The Lord answers your question in the following story, “And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him…You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother” (Luke 18:18-20). And He added that keeping the law goes beyond a superficial obedience.
Jesus set the Ten Commandments as the standard of moral living. But please note that the Ten Commandments don’t save anyone for people are saved by grace alone “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
People don’t keep the law to be saved but because they are saved. When a person accepts Christ’s sacrifice by faith and invites Him into his heart. Christ gives that person a new nature that wants to keep God’s commandments. “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10).
The Bible clarifies that, “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Romans 7:7).
Therefore, the Ten commandments serve only as a mirror (James 1:23-25). They point out sin in the life as a mirror points out dirt on the face. This knowledge leads the believer to Christ for cleansing. Christ alone can both forgive the sinner and give him the power to overcome sin. Only by the grace of God can man keep God’s law. “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13).
People will be judged by the law of God as the standard of right and wrong “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:12). Thus, a person can know if he is 100% in God’s way, if he examine his life and heart in the light of God’s moral standard.
Humans can’t keep God’s law by their own power. Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Only through faith in God’s promises, the believer can receive all the power, grace, and strength necessary to live in harmony with the will of God (Matthew 7:7; 21:22; Mark 11:24).
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
