Are the Ten Commandments repeated in the New Testament?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

As recorded in Exodus and Deuteronomy, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, inscribed on two stone tablets (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:6–21). Although the New Testament doesn’t repeat the complete list of Ten Commandments verbatim, both the law as a whole, as well as specific individual commands, are referenced throughout the New Testament. More specifically, nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated as characteristic of appropriate Christian behavior. These include the first commandant against putting other gods before the true God (1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:5); idolatry (1 John 5:21); misusing the Lord’s name (1 Timothy 1:20; 6:1); honoring father and mother (Ephesians 6:1–4); murder (Romans 13:8–10; 1 Peter 4:15); adultery (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Hebrews 13:4); stealing (Ephesians 4:28); bearing false witness (Ephesians 4:25; 1 Peter 2:1; Revelation 21:8); and coveting (Colossians 3:5; Hebrews 13:5). Though the Sabbath is referenced throughout the New Testament, such as at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, the apostles didn’t include the Sabbath command. Hebrews 3:7–4:13 points to Jesus as our Sabbath rest. Other New Testament passages show that believers today are not bound by Sabbatarian laws (Colossians 2:16–17; Romans 14:5). Though the Ten Commandments were given to Moses more than three millennia ago, we can still look to them to help us understand God's character and what righteous and moral behavior looks like.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Exodus 20:3–17 presents the Decalogue, or what we more commonly call the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. . . You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. . . Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . Honor your father and your mother. . . You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet. . .anything that is your neighbor's.” All but the Sabbath command are repeated in the New Testament.
• God promises in Jeremiah 31 to make a “new covenant” with His people (v. 31): “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (v. 33). The Ten Commandments were never intended as a means to salvation or for making ourselves righteous. Rather, they were meant to demonstrate the reality of sin, as well as to show us what righteous behavior toward God and others looks like. God’s law was always meant to reveal what was in our hearts, toward God and toward others.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus, quoting the Shema, revealed the most important commandments. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In these verses, Jesus emphasized that love of God and love of others undergirds all 613 Mosaic Laws, including the Decalogue.
• In Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:21–22, He revealed the heart as the locus of sin: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. . ." He went on to share similar teachings concerning adultery and divorce. Since human beings have a heart bent toward sin (Matthew 15:18–19), Jesus showed us we need Him to save us. He provided the way to save us when He died on a cross at Calvary and took on all the sin of humanity.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Most people in Western nations are familiar with the Ten Commandments, even if they haven’t read the Bible. These ten moral laws have traditionally been the backbone of ethical behavior. Even if you don’t memorize all ten, Jesus made it easy for us to remember them by presenting two commandments that ground the rest: Love the Lord and love others (Matthew 22:37–40). Remembering those two are easy; doing them isn’t. Society tells us that it’s okay to kill a child as long as it's in the womb where we can’t see it, that lying to get ahead is fine, and that believing in God is silly. When we are grounded in biblical truth, though, we recognize that society is wrong. God is perfectly moral and always right. Christians love and trust God, so our behavior often goes against conventional “wisdom.” Yet, we obey Him rather than social norms. The wisdom God has given us through His perfect moral code is what we follow. Though the Ten Commandments were given to Moses more than three millennia ago, we still look to these commandments to help us understand God's character and to know what righteous and moral behavior looks like.

UNDERSTAND

• The New Testament repeats nine out of the Ten Commandments, omitting the commandment about the Sabbath.
• The commandments reflect God’s character and reveal what righteous living looks like.
• The Sabbath command is not repeated, as Jesus tells us He is our Sabbath rest.

REFLECT

• How do you understand the Ten Commandments as a reflection of who God is and what righteous living looks like?
• What do you learn about God and His plan for humanity in the way He has the commandments repeated in the New Testament?
• How does understanding Jesus as your Sabbath rest impact how you spend time and seek rest in Him?

ENGAGE

• Some people try to follow the Ten Commandments as a checklist of moral behavior, but New Testament believers are called to live out the New Covenant of the faith, living out the heart of the law and not just adhering to the rules. Because Jesus fulfilled the law and gave us His Spirit, we can follow these commandments, not merely as rules, but as expressions of love and devotion to God and others (Matthew 22:37–40; Romans 8:2–4).
• What does it mean for believers to live out the heart of the law of loving God and loving others?
• Why did Jesus reframe the Sabbath commandment for believers, and how does this affect our view of rest today?