Introduction
The Ten Commandments were given to humanity by God as a teaching on duties to God and guidelines on the relationship with each other. The law teaches Christians to honor God, live with respect for each other, observe the Sabbath day, obey their parents and live an honest and honorable life. Therefore, the law is binding to every Christian, and Christians should follow it to live a good life for themselves and glorify God in that way of life. This essay will provide an argument for why Christians should obey the Ten Commandments, for the law was given to humankind to help them align their actions according to Gods will.
Main Body
Christians should obey the Ten Commandments. Christians are obligated to keep God as the foundation of their life. God gives Christians commands to guide them on how to relate with each other and honor God (Kaiser). The Bible indicates that if Christians do not obey the law, God will bring trouble, disaster, and confusion to their life until they are fully destroyed (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Jesus Christ promises those Christians who choose to obey God’s laws that they will abide in His love just as he has kept Gods commandments. He takes in God’s love (John 15:10). Christians need to understand that the Ten Commandments were given not to frustrate them but to help them align their actions according to God’s will. Therefore, Christians should obey the law and base all their activities on God’s word.
The New Testament urges Christians to obey God’s laws and abide by them. Jesus says that if you love him, you will keep his laws (john 14:15). The scripture urges Christians not to be comfortable in things God categorizes as sin. In reverence to Jesus obeying the law, He urged people to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and unto God what belongs to God (Matt. 22:21). Jesus meant that Christians should obey the earthly laws and God’s laws.
Paul states that the Jewish law, the Ten Commandments, is righteous, sacred, and good (Romans 7:12). Paul says that even if his flesh is a slave of sin, his heart desires to obey the law of God. The new testaments show that the directives were not replaced or rejected but added more emphasis concerning the wrong interpretations of the law (Kaiser). Therefore, the New Testament urges Christians to love the lord by keeping His orders and treating their neighbors as they would want to be treated.
The Old Testament concept of salvation was keeping the commandments and having faith that the Messiah would be the hope of their salvation. God made covenants with people of the old testament, for example, Abraham, that through obeying gods demands and trusting in His promises, and having a repentant faith, they would be saved (Romans 4:22). God accredited righteousness and salvation to those who had faith in his promises in the Old Testament.
People, at the old testament period, believed that by obeying God’s commandments given to them through covenants, they would be saved. God told the people of Israel that if they abode by the laws given to them by Moses, He would make them a holy nation (exodus 19:5, 6). However, most people in the Old Testament could not follow the commandments, and the punishments god gave them are recorded in that era. The saints in those times believed in the future coming of a messiah that would save them from their sins. Isaiah states that goodness is not good enough (Isiah 64:6). He believed that animal sacrifices were not good enough to please God, but the Messiah would perfect the glory of their salvation.
Conclusion
Christians should follow and keep the moral law outlined by the Ten Commandments. Observing the law ensures that Christians live a morally upright life for themselves and, in turn, earn God’s blessings. Keeping the law shows that Christians know God and they abide in him. Those claiming they know God and do not keep his rules are liars. Observing the law perfects the love of God in Christians.
Works Cited
Hendrickson Publishers. The Holy Bible: King James Version. Peabody, Ma, Hendrickson Publishers, 2014.
Kaiser, Walter C. The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable and Amp; Relevant. Illinois: IVP Academic, 2001.