Isn’t love the New Law of the New Testament?

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34

Christ did give His disciples a new commandment, but in reality, it was the same commandment from the beginning. Christ commanded His disciples to love, but it wasn’t until Christ lived as our example that we could truly see what Godly loved looked like. So it was then that Jesus could declare that we are to love as He loved.

Does love exclude the 10 Commandments from being required?

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandments, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Romans 13:9

Paul, just like James, quoted from the second group of commandments. However, notice that Paul reveals that these commandments are how we show love to our neighbors. From reading this verse, it is evident that Christ’s command to love doesn’t exclude the Ten Commandments, but rather the Ten Commandments reveal what love was supposed to look like. In essence, Israel seemed to have the biggest problem with the second greatest commandment which says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” However, we should notate that once again, a New Testament writer is quoting from the Ten Commandments and thus we can see that the Old Covenant was abolished, but the 10 commandments contained in that Covenant continued under the New Covenant.

Now, it should be evident what the law’s foundation is. God, in trying to help us understand what His government is all about, consolidated all our interactions into one word—love. If we look at the Ten Commandments, we can see that it is essentially ten principles that show us how to love God and others. The first four commandments reveal how to love God, and the last six commandments show us how to love others.

Are the 10 Commandments part of the New Covenant?

In today’s society, the idea of the 10 Commandments being part of the New Covenant is borderline heresy for much of the Christian world. However, a closer look at the New Testament reveals that the 10 Commandments are just as central to the New Covenant as they were to the Old Covenant. Notice what Jesus told a man who inquired how to be saved:

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matthew 19:16-19

If we continued reading, we would see that Jesus revealed to the man that even though he allegedly kept five of the last six commandments, in reality, he did not love his neighbor as himself, and neither did he love God with all his heart. However, the point that I wish to bring out is that Jesus pointed to the Ten Commandments as what he needed to do.

Now, notice what James revealed about the 10 commandments:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. James 2:10-11

Once again we have New Testament writers quoting from the Ten Commandments. Here, James talks about offending in one point. Well, what is that one point? If we read the previous verses we will see the “point” that James is talking about:

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. James 2:8-9

James was trying to educate the readers of his letters that if we keep every facet of the law, yet discriminate against people, we are still breakers of the law.

It should also be noted that James calls the commandments, the Royal Law. In the original language, Royal can also be translated as noble. When something is noble, it is high class, or of fine quality. Keeping the “Noble Law” was keeping the law of high moral principles, which at its core is love.

In today’s society, most Christians have no problem with nine of the commandments. The point of contention is with the fourth commandment. In our next study we will look into the Sabbath question and determine if the Sabbath is only for the Jews or if it’s binding on all of the Christian world.