The Ten Commandments
(also called the Decalogue)
are the ten foundational laws
that God spoke directly to
the people of Israel at Mount Sinai
and wrote on two tablets of stone.
They summarize God’s moral requirements
and form the core of the Mosaic Law.
Jesus and the apostles
affirmed their ongoing authority
as a revelation of
God’s holy character and will.
The Ten Commandments are recorded in two primary places:
God introduced them by reminding Israel of His redeeming grace:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2)
The commandments were written by the finger of God on tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10) and placed in the ark of the covenant.
The first four commandments primarily concern love for God; the last six concern love for neighbor (see Matthew 22:37-40).
The Ten Commandments:
They are not a means of earning salvation. Salvation has always been by grace through faith. The commandments show the standard of righteousness that only Christ perfectly kept and that is now written on the hearts of New Covenant believers by the Spirit.
In the New Covenant, the moral requirements of the Ten Commandments continue to instruct believers in righteous living (Romans 13:8-10; Ephesians 6:1-3). Christ fulfilled the Law, and the Spirit enables obedience from the heart. The ceremonial and civil aspects of the wider Mosaic Law are not binding in the same way, but the moral core expressed in the Ten Commandments remains a lasting revelation of God’s will.
The Ten Commandments are a concise and profound summary of God’s moral will. They continue to function as a mirror that shows sin, a guide for grateful obedience, and a pointer to the perfect righteousness of Christ. For the believer, they are not a ladder to climb in order to reach God, but a path of life walked in the power of the Spirit out of love for the God who has already redeemed His people.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.