I started this blog thinking there might not be very many writings about the Commands of Christ. Ha! there is a slew of them out there. Some very well done! Some in video format and complete with notes and commentaries. So, what I have decided to do is just list the Commands of Christ as collected from my training with Curtis Sergeants boot camp. Meta Camp training was one of the very noteworthy events in my recent life experiences. I have been motivated to dig deeper and be much more intentional about my relationship with God and other Christians. There is some disagreement of how many commands there are and what all those commands are. Regardless of how many or which ones are more important, I want to use the materials represented by Curtis's list of 94 Commands. I want to divide those 94 into different posts, to be able to focus on the practicalities of each command, how it applies to our lives and importance of obedience as Christians.
Kingdom Living*
Perhaps the most well-known list of the commands of Christ summarizes them in
just seven commands. I feel there is value, however, in a more complete look at
the topic. If we want the simplest list possible then we should probably just limit
ourselves to the Great Commandment (and the Second) as Jesus did. If we love
God with all our being and love our neighbor as ourselves then all the other
commands will be fulfilled. In fact, Jesus equated loving Him with obeying
Him. (John 14:15) That is another way we can look at it.
Obedience to the commands of Christ has nothing to do with legalism or with somehow earning salvation. It is "the response" of our grateful heart in love to the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. It is done in the power of the Holy Spirit Whom He has given us. It is evidence of our new life in Him. It is the expression of our love for Him. As it says in 1 John 5:3, “this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” It is not an onerous duty but an overflow of loving gratitude.
Christ is our King. His desire is our aim. He has specific plans for what He wants to do in us in conforming us to His image. He has specific plans for what He wants to do through us as we are told in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We want to please Him. We want His will to be done. That is what life in the Kingdom is all about. Kingdom living is about seeing His will done on earth as it is in heaven. That starts with obeying Jesus’
commands.
Luke 10:25-28 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 6:9-10 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”
Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.”
The Commands of Christ
Many people have compiled lists of the commands of Christ. There are actually a lot of “judgment calls” that are required to do so. You need to make some decisions about whether He was making a generalized command or a specifically limited command that was only applicable to the specific person in the specific situation. There are many places where He gives a command which is clearly aimed at a specific situation but there is evidence from other Scriptures that the command can and often does have broader application. There are also commands that were given multiple times in different contexts and one must determine whether to count that as a single command or multiple
commands. One must also decide whether or not to include passages where Jesus is quoting the Old Testament.
With all that said, Curtis made his own list. It has 94 commands. My posts will be based off that list.
Why have so many people (including me) gone to the trouble to make such a list? I cannot speak for everyone, but I (and I suspect many others) have done it because of Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission. In that verse, Jesus commands His followers to make disciples. There are several participles in that verse in addition to the primary imperative) verb. In one of those participial phrases, Jesus describes the act of making disciples as including “teaching them to obey all I have commanded you.” In other words, every follower of Christ is to seek others to follow Jesus, and that includes teaching them to obey all His commands. Since that is the case, it is important that we have a clear idea of exactly what His commands are.
A friend of Curtis, Wolfgang Simson, compiled his own list. He describes it as “the constitution of the Kingdom (of God).” I believe that's a helpful way to think of it. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is King. His commands are the Kingdom Constitution, the laws, the principles, the standards, the practices for living in that Kingdom.
Don’t lose the larger narrative that our lives should be characterized by what Jesus commanded AND as His followers we should be getting others to love (and thus obey) Him as well. This is not optional or for extra credit. It is the very essence of what it means to be His follower.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
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*(Used by permission of Curtis Sergeant)
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