Featured The Commandments of the New Covenant

Some say we are under grace now.....so no need to worry about such things....how does that sound?
Just freestyle and do what you feel like....
or obey Jesus:
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.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

 

Romans 6:1. 'What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may increase?

Quite a few folk on this board seem to be saying, "Yes!"

 

Not sure you did not misspeak? Of course we are to "obey" to be best of our ability all that Christ commanded, Matthew 28:19-20. The catch is I have never met a disciple who knew more than a dozen of Christ's commands. If you do a study in Matthew, you will come up with more than 70 instructions which as a disciple of Christ we are to obey.

 

It speaks of when someone is being drawn by God they are being called to be saints and built up a Holy habitation of God in His Kingdom.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;


20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;


21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:


22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

They come to know that as a Holy King and as Lord of the Kingdom, Jesus having saved us from the bondage and reigning power of sin, frees us to serve Him in holiness;
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 

http://www.covenantlegacy.com/the-kingdom-of-god-isnt-your-consolation-prize/

just came across this;
So how should we relate to the politics of the world? We should “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33). This means that we seek his dominion, his reign, his law, his righteousness over all of life. We dedicate our lives, passion, and every material thing we own to his service. As a knight would kneel before his King to pledge his service to the advancement of his crown, so to we must kneel to pledge our undying loyalty and service to our Heavenly King.

You cannot have a kingdom without a king. And when we say King, we mean a real king, not just a king of our imaginations, not just a king of our hearts, or a king of our private belief system, but a king over the entire universe. The title “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” means just that; Jesus Christ is the King over all kings and the Lord over all lords that ever have or will exist. God by his power raised Jesus from the dead and as Ephesians 1 says “…seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (v.20-23).

You see the rule of Christ, the dominion of Christ, the Kingdom of Christ cannot be disconnected from the church of Christ. Where on earth do you see the best expression of the Kingdom of God in its physical reality? You see it, in the local church. Christ is head of the church, and there as 1 Peter 2:9 says, is his “Holy Nation.” Despite a church’s errors, faulty leadership or faulty members, Christ’s Kingdom has its visible representation in the church. And, as stated before, this is because were the king is, there is the Kingdom. That is why when Christ came he told the people that the Kingdom of God was among them, because he was among them (Luke 11:20). When the church gathers there, in a special way, is Christ.

Now we acknowledge the current reign of Christ, and yet we can look around and plainly see that not all is as it should be. Hebrew 2:7-9 answers this very dilemma, “You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

So we see him crowned and nothing is outside his control, yet we don’t currently see everything in subjection to him. The answer the author of Hebrews gives, is that the gospel is at work; for Jesus was “crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Thus our pledge means loyalty to Christ’s mission, and he has given the Church a clear mission as the visible representation of the Kingdom of God on earth. This is commonly known as the Great Commission. And how does that commission begin? It does not begin with “go” as many assume, it begins with the authority of Christ, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”(Matt 28:18). This is the authority we as citizen of the heavenly kingdom march forward with. All heaven and earth is God’s, and thus to we seek the spiritual domination of the planet. This is not done by mere political action but can only be carried out by the Gospel. While the Great Commission will never succeed simply by our effort, the Great Commission will succeed ultimately in its intent (whether for mercy or judgment) because Christ has all authority to bring it about, and Christ does not fail.

We then are heralds for a Kingdom not of this world, for the Kingdom of God is inseparable from the Gospel. Multiple times it is described as “The Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matt 4:23, Matt 9:35, Matt 24:14, Mark 1:14-15) in which men repent and believe. No other entity on earth has this task. The proclamation of the Gospel is given to the church, and if the church fails to be loyal to Christ in doing so, no hospital, charity, college, institution, non-profit, or any other entity has been tasked with this unique mission from God.

If the most important event that ever happened in human history is the coming of Christ, then the essential and unique mission of the church… is its calling by God to proclaim that gospel in word and sacrament. The gospel of Christ is its treasure; the church is the earthen vessel whose sacred obligation is to proclaim the gospel and to gather a people around that gospel, forming them through the Spirit in the Body of Christ. No other institution has that calling; no other institution will promote the gospel if the church fails in its task. So churches must take with the utmost seriousness the terrible simplicity of their task. Of course they must be engaged in deeds of charity, and they must be concerned with justice. Of course they must involve themselves in many other activities – financial, administrative, and educational. Of course they must witness in the public sphere. But the church is not primarily a political actor, a social transformer, or an aggressive interest group. If it acts primarily as one of these, it is identified and treated as one more contentious worldly group. What’s more, it loses its own integrity, its own reason for being. Currently we are witnessing many churches losing confidence and zeal for their essential and unique calling. They no longer believe their gospel message is of utmost importance. They marginalize it in their own actives and institutions.[1] – Robert Benne.

 

You choice (Matthew 6:33) is problematic for certain believers who think no one seeks God at any time until "quickened" (via irresistible grace). Thus they claim no one can effectively seek God. They have no answer for Matthew 23:13 where men seeking God were in the process of entering heaven.

But if we turn away from twaddle and accept the verse means what it says, then our task becomes less clouded by the fog of war.

33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (NASB)

1. What does seek first mean? It means we must continually strive for God's kingdom and strive not to sin. We are Christ's servants.
2. All these things refers to food, drink clothes etc, the needs to daily living. Jesus says these will be provided to you. It is possible our efforts to serve Christ as an effective witness includes taking care of ourselves and our loved ones.

If we back up and look at the contextual picture, this is the command Christ is presenting:

 

The NT is not a new set of commandments. It is the act of Redemption and the giving of the Spirit, and the empowerment to walk in the light as He is in the light. It is peace, love and joy in the Holy Ghost. The NT isn't rules, it's life. We don't need rules to breathe. We don't need rules to feel hunger. We do those things because we have breath.

We don't need rules to love. We don't need rules to hunger for righteousness, we do those things because we have the Breathe of Life.

Asking which commandments apply, and which do not is the wrong question.

 

There is no need to deny the command of Matthew 28:19-20. The reason some attempt to nullify the requirement to learn and obey all that Christ commanded is it does not fit with a certain mistaken man-made theology.

 

I don't know anyone who denies any of the commands of Scripture. Obedience to commandments does not define a marriage, though the woman is commanded to obey her husband. Obedience to parents does not define sonship, though children are commanded to obey their parents.

But those that love their husbands and parents and God, will obey them.

Judaism is based on obedience to a carnal commandment, despite the corruptions of one's heart.

 

Hi JonC, post 11 I read as indicating we are not under an obligation to learn and to teach all Christ commanded.

Matthew 23:13 is straightforward, no need to "reason out" some arcane theology. The men were in the process of entering the kingdom of heaven. That means they were (1) seeking God effectively. And then they were blocked which means (2) they were not being compelled by irresistible grace. None of the forgoing is dependent on the context that Jesus was teaching false teachers block some seeking salvation. And even that truth is problematic for some because according to there mistaken view, false teachers cannot block those being compelled via irresistible grace.

And I disagree, the words mean what they say, "nor do you (Scribes, false teachers) allow those who are entering to go in."

No, I do not encounter those who say were should not evangelize, but the question before us, roughly how many commands are we to learn and teach, less than a dozen, or more than seventy? The answer is more than seventy. And even in this thread I have encountered those of a certain theology who deny it.