According to Jewish rabbis, the first five book of the Bible alone contain 613 laws. God obviously put all these commands into Moses’ writings for a reason, but the big question is why?

Many mistakenly view the Old Testament as a book filled only with difficult commands and laws while they see the New Testament as a book filled only with God’s grace, and consequently, God’s law and obeying His commands become secondary for the modern day Christian. However, the Bible says that God is holy and requires holiness in His people, both in the Old Testament and in the New (Lev 19:2; 1 Pet 1:16). But why would God give the Israelites so many commands—commands that not one of them could perfectly keep?

For grace to make sense, the Law has to come first. I must first know my need for a Savior before I am ready to be saved. A Savior is utterly pointless if I don’t see my condition of sin and rebellion. That’s why John the Apostle wrote in John 1:17, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” Moses represents God’s Law and Christ represents God’s grace. Through Moses God demonstrated man’s sorry condition, and through Christ God revealed the wonderful solution.

Jesus Christ summarized the entire Old Testament into two main commandments: Love God with all your life (Matt 22:35-37) and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:38-39). “On these two commandments,” He said, “depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:40). The Law and the Prophets means the entire Old Testament. This means that three quarters of your Bible really boils down two things: loving God and loving people; and the remaining last quarter explains how this is possible through Jesus Christ.

The greatest and second greatest commandments are broken down even more specifically in the 10 Commandments of Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

Here is how you can use every commandment (even the fourth!) to show an unbeliever his terrible state of sin, so the Holy Spirit can cultivate his heart to understand and embrace the gospel.

1. You shall have no other gods before me (Ex 30:3). Have you always put God first in your life? Was there ever a time when you watched football when you should have been praying, or slept in when you knew that you should have gone to church?

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol (Ex 20:4). Have you ever loved something so much that it consumed your thoughts, interests, and goals more than God? Have you every make God second priority in favor of your car, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your job or your family?

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Ex 20:7). Have you ever said “Oh my, G-O-D!” or ‘For C-H-R-I-S-T’-S sake!”? That’s the sin of blasphemy, using God’s holy name flippantly or as an expression of filth or disgust. Imagine if I used your mother’s name as a cuss word in place of a four letter filth word. You’d be offended. That’s what you and I have done with the name of God—the God who gave us life.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy (Ex 20:8). Even though this command was given to the Jews as a nation and not to the church today, the principle behind it still applies. Have you ever failed to set aside needed time alone with God because something else was more important to you? Have you ever let the busyness of your schedule squeeze out time to relax and rest in God’s presence and mediate on His perfections?

5. Honor your father and your mother (Ex 20:12). Have you always honored your parents and treated them with respect?

6. You shall not murder (Ex 20:13). Have you ever hated, been jealous, or bitter toward someone? Even though you may not have physically killed someone the Bible says that the sin of hate is murder in God’s eyes (1 John 3:15; Matt 5:21-22).

7. You shall not commit adultery (Ex 20:14). Have you ever lusted after someone? Jesus said that if you lust after someone you have already committed adultery with that person in your heart (Matt 5:27-28).

8. You shall not steal (Ex 20:15). Have you ever stolen something no matter what the value? Have you ever stolen someone’s time, failed to return something you borrowed, claimed more work hours than you actually worked, or stolen an answer off of someone else’s test?

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Ex 20:16). This means that you should never tell a lie. Have you ever told a lie? If they say, “Oh, but I’ve only told a few,” then say, “How many times does someone have to commit murder to be a murder?” Or if they say, “I only tell white lies,” then say, “God isn’t interested in the color of your lies.”

10. You shall not covet (Ex 20:17). Have you ever wanted someone else’s position, money, job, or popularity or been discontent with what God has given you?

Notice how the first four of the 10 Commandments address your love for God (love God with all your heart, Matt 22:37) and the last six commandments address your love for people (love your neighbor as yourself, Matt 22:39).

You can ask a summary question for these two as well:

“Has there every been a time in your life when you failed to love God so much that by comparison it looked like you hated your own friends and family?” (see Luke 14:26).

“Have you ever failed to perfectly love every human you ever encountered?”

In Galatians 3:22-24 Paul tells us,

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

Here Paul gives us the purpose of the Law: to bring people to Christ. The law will save no one, but it surely will convict the sinner of his state of wickedness and make him ripe for the gospel of Jesus Christ.