👑 The Intent Of The Ten

Posted on January 16, 2018 by

“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (I Timothy 1:5).

“The commandment” here is a reference to the ten commandments, commandments which God sees as one (James 2:10,11). The “end” of the commandment refers to the goal or intent of the ten commandments. We use the word “end” that way when we ask, “To what end are you doing what you are doing?” God’s goal in giving the ten commandments was charity, a Bible word for love. God’s goal in giving the commandments was to get men to love God and their neighbor. If you love God, you won’t take His name in vain, and if you love your neighbor, you certainly won’t bear false witness to him or steal his stuff!

But the intent of the ten commandments wasn’t just to get people to love God and their neighbor. It was to get them to love “out of a pure heart,” and the only people who have a pure heart are saved people (Ps. 24:3,4). That’s why the Lord said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8). So God’s goal in giving the ten commandments was to get everyone saved and obeying them out of a pure (saved) heart.

The process starts when the unbeliever hears the commandments and gains “the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20; 7:7). He then can see his need of a Savior and believe the gospel. This then enables him to obey the ten commandments out of a pure heart and out of “a good conscience.” Unbelievers cannot obey the ten commandments out of a good conscience, for “even their mind and conscience is defiled” (Titus 1:15).

But when a saved man obeys God’s commandments, he does so out of “faith unfeigned.” The word “feign” means to pretend (I Sam. 21:13), so unfeigned faith was genuine faith, the kind Timothy himself had! (II Tim. 1:5). In the millennial kingdom, the unsaved will have to feign faith, but the goal of the commandment in the dispensation of grace is “charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” Are you living up to God’s intent? source