"Are the Ten Commandments repeated in the New Testament?"

Question: "Are the Ten Commandments repeated in the New Testament?"

Answer:

The term Ten Commandments is never found in the New Testament. Nine of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:1–17 are repeated in the New Testament in one way or another. The only one not repeated in the New Testament is the fourth, the one about Sabbath-keeping.

In summarizing our moral responsibilities to one another, Jesus repeats four of the Ten Commandments to the young ruler in Mark 10:17–19. Paul references the Decalogue a number of times in his epistles. Sometimes, he is explicit in reciting some of the commandments, as he does in Romans 13:9. Other times, he references them implicitly, like in 1 Timothy 1:8–10: “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers [5th and 6th commandments], for murderers [6th commandment] and immoral men and homosexuals [7th commandment] and kidnappers [8th commandment] and liars and perjurers [9th commandment], and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching” (NASB). So, the moral directives embodied in the Ten Commandments are repeated for us, even if we are free from the letter of the law.

Here are the Ten Commandments and where they are found in the New Testament:

1) Do not worship any other gods (1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:5)

2) Do not make idols (1 John 5:21)

3) Do not misuse the name of the Lord (1 Timothy 6:1)

4) Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. (There are many references to the Sabbath day in the New Testament, including the assumption that Jews under the law in the time of Christ would be observing the Sabbath. But there is no direct or indirect command for believers in the church age to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest or of worship. In fact, Colossians 2:16 releases the believer from the Sabbath rule. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, has become for us our Sabbath rest, according to Hebrews 4:1–11.)

5) Honor your father and your mother (Ephesians 6:1–2)

6) Do not murder (Romans 13:9; 1 Peter 4:15)

7) Do not commit adultery (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)

8) Do not steal (Ephesians 4:28)

9) Do not give false testimony (Revelation 21:8)

10) Do not covet (Colossians 3:5)

The Old Testament law defined sin (Romans 7:7) and brought an awareness of sin (Romans 3:20). Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17), and none of the Old Testament law is binding on Christians today. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23–25; Ephesians 2:15). Christ precipitated a transition between the Old Covenant and the New. He is, in fact, the One who ratified the New Covenant. One writer explains it this way:

Jesus came to fulfill what “the old” anticipated and to usher in a new covenant and fundamentally new era of history. His followers would not be under the previous administration that had guarded God’s people since Moses. Jesus himself says he did not come to destroy the Law and Prophets, but to do something even more striking: fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). That is, fulfill like prophecy. Not simply keep the Ten in place, or remain under them, or leave them untouched, but fulfill them—first in his own person, and then by his Spirit in his church. He came not to cast off Moses, but to fulfill Jeremiah, and in doing so, he accomplished what is even more radical: establishing himself as the supreme authority, putting God’s law within his people (rather than on tablets), writing it on their hearts (rather than stone), and making all his people to know him (Jeremiah 31:31–34).
(Matthis, D., “Lord of All the Law,” www.desiringgod.org, 6/7/24, accessed 9/12/24).

Christians are not under the Law of Moses, of which the Decalogue is a part, but they are under the law of Christ (see Galatians 5—6). We are to love God and love people (Matthew 22:36–40). If we’re living in the Spirit, we will be doing just that. We won’t violate God’s moral character. Following the commands “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” etc., are obvious ways of loving God and loving others. And we will have the fruit of the Spirit, “against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:23, NKJV). In other words, the qualities the Holy Spirit produces in our lives perfectly conform with God’s law and display His holy character.