The 10 commandments DID exist before Moses

(This is a response to this post)
I've heard many times people saying that the 10 comamndments did not exist before Moses. Nothing can be further from the truth. So i compiled some sort of model answer to this specific statement. Feel free to cut and paste.

The Decalogue commands men not to make idols, not to take God's name in vain, not to kill, not to stael, or commit adultery. Could we possibly bring ourselves to believe that such a code of laws was not in force before Moses? There are some things too incredible to warrant belief, and this is one of them. Nor do any of the leading denominations thus believe (see below).

Paul mentions that "Where there is no law, there is no transgression, ...for by the law is the knowledge of sin"(Rom 4:15,3:20). We are left in no posible doubt as to what law is intended for Paul adds later, "I had not known sin, but by the law: for i had no known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom 7:7. And what law says, "Thou shalt not covet"? The 10 commandment law.

When James spoke of those who "you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers." he also left no doubt as to which law he meant. It is the law that says, "Do not commit adultery," and, "Do not kill." James 2:9-11.

There are those who say that sin is a disregard for some law, but not necessarily the 10 commandments. But that is not what Paul and James say. Furthermore, if you examine carefully, you'll notice that all sinful deeds of devils and ancient men can be judged and condemned in terms of the 10 commandments.

Having the 10 commandments codified and formally proclaimed does not mean that it wasn't in force before that. To take a page from history, England, for long centuries, has had what is known as "the common law".

common law
n. the traditional unwritten law of England, based on custom and usage, which began to develop over a thousand years before the founding of the United States. The best of the pre-Saxon compendiums of the common law was reportedly written by a woman, Queen Martia, wife of a king of a small English kingdom. Together with a book on the "law of the monarchy" by a Duke of Cornwall, Queen Martia's work was translated into the emerging English language by King Alfred (849-899 A.D.). When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, he combined the best of this Anglo-Saxon law with Norman law, which resulted in the English common law, much of which was by custom and precedent rather than by written code. By the 14th century legal decisions and commentaries on the common law began providing precedents for the courts and lawyers to follow. It did not include the so-called law of equity (chancery), which came from the royal power to order or prohibit specific acts. The common law became the basic law of most states due to the Commentaries on the Laws of England, completed by Sir William Blackstone in 1769, which became every American lawyer's bible. Today almost all common law has been enacted into statutes with modern variations by all the states except Louisiana, which is still influenced by the Napoleonic Code. In some states the principles of Common Law are so basic they are applied without reference to statute.

History tells us that a law need not be formally proclaimed or written in a book in order to be in force.
Even so with the moral laws of God and man. When Adam and Eve were created they were perfect and served God with a whole heart. Hence we properly conclude that they had the law of God written in their hearts. God also talked to them. For a lifetime of nearly a thousand years, they were permitted to pass on the divine instruction they had received.

The next question then would be why were the 10 commandments codified finally? Because by the time of Moses and the children of Israel, the knowledge of God and His laws had become so blurred in men's minds that it became necessary that a written revelation be given to the world. Coming directly out of Egyptian darkness, the Israelites were in special need of clear-cut declarations on the great moral precepts. For this reason God with His own finger carved in the everlasting stone the 10 commandments. No one need then be in doubt. The changing moral conceptions of those Israelites could ever be corrected by the unchanging words graven in the stone.


===========
Protestantism in general believes three important facts concerning the law
1) That the Decalogue is God's moral standard for Christians.
2) That there is a clear distinction between the Decalogue and the ceremonial and other laws of ancient Israel.
3) That obedience to the Decalogue is not to be construed as being contrary in any way to grace - that law and gospel belong otgether in the Christian life.
(see next post on The Foundation of Christendom)