Does the New Covenant mean you do not need to keep the 10 Commandments?

Answer 1

Yes and no.

The purpose of God's law (not just the 10 commandments) is to show us we are sinners. The law serves as a kind of "tutor" to teach us repentance (Galatians 3:24-25). Once a student has learned all he or she can from a tutor, there is no longer a need for that tutor, is there?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 told the Jews (and now, Gentile Christians) that there would some day be a New Covenant. This Covenant would function in a completely different way than the Mosaic Covenant did: it wouldn't be written on stone because of the stubborness of the people; instead, it would be written on the hearts of a repentant people. Jesus brought this New Covenant and we are obligated to follow His commands ONLY.

So to summarize, a Born Again Christian doesn't follow the 10 commandments; he or she follows the commandments of Jesus.

Answer 2

No. The old covenant called for the covering of sin by sacrifice (animal). The new covenant calls for the forgiveness of sin through the sacrificial blood of Christ. In both cases, the remedy for sin is blood and in both cases sin exists. According to Paul, there is no sin apart from the law (10 commandments). Therefore, the 10 commandments are in effect in both covenents. Also, the gospels testify that God's law (10 commandments) are immutable and exist until heaven and earth pass away.

Incidentally enough, Jesus did not come up with 2 new commandments, he condensed the ten commandments into 2. When he was asked which of the commandments was greatest, he pointed out that all of the law was greatest. (James verified this by stating that the 10 commandments were 1 law with 10 parts, not 10 laws) Jesus summed up the 10 Commandments by saying the "first" was to love God with all of your heart, mind, and spirit. The first 4 commandments tell you how to do this. The "second" was as great: Love your neighbor as yourself. The last 6 commandments tell us how to do that. Jesus upheld and summarized the 10 Commandments, he didn't replace them.

Answer 3

Not at all. It means you want to obey God all the more and now you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you to help you. The New Covenant is basically about escaping eternal burning in hell......the Judgment. God makes a New Covenant with man through the work of His Son, Jesus. We still have to "live out our salvation" here on earth, and our new relationship with God & our gratitude to Him brings up a desire to please Him. Also, when we sin now, the Holy Spirit is quick to remind us and sort of nags us til we get things right. The Ten Commandments as well as other commandments are a measuring stick (absolutes) to follow. Like God, they don't change. To live a rewarding life here & in the next realm, we need to obey God's laws.

Answer 4

First, you have to ask what were the 10 Commandments and other laws written for?

The Answer: Those who follow the Commandments were God's treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

Second, How does God determine who is his treasured possession in the New Covenant?

Answer: God's treasured possesion is those who belong to Christ. (1 Peter 2:9-12, Eph. 1:11-14, Titus 2:11-14)

I will allow you to come to your own conclusions based on these verses.
Note: Belonging of Christ does not void you of responsibility to obedience. Rather it makes it even more important that you are obedient because you are a "child of God."

Answer 5

As Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law, in theory the 10 Commandments are no longer required. However, Jesus summed up the law in 2 new commandments: Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself. If you love God and your neighbor, you won't be doing those things that the 10 commandments forbid such as murder, adultery, theft etc.
So in practice we still keep the commandments not because we are under the mosiac law covenant but because we love God and want to follow in Christ's footsteps.

Answer 6

You CAN'T keep the Ten Commandments. That's the whole point! Our hearts prevent us from fully obeying God.

James says that when we break just one commandment, we've broken them all. (James 2:10-11) No one is innocent. Just one little stray thought, say, about someone who hurt you. When you think to yourself, "I'd love to strangle that witch!" you've just committed murder in your heart. (See Matthew 5:22ff)

We need a change of heart. The New Covenant is written on your heart when you come to Christ. You are filled with the Holy Spirit upon conversion, and you begin to live for God out of love for what He's done for you, rather than out of duty or obligation. We still sin, but as we grow in Christ, we sin less and less.

Answer 7

That is exactly right!
It doesn't mean either, that we are free to break them.
John 13:34,35 speaks of a new commandment, of love.
Anyone following that will automatically live up to the 10 commamndments ....however, they do so, not because they are under the law of the 10 commandments, but under Christ's law of love.

Answer 8

Not at all! The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the law of the Ten Commandments. Jesus taught us to love God first and foremost and then love others as we love ourselves. (He probably should have thrown in a caveat about loving ourselves, but that's neither here nor there.)

If you take each of the Ten Commandments, you will find that they are very specific ways of spelling out Jesus' teaching. Jesus actually made it more about the spirit of the law than the actual wording itself, but he did not negate what came before him.

Answer 9

No, in fact Jesus taught that all of the commandments were important. It is simply the mosaic laws that have become a non point for those of us who follow Jesus but are not Jewish. Their laws do not apply to the gentile. In fact they do not apply to the jews any longer either as the way to God is through the Son and not through laws of old.

Answer 10

When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment he answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul and all your mind. And the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself. On these two comandments hang ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS."

Consider being a little less concerned with legalism and the details of the law and more concerned with the spirit.