Why did God give us the Ten Commandments?
Oct 23, 2009
The Case for Grace - part five of a study of the book of Romans
Mike Gaudet
Laws clarify conduct. We stop at a red light because we know the law.
Laws also clarify consequences. We stop at a red light because we know the consequences of violating that law. Some of us know this firsthand!
While laws can influence us to observe traffic rules, their ability to influence us to observe God’s will is far different.
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” Romans 3:19-20
God communicated His laws to Moses and the Israelites from Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments are a summary of these laws.
The Ten Commandments define what is acceptable and unacceptable to God. These laws also define consequences for obedience and disobedience. Life and blessing for the obedient. Death and disaster for the disobedient.
It is natural to assume that God gave the Ten Commandments so that a clear standard and clear consequences might promote obedience and result in blessing. This is not the case though!
Paul informs us that “through the law we become conscious of sin.” To put it simply, law reveals sin. The Ten Commandments make sure that we find ourselves on the other side of lines that God laid down for us.
Several years ago I made a right turn on a red light. I failed, however, to see the “No right hand turn on red” sign that had “magically appeared.” A week later I received a letter in the mail with images of my car entering the intersection with the red light clearly visible. A close-up of my license plate left no doubt whatsoever as to my guilt. It cost me $85 to learn two lessons. First, this was no longer a “right on red” intersection. Second, some intersections have cameras installed to record traffic violations.
God’s Law catches us “red handed.” It functions the way that traffic citation did. When we look at His law and look at our lives we are faced with overwhelming evidence. Our lives fall short. We are guilty.
Before you raise an objection . . . you might want to take a closer look at the Ten Commandments . . . especially the final one.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17
Don’t want what your neighbor has! Don’t want his house, his wife, his life.
In God’s courtroom, you do not have to commit murder or adultery to violate God’s Law. All you have to do is to covet what belongs to someone else!
Anyone out there able to look around and not want what someone else has?
I didn’t think so.
There is not one of us who measures up to God’s standard. All of us fall short.
Why would God set the bar at an impossible height and then hold us accountable for not clearing it? Why would God give us a law that we cannot live up to?
The Law makes us conscious of our sin so that we have to admit that we have a sin problem. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick . . . I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:12, 13
Only those who realize they have a sin problem will be motivated to learn from Jesus and depend on Him to solve it.
Only those who realize they are spiritually ill will be motivated to depend on Jesus to receive healing.
If this is you, God has news for you . . .
. . . Good news.