The Ten Commandments were given us by God Himself. It was He who commanded us to keep them. It was He who commanded us to sharply focus on the individual acts of sin as written in that law. He said:
“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NLT
God knew that even the very best outcome of human efforts in this, will only blunt devil’s weapons a little. Will only slow down the progress of evil a little. But God judges by the intentions of the heart. Even though the actual achievements of our obedience to the Ten Commandments were so small, God was pleased to see them.
We know that the type of obedience rendered to the written Law, the Ten Commandments, was pronounced pitifully worthless, and looking from the vantage point of the New Covenant – no longer adequate – and for very good reasons. It was skin deep and it produced righteousness which is polluted, tainted with sin, and futile.. It was a ‘do-it-yourself’ fig-leaf righteousness. Isaiah aptly portrayed this sad picture in words that tell the truth:
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”
Isaiah 64:6 NLT
But even so, God had asked for obedience. He was pleased to see the efforts to obey. And when He saw a true heart – He rewarded it. God knew the weakness of human flesh, God knew that without Divine aid humanity would be forever lost. That is why He made the Redemption plan in the distant past. It was the love of God which led Him to that deep self sacrifice – offering His only Son whom He loved without measure, to live and die as the substitute for the guilty. Weak and helpless sinners in the Old Testament times received help and hope through God’s mercy and loving kindness. God included them in what He would do in Christ Jesus. That provided not only hope, but also a tangible boon in their constant struggle with evil. The result of this divine help is seen in the lives of many. Think of our Bible heroes like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Job, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, Elijah, Ester, Nehemiah, Daniel, and countless others who, without this abundant grace of our loving God, would have no chance of forming their righteous characters. Who would have perished without hope and without God. But the righteousness of Christ which is changing our lives, was in symbol and in figure applied also to them through the offering of innocent animal lives.
Yes. The sinful, rebellious human hearts need to be changed. The book of Romans is a mini textbook on how a person is Saved.
“Merely obeying the letter of the law” is not God’s idea for Salvation. “Rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit.” “A true Jew is one whose heart is right with God.” Merely obeying the letter of the law by human effort is a mechanical attempt to create righteousness. God tolerated that in the Old Testament, knowing that the Solution to the sin problem is on its way. But since Jesus successfully accomplished all objectives God asked Him to do – God is implementing those real solutions. Under the New Covenant – the Old Covenant’s systems have become obsolete. All of it was just a representation, a symbol of the good things to come. The Good News is that – in Christ Jesus – God has provided a free access to His righteousness. That righteousness works and changes us from inside out. It deals with the underlaying issues of sin. It is a small benefit if we focus only on the acts of theft – when in our hearts we know we are a thief. It is a small benefit if we focus only on the outside individual lies – when in our hearts we know we are a liar. God’s gift of righteousness transforms a person according to the blueprint of that righteousness. That person becomes a new person. A new creation. That is a person who now reflects God’s character from whom that righteousness came. The result of it is a beautiful righteous character. God desires that we grow up and be like Him. It is His grace at work. It is His way. And He will not fail.
You will recall that One Commandment, the Ten Commandments, the Enlarged Law at the time of Jesus and apostles, and the Grand Law of God which governs the universe – are all in perfect harmony with each other. They were all given us by God. Each has given us the information we needed at those times when they were given, and each revealed as much of God’s character as He was willing to share with us at those times. Each of those laws was perfect, and their functions were suitable to the needs of their time.
But with the coming of Jesus, everything has changed – for the wonderful better!
Now our Christian lives are turbocharged. Now the meagre mechanical human ways of doing things, have been replaced by Spirit’s divine dynamic Omnipotent God’s ways. Ways which are from heaven. Ways which work. What an amazing gift of God!
Jesus said:
“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
John 6:63 NLT
When Paul saw the grandeur of what God has achieved in Jesus, he exclaimed:
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”
Romans 11:33 NKJV