What are the commands of Christ?
49 Commands of Christ
words to live by
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Keeping the commands of Jesus begins with recognizing what they are. Following is a collection of 49 of Jesus’ commands. As you read through them, ask God to help you observe these words, apply them, and faithfully follow them throughout your lifetime.
- Repent“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
- Follow Me“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”(Matthew 4:19).
- Rejoice“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).
- Let Your Light Shine“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
- Honor God’s Law“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
- Be Reconciled“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift”(Matthew 5:23–25).
- Do Not Lust“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:28–30).
- Keep Your Word“Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37).
- Go the Second Mile“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:38–42).
- Love Your Enemies“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:44–46).
- Be Perfect“If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:46–48).
- Practice Secret Disciplines“. . . When thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. . . . When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. . . . When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:1–18).
- Lay Up Treasures“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
- Seek God’s Kingdom“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
- Judge Not“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:1–3).
- Do Not Cast Pearls“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you”(Matthew 7:6).
- Ask, Seek, Knock“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8).
- Do Unto Others“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
- Choose the Narrow Way“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).
- Beware of False Prophets“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:15–16).
- Pray for Laborers“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38).
- Be Wise as Serpents“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
- Fear Not“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” (Matthew 10:28).
- Hear God’s Voice“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).
- Take My Yoke“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; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”(Matthew 11:28–30).
- Honor Your Parents“For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death” (Matthew 15:4).
- Beware of Leaven“Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees”(Matthew 16:6).
- Deny Yourself“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”(Luke 9:23–25).
- Despise Not Little Ones“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10).
- Go to Offenders“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican” (Matthew 18:15–17).
- Beware of Covetousness“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).
- Forgive Offenders“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21–22).
- Honor Marriage“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4–6).
- Be a Servant“. . . Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26–28).
- Be a House of Prayer“It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer . . . ” (Matthew 21:13).
- Ask in Faith“Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea: it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:21–22).
- Bring In the Poor“Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:12–14).
- Render to Caesar“Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:19–21).
- Love the Lord“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).
- Love Your Neighbor“And the second [commandment] is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”(Matthew 22:39–40).
- Await My Return“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:42–44).
- Take, Eat, and Drink“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28).
- Be Born Again“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:5–7).
- Keep My Commandments“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
- Watch and Pray“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
- Feed My Sheep“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–16).
- Baptize My Disciples“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).
- Receive God’s Power“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
- Make Disciples“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19–20).
This material is adapted from the Commands of Christ Pocket Guide.
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15:5 if your parents turned a profit on you say, it is a gift,
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It seems impossible in today's society doesn't it?
John 13:34
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
NKJV
Friday, May 1, 2015
It’s encouraging to know that things that are impossible for man are possible with God. (See Luke 19:27.) Jesus also said in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” If we know that Jesus wants us to keep His commandments, then we can also be confident that His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit will enable us to do so. Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” )
I fail daily, either in attitude, heart, mind, body in action or lack of action and sometimes in many ways... I miss the mark...have everyday of my life. Does this mean I don't love my Lord enough? Were the original first disciples perfect? They were faithful for the most part, but were they perfect? Did they make it into heaven? Where is the joy and peace in trying to be perfect in everything and messing up continually? I don't get it at all...if we are to be perfect and can be in our Lord, why aren't we? I can not remove my sinful nature from me and stop sinning altogether. Lord knows I've tried and continue to try. I was taught that Christ Jesus died as payment for my sin...sins in my past, present and in the future. He took my punishment and I'm forgiven. That He in His perfect righteousness covers me, so that I may be forgiven, saved and enter into the Kingdom of Heaven to be with my Abba Father...I try so very hard to fulfill and obey my Lord, to be perfect, and I fail miserably daily, my feeble attempts are barely anything. Is there really any hope for me??? I agonize over this. I truly don't get it. What am I missing here??? Please don't tell me to pray more or that I lack faith. People of God, anyone of you, have you mastered all of your sin, are you perfect? Do you fully obey? If you are and do, I want to know how you are doing it. Help me understand please. Why would the Lord require of me that which I can not do? Isn't that why He came and died for us? I never totally have peace about this...never do I believe or can I accept that I'm being faithful because I know I fall short, and I know I'll never obey perfectly. I so deeply desire to fully walk in the Spirit and do everything right, but I fail at it.
I believe that God allows us to come to the point of despairing of ourselves because until we utterly despair of our own ability we will continue to strive in the flesh. So what is the answer? How is this Christian life we are indeed called to live even possible? I believe we find the glorious answer in Colossians 1:26-27: "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" What a wondrous, glorious reality that the secret of the Christian life is Christ IN us living the Christian life through us! Now there is hope, because the Christian life no longer depends on my striving but rather on the life of Jesus Christ that dwells in me. In 1 Peter 1:4 we read: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." We have been made partakers of the divine nature in Christ Jesus. Not just observers of the divine nature or just copiers of the divine nature but PARTAKERS! As believers in Jesus Christ we are made to partake of His very nature!
God does not call us to just strive in our flesh to be like Him nor does He just give us power and then we take that power and overcome the sin in our lives. No! He gives us the life of His Son Jesus Christ and Christ as the power of God, lives His overcoming, resurrection life through us! Without the reality of Christ in us this Christian life does not even make sense! I have seen from Scripture and also from my own experience that it is not about us trying but rather it is about us dying and Jesus Christ living His life through us. We read in Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." If you have trusted in Christ as your Savior you have died in Christ not physically but spiritually and so have I. We have to realize that our problem is profoundly bigger then just the sinful things that we do the problem is who we are: we are sinners. It is our very nature. Therefore the cross had to deal with more then just the sinful things I have done it also had to deal with me and my arrogant self that thought I could do so much for God in my own strength. On the cross not only did Jesus conquer death, hell, and the grave (and He certainly did conquer those things) but he also conquered me. Praise God!
In Christ we died but it does not stop there. In Christ we have been resurrected and it is no longer us who lives any more but Christ who lives in us. If I were to some up the Gospel in just four words they would be these: "yet not I, but Christ" Christ lives in us! This is the only way the Christian life is possible. I have my seen my best efforts at self improvement have led to disaster because it was not improvement God was looking for but rather it was a total overhaul. God was not looking to improve me or make me a better person but rather He was wanting me to receive the reality of my death with Him that He might bring forth the glorious resurrection life of His Son through me.
Now my hope is not in my best efforts to be a good Christian but rather my hope is set on my resurrected Lord who lives inside of me. Remember in Christ we died and this is good news because someone who is dead is free from sin. "For he that is dead is freed from sin." (Romans 6:7) Because we died in Christ we have been set free from sin and we have also been raised with Him to newness of life. In John 15 we see that our relationship to the Lord is like that of a branch in a vine. The branch does not bear fruit by striving or trying but rather by simply resting in the vine and having the life of the vine flow through us. The life of the branch is one of the branch continually receiving life from the vine and our life as believers is found by continually abiding in Christ who is our life. It not by striving or trying but rather abiding in the Vine. Remember: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
(Philippians 2:13) It is not you that work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure but rather it is God that works in you.
I also wanted to share the definition of a word that changed my life! The verse " If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. So the question then is how do we keep God's commandments? The word I want to look at the definition of is "keep". The word translated keep in this verse is: tēreō and it means to guard, or to watch. It has with it the idea that you are keeping the commandments before your face, you are thinking about them, you are meditating upon them. As we keep the commandments through meditating upon them obedience flows out as a natural fruit but if we just strive to obey the commandments in the power of the flesh we will end up in hopeless despair. As we keep God's Word before our face by meditating upon it, His Word like water washes us and cleanses us and renews our mind. There have been things in my life that I was helpless to change, things that I knew were wrong and yet could not muster up enough strength in myself to change the things and by focusing on trying to change the things instead of getting free from them I was probably just getting further wrapped up in them. But it was when I turned my attention from my sin to my Savior that I started to be changed. When instead of focusing on all the things in my life that were wrong I instead began to simply keep God's Word by meditating upon it a miraculous thing happened the wrong things in my life began to change not by me focusing on the things but rather by me simply dwelling upon the Word of God.
Jesus Christ is the living Word and as we meditate on the written Word we are communing and fellow-shipping with the living Word Jesus Christ. What does it mean to meditate on God's Word? A few aspects of meditating on the Word are repeating the verse over and over, emphasizing different words of the verse, picturing the verse and personalizing the verse. As we meditate on the Word it comes in and changes us from the inside out. Change happens in my life not by me striving to change myself but rather by me realizing my total inability to do anything in my own strength and casting myself in total dependence on Jesus Christ who is my life and by His strength as I meditate on His Word, His Word brings change in my life.
Let me close with this verse that has been a huge encouragement to me. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. After a list of important commands like pray with out ceasing, give thanks in everything, quench not the Spirit we find this verse: "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Praise God that He does not just call us to this life He also does it through us. The only way we are faithful is because the ever faithful one lives in us! I know that this has been a rather lengthy response but I believe these truths are some of the most important we can ever consider. I encourage all who read this to meditate on these truths and may God open every one of our eyes to the glorious reality that it is no longer us who lives but Christ who lives in us!"
I pray this helps
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