What is the Purpose of the Ten Commandments?

So if the Ten Commandments can’t save us, what are they good for?

A lot of people I talk with are under the impression that as long as they at least try to follow the Ten Commandments, they are good enough and will end up in heaven. But as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions – and once we realize we haven’t followed God’s perfect law, we have already become lawbreakers and it’s too late to start over and get it right.

Jesus talked a lot about the Ten Commandments. His whole Sermon on the Mount was an exposition on them. For example, murder is wrong, but Jesus went on to say “But I tell you, don’t be angry with anyone. If you are angry with others, you will be judged. And if you insult someone, you will be judged by the high court. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

Jesus also taught that adultery is sinful, but took it a step further and said “But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, he has already committed that sin with her in his mind. If your right eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

So if we have called people insulting names, or looked with lust, is there any hope for us?

I was thankful to meet a man named Hermando, who has an appreciation for the Ten Commandments not as the way to salvation but more like a mirror that shows us our need to be saved. We use mirrors to show us how we look in order to begin to make changes, but we wouldn’t expect the mirror itself to do the job that only soap and water can do. In the same way, the Ten Commandments are like a mirror or a standard that shows us our true state before God in order for us to realize we need the right relationship with God that only Jesus can give.

I told Hermando that many people I talk to think they can just do their best to follow the Ten Commandments, and expect that their efforts at self-righteousness will save them. Hermando just slowly shook his head. He knows better. The Ten Commandments don’t save us – they just remind us that we need to be saved.

Thanks, Hermando, for allowing me to record our conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/f1bI6AqW9vM on my Youtube Channel.

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