Recently, a friend of college age told me that they wanted to start a college Bible Study group, and wanted to know what to teach. I earnestly recommended that the focus of the group should be all about studying the Commands of Jesus Christ.
Why should Christians Study to learn and obey Christ’s Commands?
1. Since we are called to love God and His Son Jesus Christ with all our heart soul mind and strength, then we must understand what that means in God's terms (Matthew 22:26-30; Matthew 7:12; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
a) The proof that we love God is that we obey God and Jesus Christ: We have to remember that from God's point of view there is no real reparation between love and obedience. In other words, if we truly and correctly love God and His Son Jesus Christ, we are going to obey Him. If we do not earnestly desire, seek to, and progressively succeed in obeying God and Jesus Christ, then the simple fact of the matter is that we do not sincerely and truly love Him. That may seem harsh, but it's biblical, (Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy 5:8-10; John 14:15-24; 1 John 5:3).
b) In fact, as you'll see in the passages, refusing to obey God is closely linked to idolatry. That's because to worship means to esteem of the highest value. Therefore, if we are refusing to obey God, that means that we are esteeming other people, places, things or desires ahead of God. That is why contrasting statements are made between obedience and idolatry in both Exodus and Deuteronomy.
2. The absolute first principle of successful Christian discipleship: Always define every key word, idea and concept the way that God defines it. By definition, a disciple is one who believes, one who follows and obeys, and one who spreads the teachings of God and Jesus Christ to others by their words and way of life. Ergo, if you are not following and obeying Jesus Christ, then you are not really His disciple at all.
3. Discipleship Is Not Happen Automatically. Disciples of both born-again, and they are also made. As it is written:
"Then Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NET- Bold texts and underlines added for emphasis) So once again, if we are not teaching people how to obey everything that Jesus Christ commanded, then according to Christ's own definition of the term, we are not truly succeeding at making disciples, are we?
4. In general, most believers claim that we want to have a greater revelation and understanding of God and Jesus Christ. According to Christ's own words, God only reveals and makes himself known and manifest to those who have and who keep Christ's commands:
John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." (NASB)
So in reality, can anyone have a sincere revelation and understanding of God and Jesus Christ, without obeying Christ and His Commandments? The answer is, no they cannot. If anyone claims to have any real revelation or understanding of God and Jesus Christ without making it a regular practice to know and obey Christ's commandments, such a person has either deceived themselves, or they are outright lying. In either case, any person who suggests that you can have a revelation of God without actively obeying what Christ commanded is not to be trusted (Psalm 1:1-3; 1 John 1:5-8; 2:6; James 1:21-25). Beloved, why would you ever want to allow yourself to be counseled and coached by someone who chooses to be deceived?
5. Obedience Brings Us into Family and Friendship: As believers, most of us claim that we want greater friendship with the Redeemer, and by extension the Almighty Father. Again according to Christ's own words, His friends and family are those who do God's will, and obey Christ's commands:
Mark 3:31-35 Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You." Answering them, He *said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother." (NASB)
"You are My friends IF you do what I command you. John 15:14 (NASB- Emphasis added)
6. Obeying God and Jesus Christ proves our genuine citizenship in the kingdom of God. Again, using Christ's own words:
"Matthew 7:21-27 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall." Matthew 7:21-27 (NASB emphasis added)
7. Obeying God and Jesus Christ, guarantees that we will persevere through our trials. For that is the very definition of perseverance:
Revelation 14:12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
8. Summary Conclusion of Principles: Why do we obey, and why do we teach others to obey God and Jesus Christ?
a) We obey, and teach others to obey because we love God and Jesus Christ. From God's point of view there is no separation between healthy maturing love and obedience
b) We obey and teach others to obey because we want to be disciples, and help other people to become successful disciples as well.
c) We obey and teach others to obey because we want to have authentic revelation of God and Jesus Christ in our lives, and God only discloses knowledge of Himself and His Son, to those who have and keep His Commandments.
d) We obey and teach others to obey because we want to be counted as members of God's and Christ's family and friends, and He only grants that to those who obey His Commands.
e). We obey and teach others to obey because it ensures our perseverance as Saints of God
f) We obey and teach others to obey because it secures the fact that we are thriving and growing citizens of the kingdom of God.
Whenever anyone of the discipleship students with whom I'm entrusted is tempted to complain that I spend too much time focusing on Christ's Commands, I generally take them through a list similar to items 7(a)-(f). I will then generally ask them, which one of these blessings can you do without for all eternity? Speaking for myself, I cannot do without, nor do I wish to be without any of those great blessings for all of eternity. Therefore, I see no other reasonable course of action than to learn and to heed the Commandments of Almighty God and Jesus Christ.
The Teaching Model:
Understanding the foundational basis of what we must learn and teach the Commandments of God and Jesus Christ is crucial, but once we know what to teach, it helps to have a basic idea of how to go about it. Of course, one should seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and direction in all matters, but this is one method of studying and teaching which I have found to be effective:
1. Discover What the Commandment Is: That means that we read what the Commandment is along with its surrounding scriptural texts in order not to take the Commandment out of context. In the process, is usually infinitely helpful to identify the keywords or phrases in the command itself. I generally recommend looking up the key words in a good original language resource such as, the vine's expository dictionary of old and New Testament words. You can search for references in this resource for free on various pages the Internet if you don't already have one in print.
2. Discover the guiding principles behind the Command: Generally, the best way to do this is to look at cross-references. According to the surrounding text what were the circumstances under which this command was given? Is this command described in other places in Scripture? How does this command reflect God's love? how does this command reflect God's righteousness?
3. Discuss and Plan Practical ways to put these Commands into Practice: no Bible study of this type would be complete without some real, down to earth, brass tacks discussions about exactly how do we obey and put these commands into practice. It is not the commands of God which we know that transforms our lives, if the commands of God which we obey the transforms our lives. So no discussion of any particular commandment should be considered closed unless we've opened the floor to discuss and include some real practical ways of obeying what we've learned. If the groups are close enough in love and friendship, this can be a great springboard for accountability, but that's a whole other teaching.
Beloved, I hope this helps you. Continue strong in love and faith of God and Jesus Christ. Until next time,
Michel Lankford
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