Do The Ten Commandments Still Apply Today?

Do The Ten Commandments Still Apply?

When God gave us these commandments, were they only for the ancient Jews, or must we still follow these ancient rules? Today, we will investigate to see if it is so. In the book of Exodus, the ten commandments are listed.

1. In verse three we read, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God..." (Ex. 20:3-5 KJV). 

So, one can not commit Idolatry, they cannot worship anything except God. So, does the New Testament affirm this? Well, one specific occasion is, "...keep yourselves from idols..." (1 John 5:21 KJV). 

2. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7 KJV). So, do not blaspheme God's name(do not insult God). 

"And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven" (Luke 12:10 ESV). In this specific verse, Luke is speaking on the forgivable sin, noting that blasphemy against the son of man(i.e. Jesus) is bad, yet it is still forgivable. While blasphemy of the Spirit is not forgivable, click here to read more on this subject.

3. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Ex. 20:8-11 KJV).

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days" (Colossians 2:16 KJV). So it seems, according to the Apostle Paul, the Sabbath doesn't have to be on the seventh day as previously; however, this does mean we still must take part in the Sabbath.

4. "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Ex. 20:12 KJV).

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother..." (Eph. 6:1-2 KJV).    

5. "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13 KJV). 

I know this is crazy, but you can't kill people for no reason. Geez, being Christian sure is hard. There are many verses that speak on this, but here are a few. 

"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother" (Mark 10:19 KJV).

"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:9 KJV).

"But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters" (1 Peter 4:15 KJV). 

6. "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14 KJV). 

"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother" (Mark 10:19 KJV).

"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:9 KJV).

7.  "Thou shalt not steal" (Ex. 20:15 KJV).

"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother" (Mark 10:19 KJV).

"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:9 KJV).

8. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour(i.e. lying is bad)" (Ex. 20:16 KJV).

"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother" (Mark 10:19 KJV).

"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:9 KJV).

9.  "Thou shalt not covet(i.e. desire, want) thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife(i.e. lust or desire for another's wife), ...nor his ox, nor his ass(i.e. possessions), nor anything that is thy neighbour's" (Ex. 20:17 KJV).         

"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:9 KJV).

(The reason we are only at nine is that I combined the first two into one as they are practically the same.)

To conclude, yes, all the ten commandments are commanded in the New Testament.