Ten Commandments (7)
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if one accepts some terms of the Decalogue as normative for Christians, one must accept all. This document must be received as a package, beginning with the preamble and ending with the command against coveting. The principles are cast as absolute and unconditional commands, without qualification, and for the most part without declared motivation.
Some argue for the normativeness of the "Ten Commands" as a guide for Christian behavior, but then remove the Sabbath ordinance as an exception, claiming this to be part of the ceremonial law that ended in Christ. However, this approach is indefensible. (1) The seventh-day Sabbath ordinance is embedded in the Decalogue as a fundamental principle of covenant relationship, along with the prohibition of any other gods, of murder, and so on. One may not treat it differently from the rest. (2) According to the Exodus version of the Decalogue, the six-plus-one weekly rhythm is fundamental to the cosmic order. Exodus 20:11 grounds the human practice in the pattern of divine creative work. (3) In its origin the Sabbath is separated from Israel's ceremonial laws. In fact, Israelites were observing it as a matter of course before they got to Sinai (Ex. 16). (4) The Sabbath command is not primarily a cultic ordinance. In intent and character it was both humanitarian (a gift offering people rest and refreshment from life-sustaining labor) and theological—offering Israelites an opportunity to declare their fundamentally theological perspective on life (God is Creator of all), their confidence in him to provide for the seventh day, their acceptance of covenant relationship, their gratitude for salvation from slavery, and their compassion for the poor. (5) Nowhere does the New Testament declare the seventh-day Sabbath passé in Christ.
The Decalogue envisions a community that has been freed from the tyranny of Egypt but would be under the constant threat of those with social and economic power behaving like little pharaohs.For the Glory of God (87)
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The covenant of the Ten Commandments founded the modern principle of constitutionalism, or rule of law, by a perpetual written and binding law. Britain's submission to the rule of law was institutionalized with the Magna Carta (1215), founded on common law, tracing to the code of Alfred the Great. The Mosaic code was the foundation for such legal codes in the West. One-third of Alfred's "Dooms" (AD 893) quoted biblical law while collating the laws of three Christian kingdoms. Ultimately the Word of God was the basis for law and government
If men will not be governed by the Ten Commandments, they shall be governed by ten thousand commandments.
We should interpret this document not as a law code but as a foundational covenant document, intended to create a picture of life within the community of faith governed by covenant principles.For the Glory of God (85)
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5. John Piper (82)
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