Commandments

John 14:15‭-‬18 KJV

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Commandments for Christians as part of their life of faith and obedience to God. Here are some examples:

  1. Love God and love your neighbor: Jesus affirms the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:37-39, saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
  2. Follow Jesus: Jesus calls his disciples to follow him in Matthew 16:24, saying, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
  3. Be baptized: Jesus commands his disciples to be baptized in Matthew 28:19, saying, “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.”
  4. Observe the Lord’s Supper: Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper as a way for his disciples to remember his sacrifice on the cross in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
  5. Forgive others: Jesus commands his disciples to forgive others in Matthew 6:14-15, saying, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
  6. Share the gospel: Jesus commands his disciples to share the gospel with others in Mark 16:15, saying, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Overall, the New Testament teaches that Christians are to live a life of faith, love, obedience, and service to God and others.

The old has past and the new has come as the apostle Paul indicates in Colossians 2:16-17, Paul writes, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

In the Book of Acts we see the following that can also be noted especially directed to the Gentiles.

Acts 15:22-29 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: and they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.


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