The Ten Commandments Are Not For Christians

Recently a friend asked me to read a book entitled; The Ten Commandments Twice Removed, co-authored by Danny Shelton and Shelly Quinn. The authors write from a Seventh Day Adventist perspective, so of course, make the mistake of mixing grace and the Law.

The following is my reply to their scriptural errors. The most important part of my reply is the Scriptures quoted, in particular those taken from 2 Corinthians 3.

I do hope my comments (in green) help all Christians to more fully understand the freedom we have in Christ! This is to His glory who purchased it with His own blood, and rose again as proof that it was paid in full. Thus the free gift of salvation is for all the church of the Living God NOW and is NOT on a lay-a-way plan awaiting our further installment payments of any type.

Run and do, the Law commands, but gives neither feet nor hands. Grace speaks of better things, bids me fly and gives me wings!

2 Corinthians 3
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

Here is one of the clearest passages (of which there are several) that clearly show, by contrasting the Mosaic system of the Law with the New Covenant of grace, that the former is inferior in that it could only condemn men and was temporal in nature.

Thus it is correctly called a ministry of death. The New Covenant is superior because it GIVES righteousness to men through faith in the death of Christ and His resurrection and it is eternal.

We also see that the Mosaic ministry definitely includes the Ten Commandments, not just the lesser ordinances, as The Ten Commandments Twice Removed incorrectly teaches. The words in verse 7, “engraved in letters on stone” should remove all doubt in that area.

We also note that the Mosaic system’s temporal glory was superseded by the greater, glorious light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The Law can be likened to a candle in the darkness whose lesser light is swallowed up in a glorious sunrise. We can also perhaps suggest that Moses’ face shone with the temporal glory, but the face of our risen and ascended Jesus beams with eternal glory!

Jesus completely fulfilled the Law by ALWAYS keeping it both internally (His mind and heart) and externally (His actions). He further kept it by fulfilling its’ requirement of death for any sinner who broke it! Having no sin Himself, He could meet the requirement of innocent blood as a sacrifice to God once and for all for all who have sinned. As Acts 13:38-39 states;

38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

We must ask, what freedom is Paul speaking of? The answer is freedom from the condemnation inherent in the Law, the Ten Commandments. So we are free to know God intimately though still imperfect in ourselves. Our conscience is satisfied by the sacrifice of Christ for our many sins, so that we can rejoice in His presence forever.

Click here to read Romans 8:2

through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Note that the authors' of The Ten Commandments Twice Removed go to extraordinary measures to make the Law palatable to believers, calling it "the law of love." But in Romans 8:2, the Apostle Paul sees the death that the Law brings to all who trust in it, and he always associates it with death. The Law condemns ALWAYS. It cannot save, as it requires perfect obedience at every moment, something sinners and Christians are unable to supply. Thus the Law tends to bondage of the spirit and heart for true believers.

Many who sincerely believe that the Law is for Christians today often point out that Paul said “we uphold the Law” and that the Law is “holy and good”. I agree with Paul, but we must also acknowledge that Paul taught that the Law was given for the purpose of convincing the Jewish nation that they were sinners. This was to cause them to seek forgiveness in Christ.

The problem was that that which was holy and good could only point out sin, it could never forgive it or transform the life of a sinner. The Law can be compared to an x-ray machine that clearly reveals the problem of sin in the heart. However, like the machine, the Law only serves for diagnostic purposes. The CURE comes from the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Click here to read Romans 3:20

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

What about the Sabbath? Who really changed the day of worship? I believe it was the Lord Jesus Christ who made Sunday into SONDAY! As the Lord of the Sabbath, He can do that for His Church. After all, with all power and authority given to Him and able thus to do all things, He could have just as easily been raised on the Sabbath day! But He CHOSE to rise on the first day of the week, perhaps thus underscoring that a NEW covenant had replaced the OLD covenant!

It’s interesting that the Apostles are recorded as meeting on the first day of the week and then in the Temple EVERY day! Thus every day is sacred in the Christian’s life. Christ now dwells within each born again individual so that we are individually and collectively the temple of the Living God.

Having said all that, we also recognize that the Sabbath is a sign forever between God and His beloved people, the Jews. We make a scriptural distinction between the Kingdom of Israel and the Church, the Bride of Christ. The authors of The Ten Commandments Twice Removed fail to do so, thus many of their conclusions are based on a wrong premise.

During the Millennium, Christ will rule the nations of the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem. Thus the Davidic Covenant will be fulfilled. Sacrifices will again be offered in the rebuilt temple, but now as a memorial of the great sacrifice of Christ.

Certainly the Sabbath will once again be celebrated by the then entirely saved Jewish nation, and they will for the first time, possess the entire Promised land in accord with God’s Covenant with Abraham. The saved Jewish people, the new Israel, will be spiritual, "every man like David", having the Law of God written in their hearts.

After the 1000 year reign of Christ, Satan will be loosed for one more rebellion. He will gather the unsaved offspring of the saved Jews and go into battle against Christ and the armies of Heaven. After his complete defeat, the New Jerusalem will come down out of Heaven, and God will dwell with sinless man in the new earth forever. Truly, it will be the Sabbath eternally experienced in the deepest spiritual sense. Israel will experience true rest forever in the love of our wonderful Savior!

There is no Sabbath for the church as we are not under the Law but under the administration of grace. The Law was only given to Israel, never the Gentile nations, and certainly, never to the Church. But for Israel to now observe the Sabbath would be an exercise in futility since they have crucified their King! Certainly we know that to break even one commandment is to break them all! No amount of Sabbath keeping can ever make up for a failure to keep the first and great commandment. They must await national conversion before when they will be able to truly keep the Sabbath.

We must not overlook the fact that Christ’s teaching of the Law showed the DEPTH of its’ penetrating reach! Those so enamored of keeping the Law simply don’t realize that a man born a sinner could never keep the Law. Its’ demands for perfect righteousness are 24/7, 365 days a year!

I often meet people who tell me they TRY to keep the commandments. But the commandment gives no points to those who try be it ever so sincerely. The LAW is CLEAR: EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF LIFE ONE MUST BE ENTIRELY HOLY OR PAY THE DEATH PENALTY! Only Someone BORN HOLY could do that! Guess who that is?

Perhaps someone objects and says that now that we are born again, we can or should use the Commandments to guide us into a holy life. It seems logical, but it is not Biblical; revelation in Scripture trumps all human logic always.

Paul and Jesus both teach that ALL of salvation including justification, sanctification and glorification are ALL of GRACE, plus nothing. In a practical sense, the Law will always condemn. It will always make one FEEL condemned if taken seriously, and how else would one take it who believed it to be in force?

Grace, on the other hand, is entered into and EXPERIENCED by looking at Jesus and feeding on His promises. As born-again people, we flourish on the Spirit of God speaking to our spirit in the scriptural language of love. There is no fear for the Christian who matures in love and His commandments (Christ’s), are not grievous.

Points I would like to mention in regard to The Ten Commandments Twice Removed in no particular order of importance:

1. This debate regarding the role of the Law is not a new one in the church. Many excellent Evangelical preachers and scholars have addressed it, yet the authors quote nary a one of them! There are vague references to Christian’s general acceptance of the Ten Commandments, but no definitive word from those fully equipped to answer scripturaly.Yet, somewhat disingenuously from my view, they claim to be seeking such answers. At the very least, they should quote an opposing view fully, accurately and then disprove it with Scripture if they can.

2. I am surprised by the authors’ willingness to accept the Catholic Church as a source of spiritual light! It seems indicative of a certain desperation to seek to ratify a pet teaching when you appeal to a group you would give no credence to on other important matters!

3. I am even more surprised that said authors virtually ignore the Scriptural teachings of Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles! His is the most authoritative and complete teaching that we have on the subject of Law and grace. To cherry-pick certain verses out of such an extensive body of work on this subject is foolish at best and deceitful at worst. Paul was fully equipped to make the distinctions needed in teaching Law versus grace. He understood both systems and Covenants probably better than anyone other than Jesus. And we are to take note that Peter endorses Paul’s writings as SCRIPTURE, making them as authoritative and valid as the very words of Christ Himself. It should be understood that the Apostles completed the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ on the earth, even according to His prediction. Paul especially was entrusted with new revelation not found in the Old Testament. This new revelation was given to him personally by the risen Jesus Christ. As NEW, it supersedes or clarifies the old by its’ brighter light. I can say categorically, that the authors of this book completely miss this important fact and thus are either limited or in error in their interpretations.

4. I am more bemused than surprised that two who seek to teach others God’s Word completely overlook the fact that it is not God’s will ever to use women preachers. This is especially significant when a women seeks to teach men on doctrinal issues! Yet these two are thus involved; the woman teaches and the man endorses. This is not Biblical. Good Biblical teachers know that God did not use women as priests in the OT and neither did Christ choose a woman to be an Apostle. The Apostles, who knew and taught Christ’s truth to His church, never allowed a woman to teach men or to be a Pastor/Evangelist. Women teachers are often associated with errors and false teaching in the Bible.

5. The word law in the Bible has at least six different meanings according to Unger’s Bible Dictionary. The authors either ignore this fact or more likely, are ignorant of its truth. Such ignorance, intentional or not, plays a major role in their misunderstanding of the Ten Commandments purpose and limitations.

6. In an amazing statement for anyone claiming scholarship and spiritual understanding, the authors agree that Abraham kept the Ten Commandments and that they always existed! But Romans 5:12 -14 states:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

So we see there WAS a time before the Law was given! Paul further proves that in Romans 5:20; The law was added so that the trespass might increase

I suggest that if something is added it wasn't there previously! In Galatians 3, Paul shows that Abraham was justified by faith 430 years before the Law was given! I was only going to include a few verses from this chapter but it is so good and plain that I will quote a larger portion.

15 Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed”, meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.

Please note; the covenant spoken of here is not the Old Covenant, i.e., Mosaic Law System, but rather the Abrahamic Covenant, a personal promise to Abraham that included possession of the Promised Land.

18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

BELIEVE IT AND BE FREE FROM THE UNBEARABLE YOKE OF THE LAW IS MY RECOMMENDATION TO ALL CHRISTIANS!-Acts 15:10

Dennis Clough

All Scriptures are from the NIV