As much as I dread doing so, I must make a
very clear statement right at the start - to properly study the Commands of
Jesus you need to flush the words of Paul from your mind. Paul was either a
purposeful deceiver or greatly deceived himself (See Note1). Christ
said to be as a child. Try, as best you can, to study His commands without any
preconceived notions regarding the validity of the Law.
Once you have a clear mind, I
recommend that you next sort through His commands according to who Jesus is
speaking to. People sometimes get confused because they forget to do this
important step. The following gives an easily understood example. Jesus said in
one place that the world cannot hate you:
John 7:7 - The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I
testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
In another place He said the world
hates you:
John
15:19
- If ye were of
the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Both statements are true because He is
addressing two different groups of people. The first group is a group of
unbelievers: John 7:5 - For neither did
his brethren believe in him. The Second is a group of believers that Jesus
says, within the same verse, that He has chosen.
In addition to identifying the group
being spoken to, you will need to identify if the words are directed toward
specific believers - if it is meant for that group only or for all believers. For
example:
But as they were going to report to His
disciples, behold, Jesus also met them, saying, Hail! And
coming near, they seized His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, Do
not fear. Go tell your brothers that they may go into Galilee, and there they
will see Me. (Matthew 28:9-10)
It
is clear that this verse does not apply to us today - we cannot go to Galilee
and expect to see Jesus.
Now that we know to search for those
commandments meant even for believers today we need to learn how to recognize
what His commandments are. Some are very obvious. For example:
John 15:12 -
This is my
commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.
Other commands may not be so direct;
yet, that they are commands are obvious. For example:
Take heed to
yourselves. And if your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
And if seven times of the day he sins against you, and seven times of the day turns to you
saying, I repent, you shall forgive him. (Luke 17:3-4)
Jesus
often prefaced such commands with phrases such as “take heed” or included the
term “lest”. These types of phrases make it clear He is conveying something
that we need to pay attention to and remember to do (He used these phrases over
4 dozen times).
Jesus
said very clearly what the most important commandments are:
And Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all
your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments
all the Law and the Prophets hang. (Matthew
22:37-40) (See Note2)
Practically
every command Jesus gave us is a refinement of the Ten Commandments or a command,
which if followed, leads to a person’s actions being in compliance with the
spirit of the Law. We see Jesus saying very clearly that doing the will of God
is paramount.
Matthew 7:21
- Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which
is in heaven.
Matthew 12:50
- For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is
in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Note that only those who do the will of
God are part of God’s family. Jesus goes on to say:
John 15:10 -
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
John 10:30 -
I and my Father are one.
This is not the place to delve into
the concept of the trinity; but, it is very clear that at a minimum, Jesus
considered Him and God to be of the same mind and opinion. Disobeying either
amounts to disobeying both. This means that, taking all that Jesus said to us,
the inclusion of the Ten Commandments is an obvious part of Jesus’ commands to
us. Jesus was concerned with both the letter and the spirit of the Law; but, he
abhorred the traditions the Pharisees had added to God’s Law.
An important thing to remember is that Jesus
considered keeping the commandments so basic that we should consider it routine.
We do so without reward - it is our duty (Luke 17:9/10). As basic as this is,
Jesus also said that few will do it (Matthew 7:13/14). Will you?
In Brotherly Love,
Wayne
Note1:
I have covered some of this subject already in previous articles; but, here is
even more food for thought concerning Paul’s false doctrine. The first segment
is Law specific, the second regards Paul personally.
1)
Paul, in his usual manner in proclaiming
“faith/grace” over the Law, said (in Romans
1:17): For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just
shall live by faith. This is a misquote of Habakkuk 2:4: Behold, his
soul which is lifted up is not
upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Notice that Paul, as he often does, misquotes
Scripture yet again. Here is the vital omission - Paul says “by faith” instead
of “by his faith”. He not only misquotes the verse he disguises and misuses the
verses true meaning. To get more detailed, the Old Testament word translated as
faith is 'ĕmûnâh, which
Strong defines as: literally firmness; figuratively security;
moral fidelity: - faith (-ful, -ly, -ness,). The BDB defines it as:
firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness. This word “'ĕmûnâh”, in the KJV, is only translated
once as “faith”, it is usually translated as faithfulness. The YLT
translates the portion in Habakkuk we are covering as: “and the righteous by
his stedfastness liveth”.
Are you getting the picture yet? The Scripture
Paul misquoted is saying that the just man, by his faithfulness, shall live.
Faithfulness to the Law brings life. Consider further that the Old Testament
word translated, in the KJV, as “just” is “tsaddı̂yq”,
which both Strong and the BDB define as: just, lawful, righteous. So, the just/lawful
man shall live, by his faithfulness. He is steadfast in the Law.
2)
Paul’s “ministry” predates the Book of
Revelation; yet, only one of the “churches” Paul dealt with are recognized by
John (Revelation 1:4) or Jesus (Revelation 1:11). Jesus had John address only the
Seven Churches of Asia - “. . . unto the seven churches
which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto
Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea”. Notice that only one of the “churches” that Paul was
involved with is even mentioned by Jesus - Ephesus; and, note what Jesus said
to them, “how thou canst not bear them which are evil:
and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast
found them liars. Now, note also, that Paul himself said he was rejected
by all the churches of Asia (2 Timothy 1:15). Could it be clearer? Jesus
Himself does not recognize, as His, the work of Paul. Note that Jesus had no
words for any church outside of Asia or for the other Asian “churches” Paul
dealt with - i.e. for the Galatians or Colossians. The ONLY church Jesus
recognized that Paul was involved with was the one that rejected Paul - Ephesus;
and, Jesus complimented them for it!
Note2: This is another example of Jesus referencing
the Old Testament. Here He references Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.
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