Read Romans 3:20–24. Though Paul is very clear that we cannot be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, how then should the commandments function in our lives?
The Hebrew meaning of the term dabarim, used in the writing of Moses to describe the Ten Commandments (Exod. 34:28, Deut. 4:13, Deut. 10:4), does not literally mean “commandments,” but “words.” This “word,” dabar (singular), can have the meaning of a “promise.” That is why, in numerous places (1 Kings 8:56; 2 Chron. 1:9; Neh. 5:12, 13; Deut. 1:11; Deut. 6:3; Deut. 9:28; Josh. 9:21; Josh. 22:4; Josh. 23:5), dabar is translated either in a noun or verb form expressing the idea of promise.
Ellen G. White offers an insight into the function of the Decalogue: “The ten commandments . . . are ten promises.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 1105. The Decalogue should be understood as promises from God that will guide us on the right path so that He can do wonderful things for us. But we must obey them.
Read Romans 10:4. How should we understand Paul’s statement that Christ is the “end” of the law?
Paul states that Jesus Christ is the telos of the law, but not in the sense that Christ abrogates the law or does away with it. Instead, this means that Christ is the goal and intent of the law; it does not mean that His atoning sacrifice terminates the validity and perpetuity of it.
On the contrary, Paul speaks about the importance of the law, about its legitimacy, and about its enduring authority (Rom. 3:31, 1 Cor. 7:19, Gal. 5:6). The meaning of the word telos is primarily purposeful and goal-oriented, not time related. Christ is the key to unlock the true meaning and purpose of God’s law. Thus, it would be incorrect to state that Christ invalidated, superseded, or abrogated the law. Christ is the goal of the law, the One to whom it points.
How does the law point us to Jesus? That is, what does the law reveal to us about ourselves that would indeed point us to Jesus?
Supplemental EGW Notes
“Till heaven and earth pass,” said Jesus, “one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” By His own obedience to the law, Christ testified to its immutable character and proved that through His grace it could be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam. On the mount He declared that not the smallest iota should pass from the law till all things should be accomplished—all things that concern the human race, all that relates to the plan of redemption. He does not teach that the law is ever to be abrogated, but He fixes the eye upon the utmost verge of man’s horizon and assures us that until this point is reached the law will retain its authority so that none may suppose it was His mission to abolish the precepts of the law. So long as heaven and earth continue, the holy principles of God’s law will remain. His righteousness, “like the great mountains” (Psalm 36:6), will continue, a source of blessing, sending forth streams to refresh the earth.
Because the law of the Lord is perfect, and therefore changeless, it is impossible for sinful men, in themselves, to meet the standard of its requirement. This was why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, by making men partakers of the divine nature, to bring them into harmony with the principles of the law of heaven. When we forsake our sins and receive Christ as our Saviour, the law is exalted.—Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings, pp. 49, 50.
God has given us His holy precepts, because He loves mankind. To shield us from the results of transgression, He reveals the principles of righteousness. The law is an expression of the thought of God; when received in Christ, it becomes our thought. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. God desires us to be happy, and He gave us the precepts of the law that in obeying them we might have joy. . . .
When the law was proclaimed from Sinai, God made known to men the holiness of His character, that by contrast they might see the sinfulness of their own. The law was given to convict them of sin, and reveal their need of a Saviour. It would do this as its principles were applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit. This work it is still to do. In the life of Christ the principles of the law are made plain; and as the Holy Spirit of God touches the heart, as the light of Christ reveals to men their need of His cleansing blood and His justifying righteousness, the law is still an agent in bringing us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7.
“Till heaven and earth pass,” said Jesus, “one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The sun shining in the heavens, the solid earth upon which you dwell, are God’s witnesses that His law is changeless and eternal. Though they may pass away, the divine precepts shall endure. “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. The system of types that pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God was to be abolished at His death; but the precepts of the Decalogue are as immutable as the throne of God.—The Desire of Ages, p. 308.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.