Christianity's Commandments

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Hello;

Would you say the two commandments below are Christianity, or Judaism?

†. Mrk 12:30 . .Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.

†. Mrk 12:31 . .Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Did you guess Christianity? Nope, those two commandments are 100% Judaism. They both originated with Moses' covenanted law

†. Deut 10:12-13 . .What doth Yhvh thy God require of thee, but to fear Yhvh thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Yhvh thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of Yhvh, and His statutes

†. Lev 19:18 . .Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself

I thought it might be fun to dig around in the New Testament and locate some commandments that are particular to Christianity rather than Judaism; and I found quite a few, well over four hundred. Some people are under the impression that there are only two commandments for Christians, but the two they usually pick can be said to be zipped files that when unzipped yield an amazing amount of data; for example: all of the Old Testament's laws and prophets are zipped in just the two commandments listed above. (Mtt 22:37-40)

Before proceeding, I think it's essential to emphasize that an apostle's written commandments, directives, and imperatives are just as binding upon Christians as if it were The Lord himself who penned them.

†. 1Cor 2:12-13 . .We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

†. 1Cor 14:37 . . If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of The Lord.

†. 1Ths 2:13 . .When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God.

†. 1Ths 4:1-2 . . We beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

Teachings don't have to be couched in "Thou Shalt" and/or "Thou Shalt Not" to qualify as commandments. Any directive qualifies as a commandment, as does any imperative which Webster's defines as: of, relating to, or constituting, the grammatical mood that expresses the will to influence the behavior of another. In those respects, the New Testament is chock full of commandments particular to Christianity.

When I was growing up as a young Catholic boy, it was sometimes difficult to remember my weekly sins on Saturday morning in preparation for confession. This compilation of New Testament commandments would have come in very handy as a check-list for those weekly evaluations. (I converted to Protestantism later in life when I was 24)

Some of the commandments will be accompanied with notes, and some will stand alone; and I should warn everyone that this is a huge task and will require several weeks of daily posts to accomplish.

NOTE: Obedience to Christianity's commandments is the acid test of one's devotion to the Bible's Christ.

†. John 14:15 . . If you love me, you will comply with what I command.

†. John 14:21 . .Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.

†. John 14:23-24 . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching . . He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.

†. John 15:14 . .You are my friends if you do as I wish.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Christianity's Commandments (01)

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1) Acts 15:19-20 . . Abstain from food tainted by idols, from promiscuity, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.

NOTE: some cultures drink fresh blood right out of an animal's veins. That's not for Christians. (cf. Gen 9:4)

2) Rom 6:11 . . Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

NOTE: "dead to sin" doesn't mean born-again Christians don't sin (1John 1:8-10). It means they're no longer in danger of sin's ultimate consequences. (John 5:24, Rom 5:6-11, Rom 6:3-11)

3) Rom 6:12 . . Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

NOTE: Cain was given the same instructions. (Gen 4:7)

4) Rom 6:13 . . Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

5) Rom 12:1-2 . . Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

6) Rom 12:3 . . Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.

7) Rom 12:6 . . If God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you.

NOTE: when explaining the Bible to others, you had better be speaking not just for God, but as God (1Pet 4:11). If not, then you need to sit down and shut up.

8) Rom 12:7a . . If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well.

9) Rom 12:7b . . If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.

10) Rom 12:8a . . If your gift is to encourage others, do it!

11) Rom 12:8b . . If you have money, share it generously.

12) Rom 12:8c . . If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.

13) Rom 12:8d . . If you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

14) Rom 12:9a . . Don't just pretend that you love others.

15) Rom 12:9b . . Hate what is wrong.

16) Rom 12:9c . . Stand on the side of the good.

17) Rom 12:10a . . Love each other with genuine affection

NOTE: real affection is easy to imitate, but very difficult to duplicate.

18) Rom 12:10b . . Honor others over yourselves.

19) Rom 12:11 . . Never be half-hearted in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

20) Rom 12:12a . . Be glad for all God is planning for you.

21) Rom 12:12b . . Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

22) Rom 12:13a . . Share with God's people who are in need.

23) Rom 12:13b . . Practice hospitality.

24) Rom 12:14 . . Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

25) Rom 12:15 . .When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.

26) Rom 12:16a . . Live in harmony with each other.

27) Rom 12:16b . . Don't be elitist, but willing to associate with people below you.

28) Rom 12:16c . . Don't be wise in your own conceit.

NOTE: Webster's defines conceit as: excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue. Conceit often goes hand in hand with vanity; which is defined as: inflated pride in one's self; viz: smug; self satisfied.

29) Rom 12:17a . . Never reciprocate evil with evil to anyone.

NOTE: I just hate it that so many Christian internet forums have become virtually adult-free zones where I have to tiptoe on egg shells all the time in order to avoid denting the fragile egos of a growing proliferation of complainers, tattle tails, domineering women, and thin-skinned cry babies and mama's boys generating a flood of poison-pen reports to despotic moderators. What's happened to internet Christians? Have they forgotten all about turning the other cheek?

C.L.I.F.F.
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Response to billwald

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RE: The US and England have commandments to stop at red lights. Are these commandments American or British?

That would depend upon who had those commandments first. The point is; neither Mrk 12:30 nor Mrk 12:31 originated with Christianity; they originated with Moses' covenanted law; viz: Judaism. (cf. Deut 10:12-13, Lev 19:18)

C.L.I.F.F.
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Christianity's Commandments (02)

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30) Rom 12:17b . . Respect what is right in the sight of all men.

31) Rom 12:18 . . If possible, so far as it in your power, be at peace with all men.

NOTE: assertive, defensive, confrontational people are not going to heaven. Why? Because heaven is a place of peace (Mtt 5:9). Disagreeable people with a propensity to animosity and hostility simply don't fit in there and besides, it wouldn't be fair to the others to let them in without their first undergoing a second birth as per John 3:3-8.

32) Rom 12:19 . . Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay; testifies the Lord.

33) Rom 12:20 . . If your personal enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.

34) Rom 12:21 . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

35) Rom 13:1 . . Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities

NOTE: that command covers J-walking, feeding parking meters, coasting through stop signs, exceeding the speed limit, unsafe lane changes, road rage, driving on worn out tires, et al.

36) Rom 13:6 . . Pay your taxes

NOTE: thinking about donating money for Haiti? Not to worry. President Obama pledged millions of your tax dollars for you. You're covered.

37) Rom 13:7 . . Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

38) Rom 13:8 . . Owe no man anything.

NOTE: some have construed item #38 to mean that it's a sin to have a mortgage, a car payment, and/or a credit card balance. However, the koiné Greek word for owe is opheilo (of-i'-lo); an ambiguous word with a number of meanings, one of which is to fail in duty; viz: fail to meet your obligations. In other words, Christians should pay their bills on time and not be deadbeats.

39) Rom 13:12 . . Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

40) Rom 13:13 . . .Behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

NOTE: if you think you might be going to heaven, then start behaving the way they do there. It's good practice for that big day. In other words, the Desperate Housewives are not really what one might call good Christian role models.

41) Rom 13:14 . . .Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not scheme to gratify the desires of the flesh.

NOTE: that commandment has the distinction of being the correct interpretation of Jesus' teachings on adultery.

†. Mtt 5:27-28 . .You have heard that it was said to those of old: You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Erotic fantasies don't make a man an adulterer. It's only when he becomes intent on actually tasting the goods that he crosses over the line into forbidden territory.

42) Rom 14:1 . . Accept him whose faith is weak, without being judgmental in gray areas.

NOTE: a "weak faith" is one that's not sure one way or the other whether something is okay for Christians.

43) Rom 14:2-4 . . One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

44) Rom 14:5 . . One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

45) Rom 14:13 . . Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another in gray areas. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

NOTE: never attempt to prove a fellow Christian wrong in a gray area and thereby persuade them to agree to something that compromises their personal principles. This directive is limited to gray areas rather than black and white areas: which are cut and dried and therefore not open to debate.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Christianity's Commandments (03)

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46) Rom 14:14-16 . . I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another Christian is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be condemned for doing something you know is alright.

47) Rom 14:19 . . Let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

48) Rom 14:20-21 . . Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

49) Rom 14:22-23 . . So whatever you personally believe in debatable areas keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

NOTE: Those are crucial principles. In other words, it's possible to be wrong even when you're right because it's a sin to forge ahead when one's conscience is not sure it's okay to do so.

I once knew a Christian who felt guilty just setting foot inside a Block Buster video store. Was he silly for feeling that way? Not in his mind; and it's one's own mind that counts in gray areas. Some Christians can't permit themselves to dine in a restaurant that serves alcohol; while others see nothing wrong with it. If those two kinds of Christians should perchance dine out together, it's the more sensitive conscience that dictates where to eat.

50) Rom 15:1-2 . . We may know that certain things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who believe certain things are wrong.

51) Rom 15:2 . . Each of us should accommodate his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

52) Rom 15:7 . . Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

53) Rom 15:27 . . For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.

54) Rom 16:17-18 . . I urge you, brothers, beware of those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.

NOTE: the koiné Greek word for divisions is dichostsis (dee-khos-tas-ee'-ah) which means: disunion. It's Jesus' wish that his church be unified (John 17:14-21). The propensity of man's base nature is towards disunity; easily seen by the proliferation of various Christian denominations.

Disunity in America is everywhere rampant in matters of race, age, gender, language, sexual preference, justice, class, income level, and religion, et al. Yes there are ties that bind us; but just as many forces driving us apart; and anything preventing unity in Christ's body is an obstacle to unity; which is contrary to his wishes.

55) 1Cor 1:10 . . I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Response to billreber

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RE: And all this time I believed that Jesus was the completion of the Jewish law!

Actually Christ was the law's fulfillment (Mtt 5:17) rather than its completion, in that he gave Moses' covenanted law its justly required pound of flesh.

†. Deut 27:26…Cursed be he who will not uphold the terms of this Teaching and observe them.

†. Isa 53:5-6 . . But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yhvh hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.

†. Rom 6:23 . . For the wages of sin is death

†. Gal 3:10 . . For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written: Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

†. Gal 3:13 . . Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

People who fail to avail themselves of Jesus' crucifixion to satisfy justice for their violations of the law of God will have to give the law it's pound of flesh with their own flesh.

†. Rev 20:11-15 . . And I saw a great white throne, and I saw Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

. . .And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hades delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hades were cast into a reservoir of liquefied flame. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the reservoir of liquefied flame.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Christianity's Commandments (04)

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56) 1Cor 1:26 . . Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

57) 1Cor 1:31 . . Let him who boasts; boast in the Lord.

NOTE: Sometimes I think I would feel better about believing in the Gospel if more celebrities, scientists, and PhD's did. By human standards, I am not particularly bright, certainly not influential, nor of noble birth. There is no one in my family tree to be proud of. And on top of that, my craft was welding; which is a trade rather than a profession, and welder's aren't widely known as intelligent people. When somebody like me believes in the Gospel; it's actually to be expected I'd be gullible enough to do so; after all, isn't religion said to be the opiate of the masses?

The koiné Greek word for boast is kauchaomai (kow-khah'-om-ahee) which means: to vaunt. Webster's defines vaunt as: to make a vain display of one's own worth or attainments; viz: to brag; to call attention to with pride and often boastfully. 1Cor 1:31 is a hard command to obey seeing as how belief in the Gospel really isn't what I would call something to brag about in this day and age.

58) 1Cor 3:18 . . If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a fool so that he may become wise.

NOTE: by human standards I am not very smart; but by God's I'm one of the brightest men who ever lived, even surpassing Steven Hawking, Albert Einstein, and Robert Oppenheimer.

I am not a prince Charles, but I am kin to God; which is a much nobler position than anybody you might name in Queen Elizabeth's royal family. When all is said and done, the only smart people left standing will be the ones who took the path to safety. All the rest— no matter what their IQ, no matter how sophisticated, no matter how well educated, no matter how well bred, no matter how much they've achieved —will be the idiots.

59) 1Cor 4:1 . . So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ, and as those entrusted with the mysteries of God.

NOTE: Christians are so prone to fan worship and name-dropping. They idolize the pastors of their churches— celebrities of the Christian world like Mother Teresa and Billy Graham are practically sacred cows —when they should recognize that those pastors and celebrities are mere servants rather than gods. Reverence for man is a dangerous trap; but whosoever puts their trust in The Lord will be safe. (Prv 29:25)

60) 1Cor 4:5 . .Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till The Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and expose the motives of men's hearts.

NOTE: the judging in this instance regards man's propensity to idolize celebrities like Mother Teresa and Billy Graham without having all the facts. We now know that Teresa wasn't the saint she was thought to be all those years in India. Her private letters, made public by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk's book, Mother Teresa / Come Be My Light, reveal a nun with so little faith in the Bible's God as to be an agnostic. You can read about it at the link below to an article written by David Van Biema for the Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007 edition of TIME Magazine.

Teresa's Crisis Of Faith

NOTE: Does Mtt 7:1-5 condemn all judging? No, it only condemns judging with a double standard.

61) John 7:24 . . judge righteous judgment.

NOTE: Righteous judgment can be defined as the enforcement of rules without passion or prejudice; viz: without bias, partiality, or favoritism.

Christians are not only encouraged to judge, but they are mandated to judge. Read on.

62) 1Cor 5:1-7 . . I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you, something so evil that even the pagans don't do it. I am told that you have a man in your church who is living in sin with his father's wife. And you are so proud of yourselves! Why aren't you mourning in sorrow and shame? And why haven't you removed this man from your fellowship?

. . . Even though I am not there with you in person, I am with you in The Spirit. Concerning the one who has done this, I have already passed judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus. You are to call a meeting of the church, and I will be there in spirit, and the power of the Lord Jesus will be with you as you meet. Then you must cast this man out of the church and into Satan's hands, so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be spared when The Lord returns.

. . . How terrible that you should boast about your spirituality, and yet you let this sort of thing go on. Don't you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected? Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Christianity's Commandments (05)

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63) 1Cor 5:7-8 . . Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the feast; not by eating the leavened bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the unleavened bread of purity and truth.

NOTE: Christ isn't a replication of the original Passover lamb. He's merely a Passover lamb in a manner of speaking. Each lamb— the Exodus lamb and the New Testament lamb —serves their own unique purposes. The Exodus lamb wasn't a sin offering; while the New Testament's lamb clearly is. The Exodus lamb was designed to protect only the firstborn males of individual households, while the New Testament's lamb has the potential to protect the entire world regardless of age, race, gender, or primogeniture.

64) 1Cor 5:9-13 . . When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn't talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or who are greedy or are swindlers or idol worshipers. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. What I meant was that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Don't even eat with such people. It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways. God will judge those on the outside; but you must remove the evil person from among you.

NOTE: good luck getting modern Christians to comply with those instructions; instead they'll piously protest: "It's not for us to judge." Contrary to those pious protests; ostracizing isn't negotiable— no, it's a must.

65) 1Cor 6:1-6 . . If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another-and this in front of unbelievers!

66) 1Cor 6:7-8 . . The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already.

NOTE: apparently some of the Christians in the church at Corinth let the Sermon On The Mount go in one ear and out the other.

†. Mtt 5:39-40 . . 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.

†. Luke 12:57-59 . .Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, make an effort to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Jesus began his teaching in Luke with the words "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" In other words; if someone threatens to take you to court over a matter, and you know darn good and well he's in the right; don't force him to go to law. Instead, admit to your wrong and settle out of court. According to Jesus, it’s unrighteous to fight it out in court when you know your own self that you are the one who's in the wrong. There's just simply no righteous reason why defendant and plaintiff can't be their own judge and jury in a tort matter.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Response to billwald

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RE: When you pass 613 Christian commandments then you have out-phariseed the pharisies.

So, in your opinion, the Bible's Christ was a Pharisee?

†.1Cor 14:37 . . If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of The Lord.

†. 1Ths 2:13 . .When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God.

†. 1Ths 4:1-2 . . We beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Input

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I'd just like to point out, to whomsoever it might concern, that posting Christianity's commandments on a world-wide Christian forum is in compliance with the Lord's so-called great commission.

†. Mtt 28:19-20 . . Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . .teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Christianity's Commandments (06)

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67) 1Cor 6:9-10 . . Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

NOTE: numbers of well-meaning folk have attempted to use that verse to prove that gays and lesbians are going to Hell. Well, that would certainly be true of un-redeemed gays and lesbians (just as it would be true of un-redeemed avarice, drunkenness, slander, and swindling) but not true of the ones who believe.

†. 1Cor 6:11 . . And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were set apart, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.

The koiné Greek word for justified is dikaioo (dik-ah-yo'-o) which means: to show, or to regard as innocent. It's ironic that numbers of immoral people are going to make it to safety when they cross over to the other side while numbers of clean-living religious folk won't.

†. Matt 21:31 . . I tell you the truth; prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

The audience to whom Jesus spoke those words were chief priests and elders: the cream of Judaism's crop (Mtt 21:23). The problem with those guys in that particular incident was that, although they were very religious, they were not very honest. It would seem then, that God isn't nearly as pleased with church attendance, rituals, sacraments, and holy days of obligation as he is with good character. (cf. Isa 1:10-20)

No, I'm not saying immorality is good character; but what I'm saying is: hypocrisy is even worse. However, both the hypocrite and the immoral can obtain an acquittal at the cross. Webster's defines acquit as: to discharge completely (as from an obligation or accusation). An acquittal is much superior to a hung jury. When you're acquitted, you have the protection of so-called double jeopardy laws; which mean, essentially, that you cannot be put on trial again for an accusation for which you were adjudged innocent in a previous proceeding.

†. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Eternal life is a kind of life that cannot die; therefore, it's impervious to the wages of sin.

†. Rom 6:23 . . For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

68) 1Cor 6:18 . . Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

69) 1Cor 6:20 . . Honor God with your body.

70) 1Cor 7:2-3 . . Since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

NOTE: The above is especially true in 2010 America. Promiscuity is everywhere: on a pandemic scale. It's in our music, in our schools, in our offices, in our televisions, in our movies, in our novels, and in our conversations. People are even sleeping together on their first dates. Even Congressmen, Senators, and US Presidents are indulging in promiscuity. This country is in a state of moral decline, and becoming more and more like the ancient city of Pompeii.

71) 1Cor 7:3 . .The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.

NOTE: young people don't appreciate just how difficult it is for senior Christians to comply with that commandment. Men, as some of you old enough to know, are stimulated and/or de-stimulated by sight. So when their wives start falling apart, getting flabby, flaccid, wrinkly, drooping, and gaining weight, many lose interest in getting naked with her.

And it doesn't help for senior men to be surrounded everywhere they go in America by cute, shapely chicks filled out in all the right places wearing no bra under low-cut clingy tops, and/or belly shirts, and hip-hugging pants that make their aging wives look even ten times more unappealing by comparison. This is one of those brutal "facts of life" that nobody likes to talk about because it's a sensitive subject for both genders.

BTW: to a man my age, a woman of 45 is a chick; so when a man my age uses the word "chicks" he's referring to a pretty large segment of feminine society.

72) 1Cor 7:5 . . Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

73) 1Cor 7:8-9 . . Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

NOTE: that should suffice to silence the mouths of ascetics who preach it's holy to abstain from every form of earthly pleasure; and the mouths of those who preach it's a sin to marry solely for sex. God has far more respect for people who marry for sex than for a celibate priest spending his nights pining for a female companion in the privacy of his own room.

C.L.I.F.F.
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