Question: Would you please furnish specific Bible texts for each of the other nine commandments? Answer: A few weeks ago in an article I mentioned that nine of the original Ten Commandments were mentioned in the New Testament, but the fourth commandment, “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy,” was not in the New Testament. The reader evidently recognizes the absence of the sabbath commandment in the New Testament and wonders if any of the other nine are absent. The answer is, “No.” Here are nine of the Ten Commandments in the New Testament. These Old Testament laws brought into the New Testament are not all word for word, but the clear teaching of them is there. 1. No Other God: Exodus 20:3 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (NKJV). 2. No Graven Images: Exodus 20:4 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 3. Do Not Take Lord’s Name in Vain: Exodus 20:7 Matthew 6:9, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word

The question comes to me, “If we are not under the Old Testament, which includes the Ten Commandments, does that mean we are no longer under the Ten Commandments?” You might be shocked, but yes, it certainly does. Does that mean we can kill, steal, commit adultery, etc.? Certainly not, for laws about these are included in the New Testament, with the exception of one of the Ten Commandments –“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8 NKJV). That is why Christians no longer worship on Saturday – the Sabbath – but on Sunday – the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week and the resurrection day of our Lord, in honor of Him who died for us. We have no command in the New Testament to obey the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, and yet, the other nine of the original Ten Commandments are there. This is no mistake, but instead, it is the will of God for man today. Remember the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 7:4, which inform us that we are “dead to the law through the body of Christ.” In other words, when Christ died on the cross, the Old Testament Law (including the Ten Commandments) was taken out of the way (Colossians 2:14). “We have been delivered from the law” (Romans 7:6). Should you follow a law from which Christ has discharged you? Certainly not, and that’s why we follow the New Testament of Jesus Christ. [Editor’s Note: It

Someone posed the question, “Would you please give me a Bible text that shows that Sunday is called the Lord’s Day? Do not use Revelation 1:10 since John did not specify what day he was alluding to when he said he was ‘in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.’” To my knowledge, the term “Lord’s day” only occurs one time in the Bible, and that is in Revelation 1:10. The reader is correct in his observation that John (the writer of Revelation) did not specify in that passage what day to which the Lord’s day referred. So, the real question is what is the Lord’s day – Saturday, the seventh day, or Sunday, the first day of the week? Certainly, we should all worship on the “Lord’s day,” but what day is that? “Lord” here refers to Jesus and is used in the possessive case; therefore, this was His great day. What great events in Jesus’ life took place on the sabbath or the seventh day of the week? I don’t know. Yet, I do know that on Sunday, the first day of the week, our Lord was raised from the dead (Luke 24:1-9). In this He showed His power to conquer death, not only for himself but for us, too. It was and is truly the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week. Also, the Lord’s church was established on Sunday, the first day of the week. We read about this in Acts 2. We know this took

The word “law” is used many times in the New Testament, and understanding its meaning or to what it refers is essential to understanding God’s will — the Bible. When one reads the word “law” in the New Testament, equate it with the Old Testament or the Old Law, and it will help you get the meaning. For example, Paul wrote in Romans 7:4, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law [Old Testament] through the body of Christ; that ye should be joined to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God.” Again in verse 6 of the same chapter, the apostle penned, “But now we have been discharged from the law [Old Testament], having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.” Again in Galatians 5:4 Paul wrote, “Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law [Old Testament], ye are fallen away from grace.” Paul made it very clear in these three passages that one must leave the Old Testament Law and follow the New Testament Law; otherwise a person will be severed from Christ. We were freed from the Old Testament Law so we could be joined to the New Testament Law. We must keep the more perfect law — the New Testament of Jesus Christ.

The apostle John wrote in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me [Christ], and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I spake [New Testament], the same shall judge him in the last day.” We see, then, we will be judged in the last day by the words of Christ or the New Testament. Jesus further said in John 14:6, “I [Jesus Christ] am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This eliminates the teachings of men as well as the Old Testament Law. The only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ or His way, which is stated in the New Testament. The beginning Bible student as well as the veteran should pay close attention to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, because this is the book of conversions. There are ten cases of conversions in this book, and if you want to know how to be saved, then read this book and follow the examples of these early Christians. Thereby, you will someday live with your Lord. Remember, Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and the New Testament records that way. Don’t you owe it to yourself to read about the way to eternal life?

The question comes, “If I want to be saved and follow God, what part of the Bible should be my guide?” The entire Bible is good for study and for our consideration. The Old Testament was written for our learning. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime [referring to the Old Testament] were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). The apostle Paul further explained the purpose and the value of the Old Testament to us in 1 Corinthians 10:11, which reads, “Now these things happened unto them [Old Testament people] by way of example: and they were written for our admonition [learning], upon whom the ends of the ages are come.” Therefore, we can learn much about God and how He deals with His people from the Old Testament. Yet, if we want to know what God wants us to do today, we need to read the New Testament or the new will of God. Paul explained this in Romans 7:4, where it is recorded, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were dead to the law [Old Testament] through the body of Christ, that ye should be joined to another, even to Him who raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God.” The New Testament, then, is our spiritual guide today.

One essential point that every serious Bible student must understand is the two main divisions of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Many people with whom I have talked do not understand what the word “testament” means. A few hundred years ago, this word was used more, but today the noun “will” conveys the same meaning. Probably, you have all heard the term “last will and testament.” Well, that is what the Scripture is—God’s last will and testament. Therefore, when we talk about the Old Testament, we are talking about God’s old will, and when we talk about the New Testament, we are talking about the new will of God. To make it even clearer, if you had a will drawn up and some years later wanted to change something, you would have another will drawn up. What would that do to the first will? Of course, it would make the first will void and of no effect. This is why we do not offer animal sacrifices today. We are not under the Old Testament or the old will of God, which required the offering of animal sacrifices. Rather, we are under the new will of God, the New Testament, which does not instruct anyone today to offer animal sacrifices.

[Editor’s Note: The first segment of this brief series appeared in the July 2017 edition of Gospel Gazette Online at the following link: https://www.gospelgazette.com/gazette/2017/jul/page1.html. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor] With just a little help, anyone with average intelligence can be a good Bible student. A few guidelines will help. The Lord said through Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.” Although Scripture is written by men, the first thing to remember is that it is inspired of God. Therefore, it is without mistake.  Also from this Scripture, we learn that we are furnished completely unto all good works. Essentially the same thing appears in 2 Peter 1:3, which reads, “Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all this that pertain unto life and godliness, through knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue.” Since we have all things that pertain to life and godliness in the Scripture, we need to realize this and use the Bible as our sole source to guide us in the Christian way of life.

Question: Didn’t the apostle Paul and his associates observe the Sabbath many times? As these are recorded in the New Testament, shouldn’t we observe the Sabbath too? Answer: There are several passages in the New Testament that tell of the apostle Paul and his preaching partners going to Sabbath meetings (Acts 27:1-4). The question is, why were they going to the meetings? A little background is necessary here. The apostle Paul had been a devout Jew and persecutor of the church of Christ until he saw Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. From that time forward, he went about preaching Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Acts 13-28 record the work of Paul preaching Christ throughout the world. Notice first of all that Paul was looking for people that were interested in the true God. Therefore, naturally he went into the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath where people gathered to worship God. There was another reason. It was the custom in those days that if a stranger, who was a Jew, appeared in synagogue worship, after the reading of the Law and the prophets (Old Testament), the ruler of the synagogue would ask the strangers if they had any word of exhortation. Of course, Paul always had Gospel exhortations for those present. He would always preach about Jesus Christ and His will, the New Testament. If you will study the context of Acts 13 through the rest of the Book of Acts, you will find that Paul and

I believe that more people would study the Bible if they knew more about it and where to begin. The Bible is a big book, and according to some people, it is a book on which no one can agree. However, I suggest to you that the Bible is the Word of God, revealing God’s will for man. Instead of being one book, the Bible is a library of 66 books, written by about 40 different authors over a period of 1,600 years. The miraculous thing about the Bible is it all fits together to tell a single story of God providing a way of salvation for man. There are no contradictions in the Bible, for it is a perfect book. The problem of disagreement on Scripture is man. The Lord said through the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” This demands that we open our Bibles and investigate for ourselves God’s will for man.