What are the Ten Commandments, and do Christians still have to follow them?

Harry FarleyJUNIOR STAFF WRITER14 June 2016

The Ten Commandments have formed the basis of the Jewish people's way of life from Moses' time right up to today.

But what do they actually say, and do Christians still need to obey them?

The Ten Commandments actually appear twice in the Bible, once in Exodus 20:2-17 and once in Deuteronomy 5:5-21. You can read the full text of both passages below but here is a short summary of both:

1. You shall have no other gods before God.

2. You shall not make idols.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honour your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10. You shall not covet.

So do Christians still have to obey these rules? Did Jesus not free us from the Old Testament law?

Well yes, Jesus' death and resurrection means we are no longer required to obey the Jewish law in order to get to heaven. Grace has replaced the requirements of the law.

But Jesus never said he came to replace or remove the Jewish law. Quite the opposite.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them," he says in Matthew 5:17-19. "For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

"Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practises and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus is quite clear. Although the requirements of the law no longer hold power over us, they are still applicable for Christians. They still form guidelines for our way of life.

If you read through the Ten Commandments carefully, it is quite clear that Jesus never contradicted any of them. Sometimes he took them even further – for example he extended "do not commit adultery" to "do not lust with your eyes". And they still form a base level of Christian ethics.

You can read the full texts of both passages on the Ten Commandments below:

The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2-17

1. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

5. "Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

6. "You shall not murder.

7. "You shall not commit adultery.

8. "You shall not steal.

9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour's."

The Ten commandments in Deuteronomy 5:6-21

1. "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

4. "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

5. "Honour your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

6 "You shall not murder.

7. "You shall not commit adultery.

8. "You shall not steal.

9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10 "You shall not covet your neighbour's wife; and you shall not desire your neighbour's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's."