Interestingly enough, while everyone agrees that there are ten commandments, it is not actually clear from the text how to break it up into sections. As a result, there are at least four different lists of ten commandments. See Wikipedia's description for more information. From here on I will refer to the standard Protestant division of the Commandments.
In introducing the commandments, God announced, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." Once again we see that the law is a response to God's salvation. Some people contrast the law to the Gospel by saying that the law was about earning salvation by works, while in the Gospel salvation is a gift of grace. However, the law, properly understood, was always about responding to God's grace. God had already saved his people out of Egypt, and the people were asked to obey Him in response. Even in the Old Testament, there is never a sense that the people earned their salvation. It seems that some people did begin to see the law as a way to earn salvation. Jesus criticized some Pharisees for this, and Paul looked back on his own life as a Jew as an attempt to earn righteousness. However, these were misunderstandings of the true meaning of the law.
The Commandments are not ten unrelated items; they have a logical structure. Commandments 1-4 involve the people's relationship to God, while 5-10 concern people's relationships with each other. The first commandment of each section serves as a summary:
- Have no other Gods before me
- Do not make idols.
- Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
- Keep the Sabbath.
- Honor your father and mother.
- Do not murder.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not give false witness.
- Do not covet.
So, the first section is all about how to "have no other Gods." The second section is all about how to "honor your father and mother", i. e. how to live in right relationship with your kin. "Kin" is broad enough to include all of Israel, since the whole nation found its identity (and name) in being descendants of Jacob (Israel).
Historically, the Ten Commandments have been very important in Christian understanding of morality. This continued to be true in Protestant churches. The Protestant emphasis on grace and being freed from the Law was not seen as conflicting with this. In John Calvin's day (and for many years following Calvin) the Reformed churches read the Commandments in unison during each Sunday service. John Burgess, one of my seminary professors, taught us how Protestant theologians made three moves that expanded the meaning of the Commandments to cover pretty much all moral behavior:
- A specific command was broadened into a category. For example, "Do not give false witness" was seen as a prohibition of any deceptive behavior, even that which didn't involve outright lying. This move can be taken directly from the teaching of Jesus. In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus expands the command "Do not murder" to cover any hateful action toward a brother. Even one who hurls an insult has violated the command not to murder.
- An external command was internalized to involve attitudes of the heart. Once again, this comes directly from Jesus. In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus explains that thinking lustful thoughts is effectively committing adultery in one's heart.
- A negative command is inverted to become a positive command (and vice versa). The command, "do not steal" is also taken to mean, "you shall do everything you can to promote life." "Do not lie" also means that one should do everything possible to proclaim the truth. "Do not make idols" is also an imperative to properly worship the true God. "Do not steal" and "Do not covet" in reverse would lead us to give away generously. I can't think of a time when Jesus applied this move specifically to a commandment, but the whole of His teaching implies it.
When the Commandments are read in this way, they are no longer a legalistic list to check off; nor are they a catalog of the "big sins" that are easy to avoid. Instead, they become an all-encompassing standard for life according to God's will.
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