“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law … Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”

— Romans 3:28, 31

Have you noticed that the Ten Commandments seem to have fallen on hard times lately? This growing rejection of the Commandments comes from anti-Christian groups who want to remove them from public view and even from the churches that falsely teach that the Commandments don’t apply to us today because “we’re under grace.”

But consider this. The Creator of the universe descended upon Mount Sinai and gave to us a reflection of His own nature, a revelation of His will: the Ten Commandments. The more I’ve studied them over the years, the more I’ve come to realize that they cover all things pertaining to the conduct of a person’s life and his or her relationships with others and with God. Contrary to what some churches and some cults teach, Christ did not render the Ten Commandments null and void when He died. No one could possibly void them. Jesus said that the one who loves Him keeps His commandments, not to gain Heaven but to show love for Him.

The Law brings us death and damnation because we can never fulfill it except through Christ’s death on the cross. Only when we see our sinfulness, do we realize our need for forgiveness, and only then can we find salvation. After we’re cleansed by Christ’s blood, then the Law of God becomes a guide for the Christian’s life. Martin Luther gave us three pictures of the role of the Law in a Christian’s life: a hammer that smashes our self-righteousness, a mirror that shows us our uncleanness and guilt, and a whip that drives us to the Cross of Christ for redemption. Even though we’ve been saved, we still need the Law as a tool for our sanctification, to draw us nearer to Christ while we are still on this earth.

Have you allowed the Ten Commandments their appropriate place in your life? Ask God to use them to draw you nearer to Him each day.

“If we should repeal all the regulatory laws on our statute
books, and enforce only the Ten Commandments, in ten years
we would become the most law-abiding nation on earth.”
James R. Page