Why should we pay any attention at all to the Ten Commandments?

Question

IF it is part of the old Covenant, Especially since right in the same book it describes how we are to put to DEATH people who do not keep the day of Sabbath Holy and Put to death Adulterers and others who break the law...?

Does God inspire Christians to know how to extract the parts they like and disregard the parts they don't as the "old covenant"?

Answer 1

For Christians, Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses.

Christians are not held to the ceremonial parts of the Mosaic Law concerning of dietary purity and temple worship.

Christians are held to the moral law of God, some of which is expressed in the Ten Commandments.

However Jesus took the Ten Commandments to the next step summarizing them into the two Great Commandments:
+ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
+ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And teaching things like
+ Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
+ Everyone is our neighbor including our enemies.

Therefore we have to go much farther than the original recipients of the Ten Commandments ever dreamed.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Keep in mind there are two parts to the concept of keeping the 'Ten Commandments' ; given in Exodus 20.
They are part of the law of Moses.
Part 1; The law of Moses was done away when Christ died on the cross; symbolized by the renting of the veil at his death.
Part 2. Nine of the 10, were reauthorized in the new testament, (I presently have a computer speadsheet listing the scriptures. I recently had a email discussion about that with a person from a local congregation). The other commandment (Keep the Sabbath holy), wasauthorized back in Gen 1&2.

Answer 3

dear child, that is why Jesus came on the scene He said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. God knew that there were or are no perfect people who could live without breaking the law and so Jesus came with a New Covenant. sometimes, i think people just think of God as love and peace, and that He is, but He is also a God of war, vengeance and justice. it must suprise you that He told His people to do all of these things, but He did to teach His people who He was. and what the penalties would be for breaking the Law. now in the old testament, if you slept with another man's wife or did any work on the Sabbath you could be put to death and if you did the crime, you had to do the time, so when the man pronounced you guilty, you had to pay the fine.you were put to death, in a most unkind and inhuman way. but God had to teach His people about the Law and justice, which is what the old covenant represented then He sent Jesus, to represent the new covenant, which is about mercy and grace, that Jesus died for that adulterer and everyone else who has committed sins or broken God's laws, because He is still a God of justice and demands( just like we do) that you pay for breaking the law. only now, through the new covenant, we have a choice and an advocate. Jesus paid the price for each one of us, knowing that we would need Him to come bail us out of jail. He paid our penalty, which is death. and now offers us a free get out of jail card, all we have to do is beleive He died for us and repent, turn away from your sins, take the card and be forgiven for your past sins, crimes , failures and mistakes. believe and receive life instead of death. the people lived that way because He had just brought them out of slavery and had to establish law, order and justice. think about the times and the culture of the people. even now, because He loves us, He has established a new covenant, though Jesus. a covenant of mercy and grace. this is the dispensation that we live in. either you can except mercy and grace and be save from eternal death and hell or reject it and receive that penalty you deserve for your sins, crimes or breaking the law and pay for your own penalties.please, for your own sake, since you ask the question, study and find the answer for yourself, so no one is bending your arm. it will be totally your decision based on the truth you can learn and not just what you think.

Answer 4

Like me, you have difficulty with the cherry-picking between the two texts, don't you?

You might want to read Neale Donald Walsh's "Conversations with God," where he takes a close look at the Ten Commandments. I really like his take on it far better. Instead of these rules being forced down your throat, everyone, at some point or another, moves towards behaving in this way because you have evolved spiritually to the point where this feels normal and is the natural thing for you to do. When you look at it this way, I think they are more like the Ten Commitments rather than Commandments.

Answer 5

I think the Ten Commandments were given to mankind by God to show us how to live our lives without hurting others or ourselves. I think they are relevant today, and well worth paying attention to. The subsequent ordinances you are referring to, such as putting people to death for breaking any of God's laws, are to some degree invalidated by Christ, who was sent by God to bring us a new covenant. I'm no expert on the Bible, but I'm a tad more aquainted with the Gospels than I am on the Torah. But if you read the Gospels, you'll find the parts where Jesus addresses your question. I'm still just learning about the Bible myself, so if I have mis-spoken, please forgive me.

Answer 6

Jesus said the greatest commandment is this.. to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is like unto it..Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. on these two hang ALL the law and the prophets. In other words, If you keep these commandments, you have most definitly covered the Ten Commandments. There is a lot said in that verse if you think on it. If you need to know where it is in the Bible, let me know. There is some other places that also explain this. You've asked a very good question. Let me know if I can help. I have often thought of putting that verse on a sign in my front yard.

Answer 7

I am a Christian, and I follow the Ten Commandments because they make since. I also believe there are only a few difference in the old and new testament that have changed...Sacrifices we don't have them because Christ was the sacrifice. I don't follow all the feasts either, because they were set up to honer God at specific times...I can do that every minute of the day now because of Jesus

Answer 8

The Ten Commandments were the laws that GOD gave to Moses to tell people how to live right and they all happen to make sense to me-as much today as when he gave them-but if we break them we should ask for forgiveness!! In fact I think personally that we would be better off if they were proudly displayed everywhere!!!!!!

Answer 9

Jesus didn't abolish the Old Testament law, he fulfilled it. He complimented a young man on his obedience to the ten commandments. Please read the bible carefully and get help with understanding it before you recite what you have heard from anti-Christians without investigating it yourself. We do not pick and choose which commandments to obey. It is simply not true of the Christian faith. Certain individuals may do that but they do not represent devout Christians.

Answer 10

The ten commandment does not say to put anyone to death.If you bothered to read the bible first it would solve the questions you have .You seem to have ignored what Jesus said"the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart .soul,strength and mind and love your neigbor as your self.Other than this there is NO LAW."