, and the purpose for which it was given. An ignorance of this is what has given rise to not only a godless society but also an immoral Church. May the Lord help us.


Shall we then live by the 10 commandments as Christians today? Save that for next time.


Sinothi Ncube

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