Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Mat.28:19-20.
As we studied the Gospel of John, Chap.14, Pt.2, we learned that Jesus gave precepts, instructions, commandments to His followers, which must not be confused with the “Ten Commandments” in the Old Testament, that were given to Moses as part of the Law (Torah=Teaching or instructions, also first 5 books written by Moses). “Did Moses not give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? ” Jn.7:19.
This law was given for a period of time until Christ should come (Gal.3:19). This Law was not made for the righteous (1 Tim.1:9), but rather for men who were still slaves to sin, to realize the need of a Savior, JESUS, who paid for our sins & rescued us.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn.1:17
“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” Heb. 7:12.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.“ Gal.6:2.
” 14 Instead, their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the old covenant, the veil which was done away with in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is in their hearts. 16 Nevertheless when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” 2 Cor. 3:14-16
The commandments of Jesus are instructions He gave to His followers & He called those instructions or teachings: my commandments, my words, my sayings.
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (G3438=residence) with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. Jn.14:23-24
If you are looking for the most important instructions equivalent to the 10 commandments, then to love it’s all that is required to Christians. (Jews have 613 commandments of the law),
The Old Testament Commandments & the commandments of Jesus are summed up on the word “LOVE” (G25=Agapeo=to love in a social or moral sense, a selfless, sacrificial love that cares & constantly seeks the benefit of the other person).
The moral concept of the ten commandments still apply today, but God wants our hearts to be involved & not just to look at a set of rules to follow. Jesus summarized the 10 commandments of the law in 2:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 22:36-40).
Exodus 20
The first 4 commandments in the Old Testament have to do with our LOVE for God & the rest have to do with our LOVE for the people in general (thy neighbor). Jesus also gave a new one to His followers, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.”Jn. 13:34.
– ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law‘ (Ro. 13:10).
The words of Jesus are many & we as His followers should read & learn ALL of what He said & taught. Some Bibles use the red letter to distinguish when Jesus is talking. Here we can highlight some commands made by our Lord Jesus, that sound imperative or use “ must” or “take heed”. This will help us organize & memorize them more easily. But don’t forget the main commandment is to LOVE– Him & others.
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing. . . So now abide faith, hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love“. 1 Cor.13:13
1/ ‘Repent and believe the gospel‘. Mark 1:15
2/ ‘Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men‘ Mark 1:17
3/ ‘Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ Jn.3:3-7
4/ Baptism of water: ‘Let it be so now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’. Matt. 3:15
5/ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow . . .Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?. Mk.4:3-20
6/ Take heed what you hear. . . and to you who hear, more will be given. Mk.4:24
7/ It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God‘. Lk.4:4, 6 & 12
8/ “Let your light shine before men” Matt.5:16
9/ Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” Matt. 5:11–12.
10/ “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, ” Jn. 5:19-45
11/ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” Matt 9:37–38.
12/ When praying, forgive so we can be forgiven. Mark 11:25-26
13/ Adultery starts in the heart. Matt. 5:28-30. “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery. and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.“ Matt.5:32
14/ “Do not be afraid; only believe.” Mk.5:36
15/ “We shall Not Swear at All” Matt. 5: 34-37.
16/ “We should give more than is demanded, or go the extra mile“. Matt. 5:38-42.
17/ “Love Your Enemies” Matt. 5:43-45.
18/ “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them” Matt. 6:1.
19/ “Pray & fast privately, not to be Seen by Men” Matt. 6:5-18.
20/ “This, is how you should pray to our Father in heaven”. Matt. 6:9-15.
21/ “Do not Store up Treasures on Earth“. Matt. 6:19-21.
22/ “Do not Worry about food & clothing” Place God First & His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you,” . Matt. 6:25-33.
23/ “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,” Lk 6:36.
24/ Guard what is Sacred: Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn around and attack you.” Matt. 7:6.
25/ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you,” Matt. 7:7.
26/ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,”. Matt. 7:13-14.
27/ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves,” Matt. 7:15.
28/ “Do not judge according to appearance, but practice righteous judgment.” Jn.7:24
29/ Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Mk.8:34-38
30/ “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mk.9:23
31/ Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” Mk.9:50
32/ “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness,” Matt. 10:1.
33/ “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give,” Matt. 10:8.
34/ “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” Matt.10:16
35/ “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” Matt.10:28
36/ “Be like the Good Samaritan“. Lk 10:30-37..
37/ . . .But it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever among you would be greatest must be servant of all. Mk.10:43-44
38/ “Have faith in God,” . . . whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” Mk 11:22-24.
39/ “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;” Matt. 11:28–30.
40/ “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” Lk 12:15.
41/ “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Lk 12:40
42/ “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.“Jn 13:14.
43/ “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” Jn 14:15.
44/ “But when you prepare a banquet, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, for they cannot repay you. You shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Lk.14: 12-13
45/ “Remain in Me and I will remain in you . . . If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Jn 15:4
46/ “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you,” Jn 15:12
47/ “For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you . . . 13 But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. . .He will tell you things that are to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will receive from Me and will declare it to you. ” Jn. 16:7-15
48/ “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven,” Matt. 18:10.
49/ “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you”. Matt. 18:15-17.
50/ “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts become burdened by excessiveness and drunkenness and anxieties of life, and that Day comes on you unexpectedly. Lk.21:34
51/ Therefore watch always and pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.” Lk.21:36
52/ “This cup is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you. . .’This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Lk 22:14-20
53/ It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ Matt.21:13
54/ “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matt.22:2-14
55/ “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” Matt 23:8-12.
56/ “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Matt.24:4-28
57/ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matt.24:35
58/ Care for those in need. Matt 25:34-36.
59/ “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Matt.26:41
60/ “Go and Make Disciples of All Nations, Baptizing Them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. ” Matt 28:19-20.
In the New Testament we find all the teachings of Jesus written by His first disciples & Paul, teachings that were given directly by Jesus to them. There we find 4 recommendations of things to abstain from in Acts 15. So I greatly encourage you to learn all the teachings/doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Since we have heard that some of us, whom we did not commission, have gone out and have troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law,” 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled in unity, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to put on you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 Abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from strangled animals, and from blood. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Acts 15:24-29
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephe.4:29-32
“and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them,and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” 2 Cor.6:16-17
God’s Word emphasizes LOVE, God is love (1 John 4:8), but we cannot forget that God is also TRUTH So men who emphasize ‘love’ but reject God’s Truth do not have the LOVE of God but are just pretending.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love envies not; love flaunts not itself and is not puffed up, 5 does not behave itself improperly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; 6 rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
8 Love never fails. 1 Cor.13
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