"Law" seems to be a bad word for evangelicals today; at least so for the majority of people who would identify themselves as "born-again" Christians. We so often cite the "freedom" that comes in Christ that we fail to recognize what that freedom actually entails. There is a great deal of material and sermons out there, however, concerning this issue so I will refer you elsewhere for that. Rather, what I'd like to show is the consistency between the Law of the Old Testament and the commandments of Christ in the New. If we stop and think for a moment, this shouldn't surprise us since it is the same God who is sovereign and just from eternity past to eternity future. Christ's ministry was always in complete accordance with the will of God the Father who is Unchanging. It is no coincidence, therefore, that when asked what was the greatest law, Jesus cited Deuteronomy, in a summation of the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments.
In Matthew 22:37 Jesus says that the greatest commandment is, “you shall love the LORD [YHWH] your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” He follows stating the second greatest command to be, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This account in Matthew 22 was doubtlessly not the first time Jesus had been questioned, or as Matthew writes, “tested.” Both in His earthly ministry as well as in His divine capacity Jesus had thought about this question and its succinct response. Being of one will and essence with the Father it is further doubtless that Jesus would give any other answer than this summation of the Decalogue. God is unchanged today, yesterday, and tomorrow as likewise are His commands. As it will be shown, therefore, the giving of the Law at Sinai perfectly corresponds and finds its perfect fulfillment with the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ.
The Decalogue is structured in a way which first focuses on God and relationship with Him to how that relationship should impact man’s communion with one another. The Ten Commandments demonstrate man’s sinfulness and separation from God and the outline for how they may approach the Lord and live abundantly by His grace and guidance. Ultimately, however, the Law illustrates the need for a mediator between God and man in order to restore eternal communion with Him. The first four commandments address how to have right relationship with God and worship Him, as He deserves. Christ summarizes these four commandments in the greatest commandment, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” (Matt. 22:37).
First, God declares, “I am the LORD [YHWH] your God,” (Ex. 20:2). In Jewish tradition this is the first commandment and whether or not modern day Protestant scholars choose to distinguish verse 2 as the first commandment and group verses 3 and 4 together or not, the end result is the same as attested to in the words of Christ, “You shall love the LORD your God.” All other declarations and commandments rest on this one central truth, God is sovereign and supreme. He is LORD who redeems and rescues. He is the subject and the predicate. YHWH is God. Christ declares this truth to the interrogating scholar and the surrounding crowds in Matthew 22: YHWH is God and He is to be loved.
Second, YHWH is to be loved “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Exodus 20:3-11 address the ways God is loved as Christ declares. The first commandment (or Jewish second commandment) declares, “you shall have no other gods before [or beside] me,” (Ex. 20:3). God is supreme and holy and as the only God requires all man’s heart. The second commandment (graven images) denotes the absolute devotion God deserves. In other words, when God declares He is a jealous (or zealous) God He is demanding that His children give Him all of their soul. As echoed in Matthew 22 the children of God are to devote their souls to God exclusively because of whom He is and the great things He has done. Furthermore, God’s children should love and serve Him with all their minds as proscribed in the third commandment. The name of God should never be used lightly but rather with the reverence, honor, and love it is due. Man should be ever mindful of the words he uses and dedicate them wholly to God, reflecting in worship and rest the greatness of God from Creation through eternity (4th commandment; Ex. 20:7-11).
The fifth commandment, “honor your father and mother…” marks the transition from right worship of God to man’s relationship with one another (Ex. 20:12). God places a unique emphasis on family designating it as the basic institution of society. Through the family the first four commandments find a more practical application in the last five commandments. The sixth through tenth commandments are summarized by Christ in Matthew 22:39, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Just as man should be recognize that he is made in the image of God, so also should he recognize his neighbor as made in the image of God. Because all men are made in the same divine image there can be no distinction or hierarchy in worth between them. Only God in His infinite sovereignty and righteousness holds authority over men. Therefore, man must view his neighbor equally to himself. The last five commandments are thus based on this ethical theology. Since all men are equal they are to love each other as they love themselves (Matt. 22:39) and refrain from committing any crime against one another.
As aforementioned the Ten Commandments identify man’s sinfulness and separation from God. Furthermore, they illustrate that which God requires from man. They are more than a set of rules which man must obey in order to appease an angry, vengeful deity. As Christ teaches in John 14:15 they are an act of worship and sign of love and devotion. In this passage Jesus tells His disciples, “if you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Love means obedience. Yet, just as the Decalogue teaches how man is to love God it is ever mindful of man’s inability to love God perfectly as He requires. Ultimately, the Law points to its coming fulfillment in Christ. In Matthew 5:17 Christ declares, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” He further teaches, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6). The apostle Paul echoes in the epistle to the Romans, “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit,” (Romans 8:4). Jesus Christ, being fully God and fully man, restores the perfect relationship between God and man that is proscribed in the first four commandments. Furthermore, by living a perfect life on earth He demonstrates how to fulfill the last five commandments.
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