Ask a Question
or
Create a Poll
  1. Home /
  2. Questions /
  3. Social Sciences
  4. / Religions
  5. / Religions A - Z

by Revelator on April 19th, 2004

Revelator

Question

Help answer this question below.

Did Jesus' teachings replace the Ten Commandments?

  • Like
  • Report
Share:
Other

Answers. Showing one answer.

  • by Eric Henry on June 14th, 2004

    Eric Henry

    Yes.

    Obeying Jesus' commandments, as instructed in John 14:15 and other places, is not obeying the 10 Commandments. On the contrary, it's obeying the teachings he left through the Gospels. Keep in mind also that the 10 Commandments are just part of the Old Mosaic Law, not all of it.

    A careful reading of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) will show that Christ did not nullify the Old Law. He fulfilled it and took it to the next level. Christians are actually called to a higher moral compass and to what God intended for man from the very beginning (Micah 6:6-8), which is to obey with the heart, not just the intellect.

    Romans 7:4-13 and Romans 10:1-10 (actually the entire book of Romans focuses on this concept) teach that we are no longer under the Old Law. This doesn't mean I criticize the Old Law. The rest of Romans 7 shows me why that's not a right approach. On the other hand, I see Jesus bringing us through the Law, making us perfect through His blood as even the Old Law required (first few verses of Romans 8), and raising our standard of conduct beyond what the 10 Commandments instructed.

    With regard to Matt. 5:17-20, note two possible interpretations: (1) "Keep all of the old Law" in which case we should all still be making animal sacrifices and keeping the Jewish feasts, etc....; OR (2) Jesus is validating what Paul said, which is that He fulfilled the Law and that the Law was good and perfect because it demanded perfection and defined sin for us. In verse 20, Jesus says our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees to go to heaven. God's Law demanded perfection under the Mosaic dispensation and demands the same under Christ. The difference is that through Christ's blood, we CAN be perfect and we are righteous beyond what the scribes and Pharisees could achieve through their legalism (Rom. 8:1-4)

    Ignatius: I believe Galatians 3 (especially v. 24-25) teaches otherwise. Paul ("a Jew of Jews") taught, in this passage, that the Old Law fulfilled its purpose and is superceded now by the Law of Christ. Verse 24-25 say "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, to that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."

    Anon: Regarding Acts 15:29, using this text as evidence we should keep the Mosaic Law is a rather blatant case of proof-texting. This admonition was specifically to the church at Antioch and, if you read verse 28 (always good to look at the context), Paul was specifically NOT telling this congregation to keep all the Mosaic Law. He was encouraging the congregation, not placing rules on them. To make the assertion that the Law must be followed, one must ignore most of the first several chapters of the book of Romans where Paul quite directly says that works of the Law will NOT save us. I also reiterate the passage in Galatians 3 referenced earlier. Paul even deals with the "eating meat sacrificed to idols" thing directly in Romans while talking about liberty vs. conscience.

    There is no scriptural evidence that one needs to follow all of the old Law "except..." as implied in one of the comments. Yes, Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, and this fulfilled the Law as I have already discussed.

    Comments
    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading Did Jesus' teachings replace the Ten Commandments?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

Related Questions

Professionally Researched

Answerbag

a Demand Media company