Are Christians under the Ten Commandments?

A really important question theologically for the Christian is to know whether we are still under the law. When I talk about “the law”, I am referring to the old Jewish law that God commanded the Israelites to follow. This law would include such things like the Ten Commandments. The typical Christian would most likely tell you that we are no under the law, but under grace. This is true, but it is a little more complicated than that.

This week, I read the article, “Are Christians Under the Ten Commandments” by John Piper. He answers the question with Bible verses, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead…”(Romans 7:4). The Bible makes the analogy of a married couple to answer the question if we are still under the law. Before the analogy is made, it is really important to understand that in the Jewish law, you could only marry another if your spouse has died. So, we were married to the law, but since the old us has died and we have been born again in Christ, we are no longer married to the law, but can be married to Christ.

So what does it mean to be married to Christ, and does not being married to the law mean we don’t have to obey the law? First, to be married to Christ is to have the law written on our hearts. We no longer are obeying what is written, but our obeying what the Holy Spirit convicts us to do. We no longer follow the law because it is just the law, but we follow it because we recognize it as just and want to follow it. Wait a minute, I thought you said we weren’t under the law? As Christians we strive to follow the ways of Christ, and in so doing that, we should automatically obey the commandments. 2 John 1:16 says, “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments”. Now I’m not saying a Christian isn’t going to sin after he has been born again, but a Christian strives to walk in the ways of Christ and in so doing he gets better and better. So we shouldn’t sin, but should use the Ten commandments as a test of our walk with Christ. In the end, you must be born again by repenting of your sin and putting your faith in Jesus Christ to save you.

Source:

Piper, John. “Are Christians Under the Ten Commandments?” Desiring God, 7 Aug. 2010, http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/are-christians-under-the-ten-commandments.