Going to the Word on this, I Timothy 1:8-11 says this
(Message Bible): "It's true that moral guidance and counsel need to
be given (RSV says, 'We know that the law is good, if anyone uses it
lawfully...'), but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important
as what you say. It's obvious, isn't it, that the law code isn't
primarily for people who live responsibly, but for the irresponsible, who
defy all authority, riding roughshod over God, life, sex, truth,
whatever! They are contemptuous of this great Message I've been put in
charge of by this great God."
It is obvious to me (and I think this passage supports this) that responsible laws do have a place in society. Their purpose is to maintain order. The best of our civil laws are based on the moral code that we intuitively sense as right (the most important of which are clearly listed in the 10 Commandments.) But I also think that the law has a purpose way beyond being a guideline for behavior.
The Bible calls the law "good", and it is. But have you ever read how detailed and miniscule the interpretation of the broad 10 commandments gets in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy? (And they ARE commandments, not "guidelines".) Deut 26:16: "This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul." (By the way, I don't see where He cares one hoot about reasons why we keep them, just that we do.) Beyond that, yes, there are blessings and curses attached to the keeping of these commandments. Deut 28:1: "And if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will (bless you)." Deut 28:15: "But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you..." Also Galatians 3:10: "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them." And James 2:10: "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it." It really was about following His rules. Even minutely.
But God knew His people would not/could not keep His commandments. Just read them, and see if you think anyone (even the best-intentioned) could. Never! Which is why God provided a way for the Israelites, through animal, blood, and other sacrifices, to obtain forgiveness.
Why then even have the law? Good question. Galatians 3:19 says, "It was added because of transgressions, till the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made." Verses 23-26: "Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. The law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith."
Paul said (Romans 7:7) "If it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet." But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me...so the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good. Did that which is good (the commandment) bring death to me? No! It was sin, working death in me through what is good (the commandment), in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure."
Those who evaluate themselves by the 10 Commandments have one of two choices, since we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23): They either excuse themselves ("Well, I'm not as bad as many people...I've never murdered anyone...I never stole anything; well, yes, maybe a paperclip, once, but never anything big like a car!...Yeah, well just show me any man that hasn't looked at a woman and thought thoughts..."); OR they are constantly frustrated, begging forgiveness, resolving to try harder, and worried that Matthew 7:21-23 will be true for them: "Not every one who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you evildoer." Sigh!!!!
Paul says that we can will to do what is right, but we cannot do it. (Romans 7:18) We will always fail. But "God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us! (Romans 8:3-4) I think that's why it really is true that the purpose of the 10 Commandments (and the "law" in general) is to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will see that the only way to God is through faith. Faith has always been the way. The 10 Commandments just make it really clear to us that we can't earn our way in.
Charles Colson (of Watergate fame, after he got saved) says that God gives us enough light to see, but not enough light to remove all doubt. If He allowed us to see Him in all His glory, we wouldn't have a choice except to worship Him. He wants us to have a choice, to come because we want to, because we've chosen to trust Him, to believe Him by faith. When we see how much God loves us, how much He sacrificed for us, how much He has forgiven us and given to us, how much He has set us free from the law, when we understand that He has given us everything for nothing, we end up loving Him. Love cannot be compelled, in which case it is not love. The Word says, "By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us." (I Jn 3:16) When we see that we are not capable of bringing anything to Him, even obedience, then we are ready to trust in the substitutionary work of Jesus, and we end up loving, because He first loved us. (I John 4:19) "The commandments, 'you shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself...love is the fulfilling of the law!" (Romans 13:9-10)
So, in summary, I do believe that the purpose of the 10 Commandments was to:
*provide a moral framework for civil laws for defiant citizens
*show just how holy God is and how perfect you have to be to be to please Him
*show that we can will what is right, but we cannot do it
*prepare men's hearts to receive His greatest gift of love by faith, His son, Jesus Christ,
in Whom we live and move and have our being! (Acts 17:28)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who LOVED ME and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose. Galatians 2:20-21
It is obvious to me (and I think this passage supports this) that responsible laws do have a place in society. Their purpose is to maintain order. The best of our civil laws are based on the moral code that we intuitively sense as right (the most important of which are clearly listed in the 10 Commandments.) But I also think that the law has a purpose way beyond being a guideline for behavior.
The Bible calls the law "good", and it is. But have you ever read how detailed and miniscule the interpretation of the broad 10 commandments gets in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy? (And they ARE commandments, not "guidelines".) Deut 26:16: "This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul." (By the way, I don't see where He cares one hoot about reasons why we keep them, just that we do.) Beyond that, yes, there are blessings and curses attached to the keeping of these commandments. Deut 28:1: "And if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will (bless you)." Deut 28:15: "But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you..." Also Galatians 3:10: "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them." And James 2:10: "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it." It really was about following His rules. Even minutely.
But God knew His people would not/could not keep His commandments. Just read them, and see if you think anyone (even the best-intentioned) could. Never! Which is why God provided a way for the Israelites, through animal, blood, and other sacrifices, to obtain forgiveness.
Why then even have the law? Good question. Galatians 3:19 says, "It was added because of transgressions, till the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made." Verses 23-26: "Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. The law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith."
Paul said (Romans 7:7) "If it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet." But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me...so the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good. Did that which is good (the commandment) bring death to me? No! It was sin, working death in me through what is good (the commandment), in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure."
Those who evaluate themselves by the 10 Commandments have one of two choices, since we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23): They either excuse themselves ("Well, I'm not as bad as many people...I've never murdered anyone...I never stole anything; well, yes, maybe a paperclip, once, but never anything big like a car!...Yeah, well just show me any man that hasn't looked at a woman and thought thoughts..."); OR they are constantly frustrated, begging forgiveness, resolving to try harder, and worried that Matthew 7:21-23 will be true for them: "Not every one who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you evildoer." Sigh!!!!
Paul says that we can will to do what is right, but we cannot do it. (Romans 7:18) We will always fail. But "God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us! (Romans 8:3-4) I think that's why it really is true that the purpose of the 10 Commandments (and the "law" in general) is to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will see that the only way to God is through faith. Faith has always been the way. The 10 Commandments just make it really clear to us that we can't earn our way in.
Charles Colson (of Watergate fame, after he got saved) says that God gives us enough light to see, but not enough light to remove all doubt. If He allowed us to see Him in all His glory, we wouldn't have a choice except to worship Him. He wants us to have a choice, to come because we want to, because we've chosen to trust Him, to believe Him by faith. When we see how much God loves us, how much He sacrificed for us, how much He has forgiven us and given to us, how much He has set us free from the law, when we understand that He has given us everything for nothing, we end up loving Him. Love cannot be compelled, in which case it is not love. The Word says, "By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us." (I Jn 3:16) When we see that we are not capable of bringing anything to Him, even obedience, then we are ready to trust in the substitutionary work of Jesus, and we end up loving, because He first loved us. (I John 4:19) "The commandments, 'you shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself...love is the fulfilling of the law!" (Romans 13:9-10)
So, in summary, I do believe that the purpose of the 10 Commandments was to:
*provide a moral framework for civil laws for defiant citizens
*show just how holy God is and how perfect you have to be to be to please Him
*show that we can will what is right, but we cannot do it
*prepare men's hearts to receive His greatest gift of love by faith, His son, Jesus Christ,
in Whom we live and move and have our being! (Acts 17:28)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who LOVED ME and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose. Galatians 2:20-21
