Why Am I Writing About Jesus’ Commands?

I am writing to explain why I am posting recently about the topic of the Commands of Jesus. I see a possible problem in especially the Protestant churches. The potential problem is this, there are rightfully many sermons on God's Grace, repentance, salvation, and prophecy. But shouldn't there also be a place for preaching about being obedient to Jesus' Commands, and the reasons for our obedience? I haven't heard sermons preaching about what Jesus Commands Christians to do, and I haven't read any books on this topic either. There are admirable best-selling Christian books teaching us on how to live a Purpose Driven life. But is this enough? Why did Jesus give us over 160 Commands without also expecting that these Commands should be obeyed?

And I am not alone in my awareness of this problem. Here is the way one Commentator has described the problem:

 

(on Jesus' instruction in John 13:34, and 1 John 2:3, that if we love Him we are to follow His Commands) Note that this word is plural; it cannot be confined exclusively, therefore, to the single command of Christ to "love one another" (Jn 13:34), as so many would have it. John is countering the problem of antinomianism, a heresy very much still with us, that lessens our obligation to obey God since we are saved by grace alone. This tendency is so much a part of evangelical thinking that I fail to find a single work devoted to a serious, exhaustive study of the commands of Christ. I thought I would find at least a comprehensive list of such commands in A Complete Index to the Thought and Teachings of Christ by W. S. Harris, but the topic is dismissed under the relevant heading "Commandments and Precepts of Christ" with the statement "These are incorporated in other subjects" (p. 36). Of these commandments, R. F. Horton states "notwithstanding the unsystematic form in which the precepts are given, the commandments of Jesus constitute a complete and sufficient code of morality." … Most devastating is Horton's observation that "there is a Jesuitry of the conscience always at work; indolence and unbelief are constantly finding modes of slipping through the meshes of Christ's commandments. Few, perhaps, would venture to say that His demands are impossible, but many cover their failures by a vague notion that the standard is ideal rather than practical (and here Horton cites Bruce in a footnote, "To many, the creed which resolves all religion into impracticable ideals is very convenient. It saves a world of trouble and pain; it permits them to think fine thoughts, without requiring them to do noble actions; and it substitutes romancing about heroism in the place of being heroes." Training of the Twelve, p. 379), and are content if they obey the Ten Commandments without any special thought concerning the commandments of their Lord. Then the substitution of a doctrinal system and theoretical tests of orthodoxy for the plain truth of Jesus that He would judge men by the degree in which they had kept His commandments, has transferred the momentum of the religious life from the moral to the metaphysical sphere. Thus, in accepting the truth that faith in Jesus Christ, without works, justifies, Protestants have often failed to notice that without obedience to His commandments there can be no genuine faith in Jesus Christ." (The Commandments of Jesus, p. 362, 365, 368, 371, 372).

 

So I am writing about this possible problem I see in the Church, and hope that in the small corner of the world that I am writing to, we can start desiring more obedience in our lives. I am not saying that we will receive our ticket into heaven by obeying these Commands. But I am saying that all of us need to start looking more like our Savior. And so, this is the reason why I'm writing about our Lords Commands, in hopes that we learn about these Commands and start growing in obedience.

 

Here are the verses where Jesus tells us to keep His Commands: John 14:15 If you love Me, keep My commandments. Cf. vv. 21–24.

1 John 2:3-:6 - And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

John 14:21-:24 - ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." ²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" ²³ Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me,
he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

Luke 6:46 -Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?

Luke 11:28 -But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

 

Finally, let me explain the process of how I am organizing the Commands assembled by JH Smith in his 'New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge'. JH Smith listed all of Jesus' Commands and placed them under a heading (for example, JH Smith took the Command in Mt 16:6 where Jesus warned of the leaven of the Pharisees. He also brought together two other verses (Mk 8:6 and Lk 12:1) and placed them together under a heading of 'Beware of Leaven'. I then took these 160+ groups , copied the actual verses in most cases, (like the verses for 'Beware of Leaven') and placed them together with the other times Jesus told us to Beware. All of these verses commanding us to 'Beware' are now grouped together. And by this, I am trying to have a more organized, and hopefully more accessible format for Jesus' Commands. Let's see if through this we can become more obedient by being more aware of the Commands, and understanding how they fit together in Jesus' desire for us to show our love to Him through our obedience.