Handwriting of requirements
Does the New Testament admonish a true Christian to keep the 10 Commandments? If so, where?
Even though people may say to Christ at the judgment that they did so many good things in His name, scripture tells us that He will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” The absence of obedience to the law of God in a person’s life is equated with not knowing God, and God not knowing that person, therefore it is the keeping of the commandments of God, the Law of God, which brings a person into a real knowing, personal relationship with God.
In Matthew 19:17 Christ spoke to a young man who had asked Him what he needed to do to have eternal life and He answering said, ”… Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Jesus then went on to cite a number of the Ten Commandments regarding man’s relationship to man and the summary command to love one’s neighbor as himself. The companion scripture to this account is found in Luke 18:20. Therefore, we have direct instruction from Jesus Christ Himself to keep the commandments of God.
Jesus also spoke in the Sermon on the Mount saying, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:19). This verse plainly shows Jesus’ approach and attitude toward the keeping of God’s commandments, something that certainly would not have changed in the final hours of His life as He suffered and died on the stake as many seem to believe when they assert that Christ did away with the law and nailed it to the cross.
We read in Colossians 2:14, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” It was not the commandments that were nailed to the cross, but rather the handwriting of requirements or as it is more properly rendered the note of debt, the certificate which states the penalty of the sins that each of us have committed. The ESV renders Col 2:14 more accurately as: “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it [the record of debt] to the cross.” The legal demand was that the penalty for sin was death (Rom 6:23). The New Living Translation renders the verse, “He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” The record of charges, our past sins, were nailed to the cross.
So, it was not the law that was nailed to the cross, but the penalty that each person has brought upon themselves through sin. Christ paid the penalty for our sins in our stead and we, through baptism, and acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice, can have His shed blood applied to our sins, thus blotting them out and bringing us into a right relationship, a justified relationship – being lined up with God and His purposes, values, and laws.
We additionally read in James 2:10-12 that “…whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.” James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, is telling us that if we break one of the commands we are guilty of breaking them all. He tells us that we will be judged by the law of liberty. God’s law is called a law of liberty. Why? Because it sets us free from sin when kept. When we don’t keep it, however, its penalty – the death penalty – enslaves us.
What an incredible and powerful truth that God has revealed to us in His word.
