The answer depends on your response to them. If you take the Ten Commandments and attempt to become righteous before God by keeping them, they will be a BURDEN to you. But if you allow the Ten Commandments to have their desired effect on you (which is to convict you of sin and make you realize your need of a Savior), they will be a BLESSING to you.

In Acts 15:1 we read, “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (NKJV). This took place in Antioch after Paul and Barnabas had preached the gospel and many had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. This caused quite the stir and eventually a “church council” took place in Jerusalem to settle the matter. Paul and Barnabas laid out the facts of what had happened and then we read these words in verse 5, “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to KEEP THE LAW OF MOSES.” The Apostle Peter’s response to this was forceful and conclusive, “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and BELIEVE. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by FAITH. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a YOKE on the neck of the disciples which NEITHER OUR FATHERS NOR WE WERE ABLE TO BEAR. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they” (verses 7-11). Peter was admitting that the Ten Commandments were a BURDEN that no one can bear and that one is saved through simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, if you believe, as the Pharisees did, that you must “keep the law of Moses,” they will prove to be a BURDEN to you.

In Romans 3:20 we read, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for BY THE LAW IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.” We just saw that if one takes up the Ten Commandments in order to be saved, they will be like a heavy yoke (an UNBEARABLE BURDEN). This verse echoes the same truth, but it also reveals the main purpose of the Ten Commandments; to give people “the knowledge of sin.” That’s a good thing! For if one reads the Ten Commandments with an honest heart, he will admit that he is unable to meet God’s holy standards set forth in the Law. A few verses later we read, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The Law reveals God’s perfect holiness but it also reveals how far short we come in matching His standard of holiness. Once we see our sinful condition before a thrice-holy God, we will then see our need of a Savior and desire to be saved. Then, and only then, will the gospel of Jesus Christ make sense to us and we’ll see that Christ’s death on the cross is God’s way to make us righteous in His sight. Let’s read on in verses 21-22, “But now the righteousness of God APART FROM THE LAW is revealed…even the righteousness of God, through FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, to all and on ALL WHO BELIEVE.” Have the Ten Commandments had their desired effect on you (by revealing your sinful condition and your need to be saved)? If so, then they are a BLESSING, for God has used them to bring you to the Lord Jesus, the Savior of sinners, so you can be justified by faith in Him. (281.3) (DO)