The Ten Commandments Are No Longer Relevant?

[JimR-OCDS]

It may be your priest was speaking about what St Paul wrote in the Letter to the Romans.

Now we know that what the law* says is addressed to those under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world stand accountable to God, since no human being will be justified in his sight* by observing the law; for through the law comes consciousness of sin.m

Justification apart from the Law.*

But now* the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.p They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus,q whom God set forth as an expiation,* through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,r through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

What occasion is there then for boasting?* It is ruled out. On what principle, that of works? No, rather on the principle of faith.* For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.t Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Are we then annulling the law by this faith? Of course not!w On the contrary, we are supporting the law.* Romans 3 19-31

In summation, all have sinned against the law, but through Jesus Christ, we are freed from the law in that we are no longer bound to the punishment we deserve.

It doesn’t abolish the Ten Commandments, but frees us from the transgressions we have committed against them.

I’m not theologian and this verse was always a difficult one to understand.

Perhaps some one else could do a better job explaining it?

Jim

 

[In_Training]

I really don’t understand? What part of this we should not obey?

The Ten Commandments The Catholic Church Uses

***1. I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.

1. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain

2. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day

3. Honor your father and your mother

4. You shall not kill

5. You shall not commit adultery

6. You shall not steal

7. You shall not bear false witness

8. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods***

Catholic Bible 101

If you follow one, does that count?

Whoops

 

[InLight247]

Read today’s Gospel:

Gospel Mt 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

 

[Hansel_Paul]

Matthew 5:19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

[timotheos]

Mt 5:18 "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished

But wait, I wonder about this part:

Mt 5:18 “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

How about this? Why would Jesus include this if he knew his death on the cross would make it null and void? Could it be that the two different references to “accomplished” and “finished” mean different things, one pertaining to the Father and one to Jesus?

 

[fred_conty]

This past weekend (Corpus Christi Sunday) I attended Mass at another parish (not my own).

I was puzzled by the priest’s homily. During the homily, he suggested that we are no longer bound by The Ten Commandments.

I can’t remember the exact quotation but it went like this;

“When people talk about preparing [examination of concience] for confession, they talk about reviewing the ten commandments. This is wrong. We are bound by the commandments of love God and love you neighbor and all of the other precepts of the NEW TESTAMENT; the new covenant.”

He seemed to imply that the OLD TESTMENT and specifically the ten commandment need be followed any longer.

I found this very confusing. I have heard homiles by this priest and they are usually very good. But, he lost me on this one. Has anyone else heard anything like this?

We are still bound by the 10 commandments.
Every one of the 10 is in the New Testament, but they just are not enumerated as the 10, or in the same order.

For example, St. Paul has a number of things in his letters that we should do and that we should not do. If we pieced them all together, all 10 are still there in one form or another.

The 10 commandments say in the negative way what we should not do, and the 2 commandments Jesus gave us say in a positive way what we should do. They are brother and sister.

Just a thought.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

I’ve said this before too many catholics have watered down the OT. Many books are turned into allegories only because it seems “we couldn’t comprehend these miraculous things” such as parting seas, a literal 6 day creation, arks, non consuming fires etc.

The ten commandment story is now “just giving you an idea of the kinda bad stuff”. Wake up to the miraculous power of God then… and now.

Oh, no… a literalist! (j/k)

It’s funny you give a literal six day creation as an example of watered down Catholicism. As I understood it, the Church takes no official position on whether you must believe it is literal, and in fact allows both ways. So in fact, if “watering down” means “Church-approved interpretation” then I guess I’m guilty.

That said, read St. Paul about the law of sin and death, in Romans. He even gives “thou shalt not covet” as an example, so we know exactly what he’s talking about. When one is born again they are no longer in need of this law because it is written on their hearts and the Spirit guides them. But many people think they are born again because they said some prayer or had some emotional experience. There’s much more to entering the kingdom on earth than that – but in another way it’s a snap! Just gotta learn about being like a child and all.

So the Ten Commandments are to form our conscience before we are born again and enter the kingdom. Once we are in, the Beatitudes and the sermon on the mount make a much better examination of conscience. The Ten Commandments are built into our very hearts so we don’t need to focus on them. Because it is no longer a dualistic contest to see if one’s “conscience is clear enough” at any given moment – but a true yearning to cry Abba Father and to heed the groanings of the Spirit leading us to Him. So instead of looking down and backwards to see if anything’s holding, just keep our eyes on the prize, looking ahead at where we are taken.

It’s like, I don’t consciously think, “left pedal is the brake, right pedal is the gas” every time I get into the car. I’ve done it enough; I’m tested and capable to do that as a peripheral function. Neither do I pay attention to the commandments; if we have to focus on them, then we’re not yet receiving all the blessings Jesus died to give us.

Alan

 

[jromero0307]

The Ten Commandments are not laws that we should try to keep but are Commands from GOD to his chosen people. Just as there are laws of physics which cannot be changed to achieve problem solving was this change made to differencate the Christian from the Jew? We as Chatolics can worship on Sunday as we do but it doesn’t change the Commandments. Actually we are to worship every day.
Which of the other Commandments are so grievous that we should change them?
A little leaven leaventh the whole loaf!
These are my taughts sure to continue the controversy!

 

[thistle]

This past weekend (Corpus Christi Sunday) I attended Mass at another parish (not my own).

I was puzzled by the priest’s homily. During the homily, he suggested that we are no longer bound by The Ten Commandments.

I can’t remember the exact quotation but it went like this;

“When people talk about preparing [examination of concience] for confession, they talk about reviewing the ten commandments. This is wrong. We are bound by the commandments of love God and love you neighbor and all of the other precepts of the NEW TESTAMENT; the new covenant.”

He seemed to imply that the OLD TESTMENT and specifically the ten commandment need be followed any longer.

I found this very confusing. I have heard homiles by this priest and they are usually very good. But, he lost me on this one. Has anyone else heard anything like this?

Why didn’t you just ask him what he meant after Mass had ended?

 

[AlanFromWichita]

This past weekend (Corpus Christi Sunday) I attended Mass at another parish (not my own).

I was puzzled by the priest’s homily. During the homily, he suggested that we are no longer bound by The Ten Commandments.

I can’t remember the exact quotation but it went like this;

“When people talk about preparing [examination of concience] for confession, they talk about reviewing the ten commandments. This is wrong. We are bound by the commandments of love God and love you neighbor and all of the other precepts of the NEW TESTAMENT; the new covenant.”

He seemed to imply that the OLD TESTMENT and specifically the ten commandment need be followed any longer.

I found this very confusing. I have heard homiles by this priest and they are usually very good. But, he lost me on this one. Has anyone else heard anything like this?

The Ten Commandments are the beginning skeletal structure of the law. One who has advanced is not drawn to them, and has a good enough conscious would not follow tendencies created by the law.

So just as we don’t consciously think, “now I’ll put my left foot in front and take a step,” no longer do we think, “I had better not steal.” Of course, as Paul explains in Rom 7, simply knowing the law is in itself an opportunity for all sorts of sin against it to act out in his brain. The law is written in our hearts. Learning the 10 commandments is not like learning the controls to life; it’s more like pulling the starter cable to get going. One must get past looking down at whether one is stepping on a crack, in order to lift one’s eyes and see ahead. And once our peripheral awareness takes it on (like turning a corner when driving – you just do it without really thinking about it because the car is an extension of you) these things take care of themselves so you can quit looking down in fear and confusion and worry about guilt and sin and death, and look ahead to where you’re going.

Alan

 

[JRKH]

I agree with the other posters who have said that your priest was trying to convey a very good and important lesson…Whether he did it well - or whether you heard it accurately…

I will say that your confusion points to something important as regards to Sunday sermons…While making them too “lovey dovey” is not good…making them too “theologically deep” can also be dangerous.

Your priest is quite correct that we are living under the requirements of the New Covenant, not the old. The external “law” is replaced by - or more properly restored to - the internal “written on the heart” requirements. All of the “OT Law” is summed up in the NT command to Love…
This is why St Paul can say - “All things are lawful to me but not all things are good…” (1 Cor 6:12) This is why the First council of Jerusalem could set aside the requirements of the Mosaic Law almost in it’s entirety (acts 15) and still not “gut” the heart and soul of the Church.

In truth, we are not living under an easier covenant (where the commandments don’t apply) but a much more difficult covenant. The one command - the command to Love - is the most difficult, time consuming, life changing, command of all…Because it actually requires us to think and not simply obey.

Peace
James

 

[Strategery]

“When people talk about preparing [examination of concience] for confession, they talk about reviewing the ten commandments. This is wrong. We are bound by the commandments of love God and love you neighbor and all of the other precepts of the NEW TESTAMENT; the new covenant.”

He seemed to imply that the OLD TESTMENT and specifically the ten commandment need be followed any longer.

I found this very confusing. I have heard homiles by this priest and they are usually very good. But, he lost me on this one. Has anyone else heard anything like this?

I highly recommend going to the Catechism on these questions. Here’s a link to the section directly addressing the ten commandments:

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2.htm

The whole thing is an excellent read. If you take away nothing else, hold on to this:

2068 The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them;28 the Second Vatican Council confirms: "The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord . . . the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments."29

On the question of using the Ten Commandments as an examination of conscience, the CCC recommeds doing just that:

1454 The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God. The passages best suited to this can be found in the Ten Commandments, the moral catechesis of the Gospels and the apostolic Letters, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings.53