the very manner of their publication plainly showed that God Himself assigned to the Decalogue peculiar importance. The Ten Commandments were uttered by God in an audible voice, with the fearful adjuncts of clouds and darkness, thunders and lightnings and the sound of a trumpet, and they were the only parts of Divine Revelation so spoken—none of the ceremonial or civil precepts were thus distinguished. Those Ten Words, and they alone, were written by the finger of God upon tables of stone, and they alone were deposited in the holy ark for safekeeping. Thus, in the unique honor conferred upon the Decalogue, we may perceive its paramount importance in the divine government.https://www.monergism.com/ten-commandments-ebook-1
The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall, and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man.https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-19
hearts always needed the removal and replacement that Ezekiel spoke of, so that the divine inscription of the principles of the Decalogue would be a delight rather than bondage, but the only means by which that was ever achieved and the only guarantee that it will continue in the people of God is in the mediator of the new covenant. Its newness and superiority lie in him. Far from expressing hostility towards the law or commanding a blunt assertion that the law is obsolete, he confirms that the laws inscribed in stone do not pass away.From the Finger of God, 318
For Christian theology, biblical theology that stops with what the text means is no more useful than systematic theology that ignores what the text meant.From the Finger of God, 50
Exegetes and biblical theologians who eschew systematic theology will approach the texts they study under the influence of dogmatic presuppositions--whether they like it or not.From the Finger of God, 49
In regard to forms of law, there are two basic types: apodictic and casuistic. Casuistic law is case law... Apodictic law is the foundational, fundamental law that governs the people... found in the Ten Commandments.How does God\'s Law apply to me?, 35
All Christians accept that Christ came to fulfill the law, but what did he mean when he said so in Matthew 5:17? Despite saying in the same breath that he did not come to abolish the law, some interpretations of 'fulfill' demand nothing less than the abolition of the law, leaving us with a Teacher who spoke in unfathomable riddles. In addition, when interpreters look at Matthew 5 in one of several self-imposed contextual microcosms it leads to stifled portrayals of Christ's fulfillment of the law.https://kevinfiske.wordpress.com/tag/threefold-division/
What the moral law is, I will describe in three points: first, it is that part of God's Word, concerning righteousness and godliness, which was written in Adam's mind by the gift of creation; and the remnants of it be in every man by the light of nature, in regard whereof, it binds all men. Secondly, it commands perfect obedience, both inward in thought and affection, and outward in speech and action. Thirdly, it binds to the curse and punishment everyone that fails in the least duty thereof, though but once, and that in thought only: 'Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the law to do them' (Gal. 3:10). The sum of the moral law is propound in the Decalogue or Ten Commandments, which many can repeat, but few do understand. The Works of William Perkins, (1:243–44).
'I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts' (31:33), does not go beyond the expectations of the Mosaic Law itself (Deut. 30:14). According to the Shema (Deut. 6:6), God always intended that the law be internalized in the hearts of his people.From the Finger of God, 203
The new covenant consists of four elements: the law written on hearts, God's presence, knowledge of God, and forgiveness of sins.From the Finger of God, 203
Foods separated for uncleanness were a sign of Israel's separation to a God whose separation was marked by the veil. The implications of its rending extend to everything touched by the theme of separation, including the people and the purity laws. Divine separation gives way to divine nearness -'I am with you always' (Matt. 28:20), ethnic separation gives way to a universal welcome -'make disciples of all nations' (Matt. 28:19), and the separation of certain foods to uncleanness now symbolizes a past reality that gives way to the intrinsic cleanness of all things.From the Finger of God, 189
True, the Christian is not under the Law as a Covenant of Works nor as a ministration of condemnation, but he is under it as a rule of life and a means of sanctification.https://www.monergism.com/ten-commandments-ebook-1
When Jesus so firmly upholds the commandments in various speeches and encounters (e.g. Matt. 4:10; 5:21-37; 15:4, 19) it is reasonable to expect that he might have been equally frank about the Sabbath if it was no more to be enjoyed. Neither Jesus nor the Gospels are ambiguous about Sabbath. The ambiguity in this case, which is beyond 'slight', is produced by the contributors' anachronistic anti-Sabbatarian framework.From the Finger of God, 172-173
those who use the threefold division do not view it as the basis upon which the New Testament develops patterns of continuity and discontinuity, but rather as itself based upon the patterns of continuity and discontinuity developed in the New Testament.From the Finger of God, 165
Jesus gave the highest place to the commandments of the Decalogue and his response to the scribe reflected that, thus it is 'with good reason' that the two greatest commandments were considered a precis of the Decalogue.From the Finger of God, 160
Although directed to Israel, it declared certain unchangeable truths from and about God, which affected all humanity, whether they knew it or not. From the perspective of the Pentateuch, as well as the confessions, it 'doth for ever bind all.'From the Finger of God, 104
This should be obvious -every society shows it regards some laws as more important than others by making some penalties more severe than others... It is, however, so obvious that it is missed by those who claim the Pentateuch, and the first century Jews who studied it, regarded the Mosaic Law as an individual whole.From the Finger of God, 91-92
Superficially, it may appear that Israel was 'not acquainted with any sabbatical observance at that time' since some of them still went out to gather on the seventh day (Exod. 16:27). But if so, the LORD's complaint, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commands and instruction?' (Exod. 16:28) is misplaced; it implies knowledge of... not least concerning the Sabbath.From the Finger of God, 65-66
might be able to fulfil the law not only without its being a burden but even with delight. Now this law was given to the Jews in ten commandments which they call the Decalogue.Cateschizandis Rvdibvs, trans. Joseph Patrick Christopher
The non-binding laws were exclusively 'ceremonial'... Laws concerning everyday civil matters in the Israelite community are binding in their underlying principles... The only laws that are, without exception, ever-binding are the laws of the Decalogue.From the Finger of God, 2