What Are New Covenant Ethics? The Ten Commandments?

CHRIS BADENHORST |

Introduction

In a secular sense ethics can be defined as the science of conduct. It is a systematic attempt to consider the purposeful actions of mankind so as to determine their rightness or wrongness, their tendency to good or evil. Christian ethics can be defined as the Christian’s conduct in terms of God’s revealed will in a covenantal relationship with Him. It answers the question, “What does God require us to do, and what attitudes does He require us to have?”

One of the most frequent questions every sincere Christian has at some time asked is: “What is God’s will for my life…What does God expect of me…How should I live in order to please God?” The earnest desire of every Christian is not only to be counted right (justification) but to also do right (sanctification). In this they are constantly faced with ethical decisions. Is it right to do this? Is it wrong to do that?

 Paul exhorts the Ephesian believers to “find out what pleases the Lord” (Eph. 5:10). But how can we find out what is pleasing to God? He also says: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise…Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Eph. 5:15). But how can we know what the Lord’s will is? Isaiah states: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isa. 30:21). But how do we hear this voice? God says through the Psalmist: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go: I will guide you with my eye” (Ps. 32:8). But how does God do this? What does the Bible present as the Christian’s guide to morality under the new covenant? 

When we talk about Christian ethics we are talking about God’s revealed will for new covenant believers—those moral requirements God expects of Christians

When we talk about Christian ethics we are talking about God’s revealed will for new covenant believers—those moral requirements God expects of Christians (Ro. 12:1, 2; Col. 1:9; 3:20; Eph. 5:10, 17; 6:6; Heb. 10: 36; 13: 20, 21). Just as God required His people under the old covenant to live in a certain way, He requires his people under the new covenant to live in a certain way. Before we consider the details that constitute God’s will for Christians under the new covenant, however, we need to consider the context and basis of God’s will as presented in the Scriptures. Otherwise the exhortations given us in the New Testament could become a mere list of moral do’s and don’ts similar to those in other world religions. The Bible, however, never presents God’s will for His people—under the old covenant or the New—as a list of moral do’s and don’t. 

Its Context

The context in which God’s will (ethics) is presented in the Bible is not a religion with its moral code—a list of do’s and don’ts—but a relationship established by God with the citizens of His kingdom. This relationship is based on two things: 1) God’s redemption of his people and 2) the subsequent covenant he enters into with them. This covenant basically consists of two parts: a) God’s goodwill promise to his people—that which he will do for them, and b) God’s will for them—that which He wants them to do.

Under the old covenant

God and His ancient people Israel were joined in a pact known as the old covenant. This covenant also consisted of two basic parts: 1) God’s goodwill promises to them—that which he would do for them and 2) God’s revealed will—that which he required of them. Before God could enter into a covenantal relationship with His people, however, He had to deliver them from slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt. It is clear from reading Moses and the Prophets that wherever they instruct God’s people on how to live according to God’s revealed will they do so in terms of the Exodus from Egypt and the subsequent covenantal relationship which God entered into with them. So, as far as the Old Testament is concerned, the ethics God prescribed to Israel are always embedded in both the redemption story of the Exodus and of Israel’s covenantal relationship with God. God’s expectations for Israel are never independent of those two things. 

Under the new covenant

In principle, the new covenant is structured the same way. Before God can bring man into a new covenantal relationship with Himself, He has to deliver him from Satan’s kingdom of darkness (the new exodus) and bring him over into His kingdom of light (Col. 1:13, 14). This deliverance is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. The believer is then joined to his Creator in a pact referred to as the new covenant. This covenant also consists of two parts:

1. First is God’s promise of good-will to His people—that which He will do for them. In this God is committed to the continual welfare of their daily needs—whether physical (Mt. 6:25-33) or spiritual (Mt.11:25-30). God manifests His love for His people by saving them from sin and supplying all their needs and thus gives the believer eternal security.
2. The second part is God’s will for His people—that which He requires them to do for him (Mt. 7:21; Mk. 3:35; Jn 7:17; Ro. 12:2; 1 Co. 7:15). In this God’s people are committed to be under his authority at all times and to do his will without question (Mt. 5:16; 11:28-30). God’s people manifest their love for Him this way because the most certain proof of their trust and love is always expressed in obedience to God’s revealed will (Jn 14:15; c/f Jn 14:24). Their obedience will bring glory to God (Mt. 5:16). In this article we are concerned with this second part of the covenant—God’s revealed will. 

Its Basis

Paul states the basis of new covenant ethics in the following statement: “To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law)…To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law)” (1 Co. 9:20-21). In this passage Paul states that he no longer lives according to God’s law (His revealed will) as given to ancient Israel through Moses. But being not exempted from doing God’s will he now lives under “the law of Christ.” In other words, under the old covenant, God made His will known to Israel through Moses, whereas under the new covenant, God makes His will known to Christians through Christ. The first revelation is generally known as “the law of Moses” (Ezr. 7:6; Lk. 24:44; Ac. 13:39; 1 Co. 9:9) or just “Moses” (Mk 7:10), and the second as “Christ’s law” (1 Co. 9:21) or “the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2)

Under the old covenant the 613 commandments of the Torah (or the Law of Moses), which included the Decalogue, constituted God’s will for Israel. Those commands and instructions applied exclusively to Israel with whom that covenant was made (Ex. 34:27, 28; Dt. 4:13). That covenant, as administered by Moses, governed the life of the Jewish community until the time when it would be superseded by the more glorious ministration of the Spirit under the new covenant (2 Co. 3: 7-11).

Now, under the new covenant, it is Jesus (not Moses) who is the Instructor of God’s people.

Now, under the new covenant, it is Jesus (not Moses) who is the Instructor of God’s people. He teaches them personally and through his chosen apostles what constitutes the will of God under the new covenant. So, Christian ethics has Christ (not Moses) at its center. Thus do we find that in the light of Christ’s self-denying life and self-sacrificing death on the cross we receive a much deeper insight and understanding of what it means to do God’s revealed will under the new covenant. Here God gives us a new definition of love (1 Jn. 4:7-21), of humility (Php. 2:1-11), of dedication to God (Ro. 12:1-2), and of service (Ro. 15:1-4). 

Consider how Jesus redefines the divine command to love. He says, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (Jn. 13:34). We know that the command to love already existed under the old covenant (Lev. 19:18). But the command to love one another as Christ loved us could only apply in the light of his self-denying life and self-sacrificing death upon the cross. The love of Christ as revealed in his life and death for mankind was henceforth to be the basis for Christian living. 

Jesus’ self-sacrificing love is therefore the basis for all the exhortations Christ’s apostles gave us. For example, husbands are to love their wives—but how? “Just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). Wives are to submit to their husbands—but how? “…as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). Christians are to forgive one another—but how? “…just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4: 32). Christians are to serve one another—but how? In the same way that Christ “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Php. 2:7). Christians are also to give of their means to the poor because they “know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for [their] sakes he became poor, so that [they] through his poverty might become rich” (2 Co. 8:8-9). Christians “who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak…For even Christ did not please himself” (Ro. 15:1-3). By assuming one another’s burdens as Christ assumed ours on the cross, we Christians “fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:1-2). 

So, God’s supreme act of love towards us as manifested in Christ’s life and death becomes the basis of all Christian obedience to the will of God under the new covenant. Christ’s sacrifice not only makes us willing to consecrate to Him and our fellow men all that we have and are, it also shows us how, as pointed out above. We saw that under the old covenant Israel’s ethical life was inspired and defined by God’s act of delivering them from Egyptian bondage and by the covenant He entered into with them (Ex. 20:2). But under the new covenant, Christian ethics (doing God’s will) is inspired and defined by Christ’s life, death and resurrection and by the covenant God has entered with those delivered from sin by His grace based on the finished work of Christ.

Its Details

We now come to the details of God’s will for His new covenant people by posing the question, “What is the Christian’s guide in this matter of ethics?” Some imagine that right and wrong can be determined solely by means of “the inner voice of conscience” or what others call “the inner light of God.” As a result some have done the most bizarre things thinking they were following this “inner voice of God.” We must remember that even the best conscience is sometimes weak, seared and uninformed. So, if the believer depends solely upon what he supposes to be the inner voice of the Spirit for understanding God’s will, he is taking the same risk as a pilot who flies through a storm without a compass and other instruments.

Let us now look at two examples in which God has revealed and enumerated His will for believers under the new covenant:  

The First

The first example is Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. In this letter he firstly reminds them of the Gospel and states, “…we [the apostles] speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel…As apostles of Christ…we were delighted to share with you…the gospel of God” (1 Th. 2:4, 6b, 8). In this Gospel Paul proclaims the grace of God by which they were delivered from Satan’s kingdom of darkness. This deliverance was their new covenant Exodus.  

Secondly, and in view of God’s redeeming grace, Paul reminds them concerning the will of God and says: “…we [the Lord’s apostles—not Moses] instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we [the Lord’s apostles] ask you and urge you in [your faith union with] the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we [the Lord’s apostles—not Moses] gave you [in this regard] by the authority of the Lord Jesus: It IS God’s will that you…should avoid sexual immorality…For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Th. 4:1-3, 7). 

Here then is the reason why Christians do not commit adultery—not because of the 7th commandment in the Decalogue, but because they are told not to do so by the Lord’s chosen apostle…

Here then is the reason why Christians do not commit adultery—not because of the 7th commandment in the Decalogue, but because they are told not to do so by the Lord’s chosen apostle who also states—by the authority of Christ—that this IS the will of God under the new covenant! (Because the apostle repeats certain commands found in the Decalogue is NOT proof that it is still in force under the new covenant).

Paul also adds other details NOT found in the Decalogue like, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your own hands, just as we [the Lord’s apostles—not Moses] told you” (1 Th. 4:11). Also, “Live in peace with each other…warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances…” (1 Th. 5:13b-18a). Here too Paul gives the reason for all these instructions: “…for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus [under the new covenant]” (1 Th.5:18b).

The Second 

The second example of God’s revelation of His will to new covenant believers is Paul’s letter to the Ephesian believers. He first reminds them of the Gospel concerning Christ and what God had accomplished through Him for Jews and Gentiles alike (Eph. 1-3). Then, in view of the Gospel, he states: “As a prisoner of the Lord then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” But what does such a life consist of? Paul enumerates: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love… each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor…Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry…He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work…that he may have something to share with those in need. 

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up…Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another…among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity, or of greed because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which is out of place, but rather thanksgiving” (Eph. 4:25-5:1-4). Paul continues by also giving instructions concerning God’s will in regards to the relationship between husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, as well as spiritual warfare (see Eph 5:22-6:18). 

So, to find out what God’s will is under the new covenant, Christians do NOT consult the Decalogue of the old covenant because that covenant in its totality was abolished by being nailed to the cross   

So, to find out what God’s will is under the new covenant, Christians do NOT consult the Decalogue of the old covenant because that covenant in its totality was abolished by being nailed to the cross (Eph. 2:14, 15). Instead, they consult the Lord’s chosen apostles because God has revealed to them, not only the Gospel but also His will for those who become His people under the new covenant. Thus could Paul remind the Thessalonian believers: “…we [the Lord’s chosen apostles] instructed you how to live in order to please God” (1 Th. 4:1). This not only applied to Christians in the first century, but it applies to us as well in the here and now.  

This approach to new covenant ethics and morality is important because it sets Christians free from the old covenant as a basis and reference point for ethics, morality, and God’s will as a whole. God’s revelation of the Law of Christ through Jesus’ finished work and through the apostles’ teaching shows that the Christian’s moral conduct has nothing to do with the Decalogue or with any other part of the old covenant. The old covenant foreshadowed the new covenant and found its fulfillment in Jesus. Morality in the new covenant is governed by God Himself rather than by the limited expression of a written law.

Conclusion

In view of the conclusion above, what is the context in which the Bible presents this matter of ethics? Without exception it always poses the question as to how we should live in obedience to God’s revealed will in the context of the divine-human relationship based on His redemptive act in Christ’s death on the cross and of the covenant He subsequently enters with those who have been thus redeemed. Obedience to God’s will is never independent of the context of our deliverance from sin and of God’s bringing us into covenant relationship with Himself.

We see this context clearly in the writings of Paul. He always reminds his readers of the Gospel first and only then exhorts them to holy living, as demonstrated in the two examples above. We see the same pattern in his letter to the Christians in Rome where he says: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy [the Gospel of which he wrote in this letter], to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…” (Ro.12:1). He follows with instructions in God’s will: how they are to behave towards fellow Christians, non-believers, the government, the weak and the strong in the faith, and so on.

The basis of new covenant ethics is no longer the Law of Moses but the Law of Christ. This law consists of the instructions which the Lord Jesus gave his followers while with them (see Jn. 10:18; 13:34 and repeatedly in chaps. 14 and 15). It also includes the instructions given believers by the Lord’s apostles as shown in the two examples above. 

As for the details of God’s revealed will, we Christians do NOT consult the Decalogue or any other part of the old covenant; we consult the Lord Jesus Christ and His chosen apostles. In their exhortations these apostles instruct us how to live in order to please God. God revealed to them the gospel and also the details of their exhortations and instructions, and these should be our guide in everyday situations.

The Sabbath

In view of these observations regarding new covenant ethics, the obvious question a Sabbatarian will ask is, “What about Sabbath-keeping?” In answering this question we need to consider the following points:

1. Our first concern is hermeneutics. The New Testament must always be the Christian’s final authority. That which is declared to us through Jesus and his apostles is God’s final word (Jn. 1:1; Heb. 1:1, 2). This fact means that what was applicable to Israel under the old covenant is not necessarily applicable to Christians under the new covenant unless clearly stated so by Jesus and his apostles.
2. The covenants between God and man mentioned in the Bible have their special seals or signs. The rainbow was the sign of the Noahic covenant (Ge. 9:12, 13). Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Ge. 17:10; Ro. 4:11). The Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic, Sinaitic, or old covenant (Ex. 31:16, 17; Ez. 20:12). The Holy Spirit is the seal of the new covenant (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). Nowhere in the New Testament is it stated (or even implied) that the Sabbath is the sign between God and His new covenant people as taught in Adventism.
3. The Sabbath was given to Israel (Neh. 9:13, 14). Nowhere does the Old Testament state that Gentile nations should observe the Sabbath. In fact, the Bible has no record of any command to observe the Sabbath until the time of Moses and the covenant God made with Israel through him. There is also no biblical record of people observing the Sabbath until it was given to Israel. Deuteronomy 4:13 and 5:2, 3 state that the Ten Commandment Covenant (with its Sabbath sign) was NOT given to the patriarchs and fathers of the Hebrew nation. This covenant only came 430 years after God had made his covenant with Abraham (Gal. 3:17)—a covenant in which nothing was said about the Sabbath. 
4. The Jerusalem Conference was convened about A. D. 49 to consider the issue of whether Gentile Christians should be circumcised and thereby undertake to keep the Law (see Ac. 15). The apostles here recognized the Holy Spirit’s fait accompli (Ac. 15:28, 29). Hence the conference decided that Gentile Christians need NOT be circumcised and keep the Law. Instead they were to observe only four items from the Law (three ritual and one moral) which would make it easier for Jewish believers to fellowship with them. They were not burdened with anything else from the Law (Ac. 15:28, 29. The four items did NOT include Sabbath observance). Thus did the Jerusalem Conference officially recognize the Law-free Gentile mission.
5. Sabbatarians argue that the silence of the Jerusalem Conference on the Sabbath question proves that all sides must have agreed to keep the Sabbath. Not so. When a Jewish proselyte was circumcised, it was a token that he had undertaken “to obey the whole law” (Gal. 5:3) which included the Sabbath. So the real issue of the Jerusalem conference was whether Gentile believers should be subject to “the whole law.” The conference “voted” against this idea, thereby confirming the Law-free status of Gentile believers which included freedom from observing the weekly Sabbath (see Ac. 15).  
   
   Paul never wrote to his Gentile converts urging them to observe the Sabbath for the simple reason it did not apply to them. Similarly, he is also silent regarding this matter in his letters. Here too, this silence cannot be regarded as an indication that he and his converts took the obligation to observe the Sabbath for granted because in most of his letters he was not silent concerning the Law-free status of Gentile believers. On the contrary, he states their freedom from Mosaic law very clearly throughout, thereby confirming the Jerusalem Conference’s decision regarding this matter.
   
   Furthermore, we cannot base our faith and build our spiritual house on arguments that are founded on “silence.” They must be based on a clear “Thus saith the Lord.”
6. The Sabbath was not only the sign or seal of the Old Sinaitic Covenant; it was also a festival that commemorated the Exodus event—Israel’s divine deliverance from Egyptian bondage. Furthermore, it also celebrated creation because the creation of the Hebrew nation and its deliverance from Egyptian bondage was seen as a recapitulation of the original creation event. This connection can be seen in the relationship between these two events (Ex. 20:8-11; 31:14-17). 
   
   In view of these facts we pose the question, how can the Sabbath institution, given by God to Israel to commemorate the old creation and the old Exodus, be an institution to celebrate the new creation (2 Co. 5:17) and the new exodus (Col. 1:12, 13) that have taken place through the death and resurrection of Christ under the new covenant? 
   
   To insist on observing the old covenant sign of the Sabbath would be tantamount to a denial of what God offers us in the New Testament Gospel. new covenant believers should come to terms with the fact that the old covenant Sabbath is NOT adequate to celebrate the new eschatological age of the Gospel and the Spirit that came with the new covenant. The old wineskins of the old covenant are not adequate to contain the new wine of the new covenant.
7. The New Testament is clear that new covenant Christians are NOT under the jurisdiction of the old covenant and its law system (of which the Sabbath was the sign) since the cross of Christ is stated to be its end (Ro. 10:4), its cancellation or taking away (Col. 2:14), and its abolition (Eph. 2:15). It is now superseded (2 Co. 3:9) by the Law of Christ (1 Co. 9:21; Gal. 6:2). Therefore, Christians are said to be dead to the old covenant and its Law system which includes the Decalogue and its Sabbath sign (Ro. 7:4) and no longer under it (Ro. 6:14). 
8. In view of the above, there is NO command in the New Testament to observe the seventh day (or the first day) of the week as the Christian Sabbath—not by Jesus or his apostles. Martin Luther was clear on this point. He stated: “Throughout the New Testament we do not find a single place where we Christians are commanded to celebrate the Sabbath” (What Luther Says: An Anthology, 3:1329).

Given the context of God’s deliverance of His people from sin by Christ’s death and resurrection, He has entered a new covenant with them. In this covenant God’s people honor and obey the Lord Jesus instead of the shadow of the law which Moses mediated to Israel. The new covenant is the fulfillment and replacement of the old covenant, and the old covenant symbols and requirements no longer apply when a person has been made alive in Christ.

New covenant ethics are grounded in knowing the Lord Jesus, not in the temporary law given to Israel to foreshadow God’s divine intervention in the lives of His people. †

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