What are the Ten Commandments, and are they relevant today?

“And God spoke all these words, saying: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”Exod 20:1–2

The Ten Commandments are not an outdated list of rules, but a diagram of God’s character, given to humanity on Mount Sinai. They remain the foundation of Christian morality today, because neither God nor human nature nor the difference between right and wrong has changed.

1. “You shall have no other gods before Me!” — God is one. Not one of a pantheon, but the One who is placed above everything else.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” — A prohibition against making images of God and worshiping created objects. God is Spirit and is known not through an idol, but through the Word.
3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” — God’s name is holy; it is not to be used as a filler word in quarrels or jokes.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy! Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall do no work.” — The seventh day of the week (from Friday evening to Saturday evening) is set apart by God for rest, worship, and renewing one’s relationship with Him.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land.” — The first commandment with a promise. The family is the foundation of society.
6. “You shall not murder!” — Protection of life. Jesus expanded this commandment: even anger without cause is a violation (Matt 5:21–22).
7. “You shall not commit adultery!” — Protection of the marriage covenant. Jesus included lustful thoughts here as well (Matt 5:27–28).
8. “You shall not steal!” — Protection of property and honesty.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor!” — Protection of truth and a person’s good name.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s!” — A prohibition against the very desire for what belongs to another. This commandment stands at the foundation of all the others—sin begins in the heart.

Division of the commandments: two stone tablets

God gave the law on two stone tablets. Not by accident: the first four commandments are about relationship with God (Who He is, how to worship Him, how to honor His name and His day). The last six are about relationships with people (family, life, marriage, property, truth, the heart).

When Jesus was asked which commandment is the greatest, He answered with two of them:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself!” Matt 22:37–39

That means the whole Decalogue is two facets of love: love for God and love for one’s neighbor. To love God means not having other gods, honoring His name, keeping His day holy. To love a person means not murdering, not betraying, not stealing, not lying, and not envying.

Are the Ten Commandments still relevant today?

Some Christian groups believe that the Ten Commandments belong only to the Old Testament and have been replaced by the “new commandment of love.” But Jesus said the opposite directly:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matt 5:17

And He added: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments … shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:19). Love does not abolish the law—it fulfills restore it.

Adventists are convinced that all ten commandments remain binding for Christians. This is not legalism—we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8–9). But to be saved from sin means to come out of breaking the law. The Decalogue is a portrait of what it means to live in a godly way.

The Fourth Commandment: Why Sabbath and Not Sunday

The fourth commandment—the one about the Sabbath—is the one most often debated. The biblical fact is simple: the day sanctified by God at Creation (Gen. 2:2–3) and written in the Decalogue is the seventh day of the week. In the modern calendar, this is Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

The shift of some Christian communities to Sunday (the first day of the week) is not recorded in the Bible as a decree of God. It is a historical decision made centuries later. Jesus Himself kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), and the apostles continued to do so after His resurrection (Acts 17:2).

This does not mean that a person who worships God on Sunday does not love God. But if we ask: can we find in the Bible even one text that changes the Sabbath to Sunday? the answer will be “no.” The commandment remains as God gave it.

Commandments and Grace Are Not a Contradiction

People often ask, “If we are saved by grace, why do we need the commandments?” The Bible’s answer is: the commandments do not save, but they show that we need a Savior. Just as a thermometer does not cure a fever but shows it, the law does not cure sin but reveals it (Rom. 7:7).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Eph. 2:8–9

Salvation is a gift. The Ten Commandments are the framework of a new life in Christ. As the apostle John wrote: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).

A Question About a Specific Commandment

If you want to explore a particular commandment more deeply, ask our AI assistant below. It will provide parallel Scripture passages, historical context, and explanations from an Adventist perspective.