Why Should We Still Obey the Ten Commandments? (Gal. 3.15,16)

"You and I are Jewish by birth, not Gentile sinners. And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ-and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law" (Gal. 3.15,16).

Some believe these verses end with verse 14; others believe they continue on to verse 16; while other think thy extend to verse 21. Whatever the case, all verses up to 21 are nonetheless true.

If observing the Jewish laws cannot justify us, why should we still obey the Ten Commandments and the other Old Testament laws? We know that Paul was not saying the law is bad, because in another letter he wrote, "The law itself is holy and right and good" (Rom. 7.12). Instead, he is saying that the law can never make us acceptable to God. The law still has an important role to play in the life of a Christian. The law:

1. guards us from sin by giving us standards of behavior;
2. convicts us of sin, leaving us the opportunity to ask for God's forgiveness; and
3. drives us to trust in the sufficiency of Christ, because we can never keep the Ten Commandments perfectly.

The law cannot possibly save us. But after we become Christians, it can guide us to live as God requires.

Note: Jesus filled up the law, so the law we keep by the Spirit, not by our own strength, is not the OT law by itself anymore, but the the OT law that was filled up by Christ. Not one tittle of it will pass away until all these things are fulfilled (through to the start and to the end of the millennial reign of Christ, but before the new city and the new earth commences). Jesus said, "I came to fill them" up (Matt. 5.17). It's like putting lacquer as a fine finish.