By The Rev. Ron Purkey
Guest Columnist

Read Exodus 20:1-21

The Rev. Ron Purkey

And God spake all these words, saying…. (Exodus 20:1)

No topic has been more misunderstood among Christians than the Law of Moses and its application to the New Testament believer today. To confuse the covenants of God is to misinterpret the mind of God and miss the blessings of God, so the believer is wise to examine the Word to determine the place and purpose of the whole Mosaic system.

All of the Old Testament Law is but an amplification and application of the Ten Commandments. Only nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament for believers today.

First Commandment: Have no other gods before me (Acts 14:15; John 4:21-23; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19; 1 Corinthians 8:6).

Second Commandment: Make no idols or images (Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:22-23; 1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 10:7, 14).

Third Commandment: Do not take his name in vain (James 5:12; Matthew 5:33-37 and 6:5-9).

Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day: This is NOT repeated anywhere in the New Testament for the church to obey today. Keeping the Sabbath is mentioned in Matthew 12, Mark 2, Luke 6, and John 5; but these all refer to the people of Israel and not to the church. Colossians 2 and Romans 14-15 teach that believers should not judge one another with reference to holy days or Sabbaths. To say that a person is lost or unspiritual for not keeping the Sabbath is to go beyond the bounds of scripture, the Word of God.

Fifth Commandment: Honor father and mother (Ephesians 6:1-4).

Sixth Commandment: Do not murder (1 John 3:15; Matthew 5:21-22).

Seventh Commandment: Do not commit adultery (Matthew 5:27-28; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 6:9-20; Hebrews 13:4).

Eighth Commandment: Do not steal (Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12; James 5:1-4).

Ninth Commandment: Do not bear false witness (Colossians 3:9; Ephesians 4:25).

Tenth Commandment: Do not covet (Ephesians. 5:3; Luke 12:15-21).

Notice that these “summaries of the Law” in the New Testament; not one of them mentions the Sabbath: Matthew 19:16-20; Mark 10:17-20; Luke 18:18-21; Romans 13:8-10.

Of course, the “New Commandment” of love is the basic motivation for the Christian today (John 13:34-35; Romans 13:9-10). This love is shed abroad from our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), so that we love God and others, and therefore should need no external law to control our lives.

The old nature knows no law, and the new nature needs no law. The Sabbath was God’s special day for the Jews under the Old Covenant; the Lord’s Day (Sunday) is God’s special day for the church under the New Covenant.

The Sabbath symbolizes salvation by works: six days of labor, then rest; the Lord’s Day symbolizes salvation by grace: first rest, and then the works follow. The Sabbath, the sacrifices, the dietary laws, the priesthood, and the tabernacle services were all done away in Jesus Christ when he paid for our sins on the cross of Calvary (see John 3:16).

Read Ron Purkey’s free Bible study outlines at rcpbibleoutlines.com. Purkey has been an ordained Baptist minister for 50 years.