** This response is biblically sound and written with clarity and logical flow. It addresses the question directly, explains concepts well, and encourages the questioner to look to God’s Word for truth. It is also genuinely friendly in tone. **
Question: Is God calling non-Christians in our modern world to follow the Law (Ten Commandments) given to the Israelites?
Profile: Male, Oceana, Under 19
Answered by: Eric Reaves, who has been a volunteer with us since September, 2017.
Answer: Thank you for asking this great question. I appreciate the opportunity to offer you a response that will encourage you to continue studying the Bible. I hope to give a brief highlight of what the Bible says about the Ten Commandments, Israel, and Jesus. This will help you see what kind of relationship a non-Christian has with the Ten Commandments.
The short answer to your question is “no,” God is not calling non-Christians to follow the Law of Moses. The Mosaic Law was given to the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19–24). The Ten Commandments were a part of the “Law of Moses/Old Covenant” and represented an agreement between God and Israel (Exodus 19:8). Modern day non-Christians do not have access to the Old Covenant because that part of redemptive history is completed, fulfilled, obsolete, and replaced by the New Covenant of Christ (Luke 22:20, Hebrews 8:13; 9:15; 12:24).
The Law of Moses is valuable to Christians in that it revealed the extent of God’s grace toward fallen man. The nation of Israel had an ideal vantage point to see God’s provision and mercy but their continual patterns of sin disqualified them from keeping God’s Covenant. God knew that man would be unable to gain righteousness on his own and the Law served to reveal the necessity of God’s grace for salvation. Everything in the Law pointed to the atonement for sin found only in Jesus Christ. By design, the Law leads us to Christ (Galatians 3:19). (I would recommend that you carefully study the book of Galatians and review Paul’s explanation of the purpose of the Law.)
While the Law offers no redemptive opportunity for non-Christians, there may be some general benefit for a society to ponder the morality of the Ten Commandments. The need for law and order is common in secular society. The apostle Paul taught that “civil authorities” were “instituted by God” to maintain order and punish wrongdoing (Romans 13:1). God’s grace works to use fallible institutions as a means to “administer” some degree of societal order (Romans 13:6). Typically, most people see the Ten Commandments as a cultural standard for judging morality.
What is the role of the Law in a lost person’s life? As part of God’s general revelation to all men, the Ten Commandments can be used as an indictment against man’s sin. As in Romans chapter one, God displays the truth to all men (generally) but only those to who hears and believes His gospel will be saved (specific revelation). A non-Christian may gaze upon the stars (Romans 1:20), or ponder the morality of the Ten Commandments, but he cannot comprehend God’s redemptive will without God’s gift of grace and faith (Ephesians 2:8–10).
Evangelist Ray Comfort uses the Ten Commandments in his outreach ministry to reveal that a lost person cannot meet God’s standards for holiness and deserves hell. In witnessing for Christ, we do not call non-Christians to “do better” by obeying the Ten Commandments, we call them by the gospel of Jesus Christ to repent and place their faith in Him. (Ray Comfort, Living Waters Publications, Bellflower, California. www.livingwaters.com)
Remember, only when someone is “born again,” can they see the Kingdom of God. Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3ff) that something from God has to be rendered upon a man’s heart before he can be saved. The Old Covenant is useless for salvation other than as a tool to point men to Christ alone. Works will not justify anyone.
When Jesus did on the cross He said, “It is finished.” This was a statement that included the end of the Old Testament Law. Christ fulfilled all the work needed to secure redemption. Christ fulfilled everything the Law demanded for righteousness. What Man could not earn by his own work, Jesus earned through his perfect life, perfect death, and perfect resurrection (Romans 10:4, Galatians 3:23–25, Ephesians 2:15).
Your question strikes at the heart of Redemptive History. Keep studying the whole Bible and ask God to help you see the story of Christ from Genesis to Revelation. Focus on God’s revelation of where salvation comes from. I would recommend that you consider Ephesians 2:8–10 as a lens to help you constrain your theology under God’s sovereign initiative for saving His people. Blessings to you and I am praying for you as I type my response. Please ask a follow up question. I’m sure you will have one.
