Top Ten Reasons Why the Ten Commandments Are Not for New Testament Saints

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This is partially taken from Lectures in Systematic Theology by Henry C. Thiessen. It is a work in progress. What other ideas/verses would you add? I need to cite everything here so please be patient with me 🙂

  1. The believer is delivered from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:10).
  2. The believer is delivered from the penalty of the law.
  3. The believer is delivered from the law itself (Romans 7:4, Ephesians 2:14-15; Colossians 2:14,20).
  4. The ten commandments have faded away (II Corinthians 3:7-11).
  5. The believer is seated in the heavenlies [the law is for the earth] (Colossians 3:1-3).
  6. The law is not just the ten commandments, there are 613 commands.
  7. The law was given to the Jews to set them apart from the rest of the world.
  8. Noah, Abraham, Moses and David were all saved by faith and not the law.
  9. The Temple no longer exists which makes fulfilling the law impossible.
  10. Jesus fulfilled the law and we are hidden in Him (Colossians 3:1-3).

5 thoughts on “Top Ten Reasons Why the Ten Commandments Are Not for New Testament Saints”

  1. Paul said the Law is holy and just and good. (does he contradict himself?) Yeshua (Jesus) said if you love me keep my commandments.

    1 John 5:3 says:
    For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

    1 John 2:4-6 states:
    Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

    If commandments are not for “New Testament Saints” then either they are liars or His Word is. (incidently, you realize that all the disciples were Jews and so was the Messiah and they kept Jewish festivals after the cross (see Acts 2 and 20:16)) No covenant was ever made with Gentiles only “the house of Isreal and Judah” (Jer 31:31), Gentiles are grafted into the same covenant (Romans 11) and become Abraham’s seed (Gal 3:29, Eph 3:6).

    You referred to Colossians 2:14. Do you realize that the word for law (nomos) is never used in that chapter? The Greek word used means “certificate of debt”. In other words your penalty was nailed to the cross, not God’s eternal Law! Remember the charge placed over His head on the cross? That was done for you an I.

    “elementary principles of the world” – It should be obvious, that this could never mean God’s Law! Are you saying that what God gave was elementary and of the world? Would you want to worship a God like that?

    If you think that it(Col 2) was the Law, then you are saying that God’s Law was evil and legalism. Would you want to worship that God? God did not give leglism. No one was ever saved by Law. Grace is an “Old Testament” teaching. It did not start in the New Testament but continued into it.

    Yeshua told those that He healed and the adulteress to go and sin no more.

    You may ask why I am telling you all of this. It is very important to understand what you are teaching others because:

    Sin is transgression of the Law

    Luke 17:2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.

    “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

    Heaven and earth are still here, so all is not fulfilled. Many of the prophecies pertain to after the cross, so all is not fulfilled. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) for isntance is a Holy Day not fulfilled. That will be fulfilled with His triumphant return!

    I hope your recieve this words with the love intended.

    Shalom (peace)

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  5. I agree with this analysis. What most teachers of the law do not understand is that the Lawgiver, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the Son of Man was made under His very own law, allowed Himself to be identified as a sinner, to be condemned by the law, to be cursed by the law and to die under the law. The result is that the law no longer has any more jurisdiction over Him. Now, remember it was not for Himself that He did this, He did this for us! It was our humanity that He took and, therefore in Him, we were condemned, cursed and died under the law. Now, when you have died under the law it’s judicial demands cease to have any authority over you. It can never exercise any uathority over you again because you cannot be condemned and die twice under the law. Christ cannot die twice and we cannot die twice. So, if the law has ceased to have authority over you it has been rendered obsolete. Christ by placing Himself under the law in our humanity effectively not only took away the condemnation of the law but He took away the very law itself. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:19 (RSV) “ For I through the law died to the law, that I might live unto God” As a sinner in order to live for God you first have to die and then be resurrected from the dead as a new creature. This can only happen if there is a perfect life in exchange for your imperfect life. Christ lived a perfect life and, therefore, God was able to resurrect Him from the dead. Remember His humanity is our humanity and so, therefore, in Him we were counted as resurrected from the dead and are now counted as new creations in Him. The new creation is not uner law but under Christ. Christ is the end or consummation of the law for rigteousnes and thus in Him we are counted as a consummation of the law for righteousness. All the righteos requirements of the law were fulfilled in Him and all the righteous requirements of the law are counted as fulfilled in us. And because we are born again the righteousness that is ours in Christ, God works into our hearts and minds as part of the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34. We receive His righteousness albeit not for salvation but because we already have received salvation and are now living for God.

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