The ten commandments should scare us. As God gives the 10 Commandments at Mt Sinai, the people of Israel are a bit nervous about approaching God. They stay off at a distance, and Moses acts as a mediator for them. He receives the ten commandments, but “ they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die’ (Exodus 20:19).

They had been saved by God from Egypt, but they were aware of how powerful he was and how Holy. They also correctly recognised that they were not naturally like God. They went away from his character. This is shown really clearly even as they get the ten commandments, they are worshipping a statue rather than the true God.

God was aware of His people’s natures and so he establishes the sacrificial system where they can make atonement (become at one with God again) through the death of animals in recognition of their sin.

God gave the law because he wanted to make it clear what kinds of lives would be appropriate to live as God’s people. He gave it because he already had a relationship with His people and wanted them to know how to express that relationship faithfully. He was saying “I Love you, I have redeemed you, I have called you my people– so this is how to live as loved, redeemed and called people.”

The ten commandments form the heart of this covenant, but God goes on to show his people Israel how they apply for their specific context– this gives us a lot of the laws about foods and ceremonial cleanness and other interesting texts that are hard to apply today, as we are not the nation of Israel. We do not have a sacrificial system or ritual clean and unclean anymore.

That is because Jesus Christ actually fulfils the sacrificial system and all it was pointing to. He becomes our perfect and all-sufficient sacrifice to make atonement (or make us at one with god). We still see the 10 commandments upheld by the New Testament, as they still express God’s Holy character.

It is still wrong to follow other Gods or worship idols or blaspheme or murder or lie or… the laws are all still are important for us. They highlight our sin and need for God to make us right in Jesus, but they also help educate us in the right way of living faithfully; as people who love the Lord God, and our neighbours as ourselves.

But it isn’t a basis for our relationship– it is an outworking of an existing relationship we already have in Jesus redeeming us and calling us His People. He makes us Holy, now we are called to live Holy Lives.

We are urged to “live lives worthy of the calling we have received”. This means relying on God’s Grace in Jesus to work at being Godly, which happens through the Holy Spirit bringing us to comprehend and apply Gods Word.