Series/Old Laws for a New Life
Old Laws for a New Life
10sessions
What the Ten Commandments still demand, and promise, for Christians.
The Ten Commandments are a window into God's character and a guide for human flourishing that still speaks. This series works through each commandment asking: what did it mean then, and what does it demand now?
Who it is for
- People who aren't sure what to do with Old Testament law as a Christian
- Anyone who has questions about the Ten Commandments and Christian ethics
- Readers who want to avoid both legalism and easy dismissal of the law
What you will take away
- Understand the commandments in their biblical and historical context
- Avoid both legalism and easy dismissal of Old Testament law
- See how the law forms Christian moral imagination
The sessions
Who We Worship
The first four commandments concern God: who he is, what he demands, and why it matters.
- 1Echad: The Power of OneOpening a ten-week walk through the Ten Commandments, this teaching sets the Sinai scene after the Exodus and argues the commandments function as a covenant constitution rather than outdated rules. Attention then narrows to Exodus 20:1-3. Against the crowded pantheons of Egypt, Canaan and Mesopotamia, the demand for exclusive allegiance is shown to be genuinely revolutionary. The Hebrew phrase rendered "before Me" literally reads "before My face," and that observation carries the weight of the message: no part of life sits outside God's presence. Five applications follow, covering accountability, comfort, purpose, worship and holiness. The commandment is grounded not in raw power but in God's redeeming love, traced forward to Christ as the exclusive way. Extended notes on Hebrew, the Masoretes and the divine name are included.
- 2Pesel: Beyond the ImageWorking through the second commandment, this teaching sets Exodus 20:4-6 against the backdrop of Egyptian and Canaanite worship, showing that God forbids images not only because rival gods are false but because no carved form could ever contain His glory. Deuteronomy 4 and Isaiah 40 reinforce His transcendence. The sharpest pastoral turn is the warning against "Build-A-God" statements, our habit of trimming God to fit our comfort. Colossians 1:15 and Hebrews then present Jesus as God made visible, the image we did not manufacture. The talk closes on the jealousy of God, generational ripple effects of idolatry, Psalm 115's warning that we become like what we worship, and the modern idols of greed and success.
- 3Shav: Name PowerA study of the Third Commandment that starts with the Hebrew verb nasa, "to lift or carry," yielding the reading "you shall not carry the name of the Lord your God in vain," and shav as emptiness or falsehood. Traces the weight of names in Israel: Jacob to Israel, Naomi to Mara, the burning bush I AM, the substitution of Adonai for YHWH, and God's name dwelling in the Temple. Then examines ancient Near Eastern name magic (Isis and Ra, the Baal prophets at Carmel) and its modern analogues in bargaining prayers, prosperity teaching, and misused proof texts, correcting Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 18:19, Mark 11:24, 3 John 1:2, Malachi 3:10, John 14:14, Psalm 37:4. Closes on the name as invitation to relationship.
- 4Shabbat: The Rest We NeedA study of Exodus 20:8-11 in the series "Old Laws for a New Life," beginning with Genesis 2:2-3 and the Hebrew shabbat as ceasing in completion rather than exhaustion. Draws on Nahum Sarna on the absence of any weekly rest day in Egypt and Babylon, John Walton on divine rest as taking up residence in a cosmic temple, and John Durham's claim that Sabbath proved Israel's hardest command to keep. Traces the struggle through Jeremiah 17 and Nehemiah 13's closed city gates, then names eight modern obstacles to rest including productivity pressure, addiction to busyness, identity confusion, and the illusion of indispensability. Closes with Mark 2:27 and Matthew 11:28-30, where Christ himself is the rest.
How We Live Together
The final six commandments concern neighbors: the ethics of life in community under God.
- 5Kavod: Honor That EnduresA study on the fifth commandment as the bridge in the Decalogue between loving God and loving neighbor, keyed to Jesus' summary in Matthew 22:37-40. It works the Hebrew kabbed and kavod, honor as weight or significance, tracing the root through Exodus 14:4, 1 Samuel 2:30, and Proverbs 3:9. Ancient Near Eastern context is compared with the Code of Hammurabi, and the promise of long life in the land is read nationally rather than individually, with Peter Enns cited and Deuteronomy 6:1-3 as support. Jesus confronts the Corban loophole in Mark 7:9-13 and provides for Mary in John 19:26-27. Ephesians 6:1-4 adds reciprocity. Opens with a coffee shop conversation about aging parents and closes on boundaries with abusive parents.
- 6Ratzach: Sanctity of LifeThe sixth study in a series on the Ten Commandments works through Exodus 20:13, examining why the Hebrew ratzach (unlawful killing within the covenant community) is chosen over harag, muth, shachat, and nakah, and what that distinction means for capital punishment and warfare. William Perkins is quoted on the three ways God grants power to kill, and John Durham's Exodus commentary on the covenantal framing. The study then turns to Matthew 5:21-22 and the Greek orgizo as smoldering, nursed resentment, with support from James 1:14-15, 1 John 3:15 (miseo), and Cain in Genesis 4:6-7. Genesis 1:26-27 and tzelem ground the sanctity of life, with John Dickson cited on inalienable rights. Closes with practical steps on anger, forgiveness, and Romans 12:18-21.
- 7Na'aph: Faithful LoveA study of the seventh commandment that begins with the 1631 "Wicked Bible" printing error and current divorce statistics, then works through the Hebrew na'aph, a word used 34 times in the Old Testament for both sexual and spiritual infidelity (Jeremiah 23:14, Ezekiel 23:37). Draws on John Durham on covenant community integrity and John Walton on paternity concerns, then argues the deeper stakes: Genesis 2:24's leave, davaq, and basar echad establish marriage before the Fall as a pattern of divine love, which Ephesians 5:31-32 names a mystery pointing to Christ and the church. Hosea and Gomer illustrate covenant faithfulness. Matthew 5:27-28 and epithymesai move the command inward, with James 1:14-15 tracing desire to death, and Malachi 2:14 framing berith against contract.
- 8Ganav: Respect OwnershipA study of Exodus 20:15 in the "Old Laws for a New Life" series on the Ten Commandments. Working from the Hebrew ganav, which denotes secretive taking that betrays trust, the study traces the word through Jacob's flight from Laban in Genesis 31 and Absalom stealing the hearts of Israel in 2 Samuel 15, showing theft reaching past property into loyalty and social order. John Walton's background commentary connects property to a family's ability to fulfill its calling. Case laws on restitution, kidnapping, wage theft, boundary stones, and pledges widen the scope. Thomas Watson's four roots (unbelief, covetousness, laziness, pride) are applied to time theft, plagiarized sermons, padded expense reports, and dignity theft, with Mark 7:21-22 and Jeremiah 17 locating theft in the heart.
- 9Sheker: Speak TruthA study of Exodus 20:16 in the "Old Laws for a New Life" series on the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew pairing of ed (witness, used over 270 times) with sheker (intentional deception, not mere error) shows the commandment targets betrayal of sacred trust, not just inaccuracy. Set against emet, truth as faithfulness and reliability, tied to God's hesed we-emet in Exodus 34:6. Traces the legal context: Deuteronomy 19:15-19, multiple witnesses, lex talionis for perjurers, and Jezebel's two "worthless men" who got Naboth stoned for his ancestral vineyard in 1 Kings 21. Then Matthew 12:33-37, where words reveal the heart's overflow, with fear, pride, envy and malice as the roots of false witness. Cites Proverbs 14:25, James 3:5-6, John 8:44, and John Walton's commentary.
- 10Chamad: Guarding DesireA study of the tenth commandment as the capstone that makes explicit what the other nine imply: sin begins in the heart. The Hebrew chamad is not inherently negative, describing in Psalm 19:10 the desirability of God's commands, so the question is not whether we desire but what and how. Richard Averbeck is cited on coveting as a summary commandment feeding theft, adultery, false witness, and murder. Works through Luke 12:15 and the Rich Fool, Israel craving Egypt's cucumbers and melons in Numbers 11:5, 1 Timothy 6:6-10, and Paul's learned contentment in Philippians 4. Names five modern forms: material, relational, professional, digital, and spiritual coveting, plus advertising's deliberate manufacture of discontent.
How to use it
- The series follows the Ten Commandments in order, one per session
- Read Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 before Session 1 to see the original context
- Ask both: what did this command mean in Israel, and what does it mean for Christians?
- The first four and the last six commandments have a different focus. Notice the shift
