Can the 10 Commandments Save Us?

The more I talk to people, the more they give me the impression that they are trying to get to heaven by obeying the 10 commandments.  But can obeying the 10 commandments really save us?  A better question would be “has anyone ever obeyed all of the 10 commandments without fail?  Most people will say that they have, at some time or another, disobeyed one or more of the ten commandments.  I surely have disobeyed more then once.

So what do the scriptures say to those of us who have broken at least one of the ten commandments?  “For keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said “Do not commit adultery”, also said “Do not murder.”  If you do not commit adultery but do not commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.” James 2:10-11.  Breaking the law of God is sin. So those of us who have broken at least one of the 10 commandments (the law), are guilty of breaking the whole law.  What we must understand is that the ten commandments where not given to save us.  Instead they were given to show us that we are sinners in need of a savior.

A good example of this is when we drive our cars out on the roads.  How do we know if we are driving too fast and thus, breaking the law?  Our speedometers tell us how fast we are going but it doesn’t tell us if we are breaking the law or not.  Speed limit signs tell us what the law is.  It tells us the speed we should not exceed.  Now we know that if our speedometer is reading 67 mph and the speed limit sign says 50, we are breaking the law.

The ten commandments give us God’s standards on how we should live and also shows us no matter how hard we try, we cannot obey all of them.  They show us that we are indeed sinners and that we do need a savior.  The law doesn’t save us.  The law condemns us.  “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” Ezekiel 18:20a.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. Christ Jesus is the only one who can save us.  (See our post entitled “Who is Christ Jesus?“)  Once we have received Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we try to obey His commandments not in order to be saved, but we try to obey His 10 commandments because we are saved and we want to please Him.

Available DVD’s about the 10 Commandments.

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