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Montie_Claunch
Guest
Does 2nd Corinthians 2:7-11 Mean we no longer need to follow the 10 Commandments? Thanks and God bless.
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A
adrift
Guest
I don’t see how this has anything to do with the Commandments. Could you expain why you do?
V
Verbum
Guest
Hi Montie,
Could you elaborate?
Verbum
Could you elaborate?
Verbum
D
dwc
Guest
I’d like to learn more on this. I was in a discussion with a protestant woman about whether a married principal of a Christian school who had an adulterous affair should be dismissed. She thought it had nothing to do with his work and was irrelevant. I thought that if a teacher or principal of a Christian school violated the commandments in such a way they were not fit role models for Christian children. She replied that her religion believed the 10 commandments didn’t carry the weight of authority after Christ came, so they don’t have to follow them. I had never heard anything like this.
I was beyond confused – so, like, it’s all ok? You think Jesus said adultery, jealously, taking the Lord’s name in vain, having false gods, etc is not sinful? She didn’t have a good explanation, so if there is one, I’d be interested in hearing it.
I was beyond confused – so, like, it’s all ok? You think Jesus said adultery, jealously, taking the Lord’s name in vain, having false gods, etc is not sinful? She didn’t have a good explanation, so if there is one, I’d be interested in hearing it.
T
thistle
Guest
Jesus made it very clear we have to keep the commandments!
Matthew 19:
16 Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 17 He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. **If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” **18 He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, " ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
19 honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"
Matthew 19:
16 Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 17 He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. **If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” **18 He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, " ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
19 honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"
C
cradle_convert
Guest
SEE MATTHEW 5:19!!
The new law of Love expands and perfects the law. It does not abolish it. You can see that Jesus expects even higher standards from us because of LOVE than the old law expected out of sheer technical obedience. There is a certain amount of common sense to this, of course something that Jesus had in abundance.
Love, cradle convert
The new law of Love expands and perfects the law. It does not abolish it. You can see that Jesus expects even higher standards from us because of LOVE than the old law expected out of sheer technical obedience. There is a certain amount of common sense to this, of course something that Jesus had in abundance.
Love, cradle convert
F
FCEGM
Guest
We are not bound to the Ten Commandments as a matter of LAW. Rather, we are bound by the righteousness behind these Commandments, which is the Righteousness of the Person of Jesus Christ Who we are called to be like in all things. What this means is that we need to go beyond the mere letter of the Ten Commandments so as to keep the righteousness behind these (legal) Commandments perfectly. Jesus Himself tells us this in Matthew 5, where He says, in regard to adultery, for example (Matt 5:27-28):
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Likewise, in regard to the Commandment against murder (Matthew 5:21-23), Jesus says:
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But, I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother ‘Raqa’ (i.e., “Fool!’ - a specific curse in Aramaic) will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.”
Jesus says other similar things in this same passage. But, the teaching is clear: Under the Mosaic Law, people were forbidden to commit adultery and murder. However, Jesus (in the New Covenant) requires us to go further than that (and enables us to go further by His grace) for, under the Old Covenant, people would only keep the letter of these Laws and not go any deeper than that - because nothing required that they do so. For example, the Commandment “Thou shall not kill” was limited to the legal wording of the Commandment. According to the Pharisees, as long as one kept the specific legal conditions of the Commandment, one was “righteous before God.” Jesus denies this. For the Lord Jesus, the mere letter of the Law is not enough because, while the Commandment says, “Thou shall not kill,” it does not mean that you are righteousness if you just beat a man within an inch of his life, just as long as you do not actually kill him. That was never God’s intention at all. Rather, the Commandment goes much deeper than that and Christians are obligated (by their Covenant of Love with Jesus Christ) to keep the Commandment much deeper than that. However, non-Christian Jews are not. They are only bound by the specific wording of the Commandment; that is, they are bound by the letter of THE LAW, and on a mere basis of LAW. Christians are bound by the righteousness of Christ Himself (to Whom the Law points) because of their Covenant of Love with Jesus Christ. See the distinction?
Now, it should be pointed out that Jesus is not saying that looking at a woman lustfully or calling your brother a fool is the very same thing as physically cheating on your wife or physically killing your brother. For the latter sins are far more serious than the former. Rather, the Lord’s point is that we are called to a righteousness and a perfection that is so high that, not only would we never commit adultery or murder, but we would not even harbor lustful or unjustly violent thoughts in our hearts; that is, we are called to avoid even those things, for the sake of our love of Jesus and our desire to be perfect as He is perfect.
And this is what Jesus means when, at the beginning of the passage in Matthew 5, He says:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. …I tell you, unless your righteouness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
In other words, the Law must be kept in a way that is greater than a mere legal observance of the Commandments. It must be exceeded by the example of Him Who embodies the righteousness behind the Law: Jesus Christ. This is why Christians are not bound by the Law, but by the New Covenant of grace and love in Jesus Christ.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Likewise, in regard to the Commandment against murder (Matthew 5:21-23), Jesus says:
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But, I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother ‘Raqa’ (i.e., “Fool!’ - a specific curse in Aramaic) will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.”
Jesus says other similar things in this same passage. But, the teaching is clear: Under the Mosaic Law, people were forbidden to commit adultery and murder. However, Jesus (in the New Covenant) requires us to go further than that (and enables us to go further by His grace) for, under the Old Covenant, people would only keep the letter of these Laws and not go any deeper than that - because nothing required that they do so. For example, the Commandment “Thou shall not kill” was limited to the legal wording of the Commandment. According to the Pharisees, as long as one kept the specific legal conditions of the Commandment, one was “righteous before God.” Jesus denies this. For the Lord Jesus, the mere letter of the Law is not enough because, while the Commandment says, “Thou shall not kill,” it does not mean that you are righteousness if you just beat a man within an inch of his life, just as long as you do not actually kill him. That was never God’s intention at all. Rather, the Commandment goes much deeper than that and Christians are obligated (by their Covenant of Love with Jesus Christ) to keep the Commandment much deeper than that. However, non-Christian Jews are not. They are only bound by the specific wording of the Commandment; that is, they are bound by the letter of THE LAW, and on a mere basis of LAW. Christians are bound by the righteousness of Christ Himself (to Whom the Law points) because of their Covenant of Love with Jesus Christ. See the distinction?
Now, it should be pointed out that Jesus is not saying that looking at a woman lustfully or calling your brother a fool is the very same thing as physically cheating on your wife or physically killing your brother. For the latter sins are far more serious than the former. Rather, the Lord’s point is that we are called to a righteousness and a perfection that is so high that, not only would we never commit adultery or murder, but we would not even harbor lustful or unjustly violent thoughts in our hearts; that is, we are called to avoid even those things, for the sake of our love of Jesus and our desire to be perfect as He is perfect.
And this is what Jesus means when, at the beginning of the passage in Matthew 5, He says:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. …I tell you, unless your righteouness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
In other words, the Law must be kept in a way that is greater than a mere legal observance of the Commandments. It must be exceeded by the example of Him Who embodies the righteousness behind the Law: Jesus Christ. This is why Christians are not bound by the Law, but by the New Covenant of grace and love in Jesus Christ.
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Iowa_Mike
Guest
Good response…heh heh heh…SEE MATTHEW 5:19!!
The new law of Love expands and perfects the law. It does not abolish it. You can see that Jesus expects even higher standards from us because of LOVE than the old law expected out of sheer technical obedience. There is a certain amount of common sense to this, of course something that Jesus had in abundance.
Love, cradle convert
Iowa Mike
M
Montie_Claunch
Guest
I’m sorry. I mistyped. It was the third chapter of 2nd Corinthians. Please forgive my mistake.
D
drafdog
Guest
If you read the text carefully, will see that the decalogue is a “bare minimum” set of standards for relating to God and other people. As Christians we are called to surpass these in observance of our behavior toward others. Are we bound by the commandments? Yes, and more.
Matthew
Matthew
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itsjustdave1988
Guest
No.
Then Ten Commandments pertain to that which is required by natural law (cf. CCC 2070, 2071).
“The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor” (CCC 2067).
The Ten Commandments “express man’s fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, [they] reveal, in their primordial content, *grave *obligations. They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.” (CCC 2072)
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adrift
Guest
It is not referring to just the Ten Commandments but to the covenant the Jews had with God. Jesus made a New Covenant with us. Paul is contrasting the two. As pointed out before, Jesus said he came not to abolish but to fulfill.
D
deb1024
Guest
What about the protestants that believe once saved always saved? Don’t they believe that following the commandments is not necessary for salvation. They believe that they are covered by Christ’s righteousness.
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Iowa_Mike
Guest
Deb,
This is one of Luther’s heresies, “man is justified by faith alone.” Luther set aside the Epistle of St. James and 6 other books of the bible as ‘not inspired’ because they conflicted with his teachings. I have inserted a quote from James 2 as an example:
James 2:14-26
John 14 verse 15, “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments”.
The bible is full of such admonishments…
Iowa Mike
I
Iowa_Mike
Guest
:ehh: :ehh:
dwc and deb,
Please comment on my post #14. When Luther broke from the Catholic Church in the 1500’s he introduced a number of heresies. One was the belief that ‘man is saved by faith alone’. Because this and other of his beliefs flew in the face of scripture…he decided to deem 7 books of the bible that most conflicted as ‘non-inspired’. In post #14 I inserted a couple of biblical passages, one from James 2 (one of the excluded books) and one from John 14 verse 15 where Jesus says, “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments”.
These passages very clearly conflict with the Protestants stance.:yup:
Iowa MIke
D
deb1024
Guest
I whole heartedly agree with you!!
Twenty years ago some Baptists got a hold of me and got me all confused. I semi left the Catholic Church and went on a search for the church that Christ instituted. I thought that it had to be somewhere because he Promised (mat 16:18). It took me 15 years after much bible study, church history and church hopping to find my way back home.
I
Iowa_Mike
Guest
D
deb1024
Guest
Thanks, I am Soooooo Glad to be back!!
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