By Dennis Pollock
Many Christians are uncomfortable with the word “Commandments” or “Commands.” In their mind, they feel like New Covenant grace Christians have no need of commandments. We are saved by grace and no longer need to be concerned with the commandments of God. We have been told to “only believe,” and as “only believers,” keeping commandments is no longer applicable to us.
Forgetting the Old Testament for a moment, there is no question that the New Testament writings of the apostles and the words of our Lord Jesus are filled with commands, insisting that we live a certain way, do good and virtuous deeds, and avoid wicked, selfish, and lustful actions. And these are not merely suggestions or guidelines.
People give suggestions all the time. We all have opinions, and when a friend or relative is making what we consider a mistake, or when they are having rough times, we often give them advice on what they can do to improve their situation. It may be good advice; it may be lousy advice. But it is only a suggestion. We have no right to command friends, neighbors, and relatives to do anything. But God is a different case. He is our Creator. He made us, and He sustains us. He keeps us alive and gives us every breath we take. And certainly, if He wants to command us to do certain things or avoid sinful behaviors, He has every right to do so.
But some people feel that by instituting a program of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, He has given up all right to command us to do anything except the one command to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. In other words, believe in Jesus, and after that God has little more to say to you. That may sound right; it may sound “gracey,” but the Bible thoroughly and plainly contradicts that notion. Let’s look at a few New Testament references to the commandments of God.
Keep Jesus’ Commandment and Abide in His Love
In John 15, our Lord Jesus says: “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Jesus has commandments for us to keep. He does not say: “If you keep My suggestions,” or if you consider My guidelines.” He says: “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” How could we know the commandments of Jesus? That is very simple. We read the gospels and find all that He insisted upon from His disciples, and those are His commandments. When He tells us to love our enemies, when He tells us to treat people the way that we would like to be treated, when He commands us to seek first the kingdom of God, and all the other things He insists upon – these are the commandments of Jesus. They are not suggestions or guidelines. Jesus is not in the habit of making suggestions. When He tells us to do certain things and avoid certain practices, He is giving us commandments.
Just before ascending to the Father, Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. He instructed them to baptize these new believers and goes on to say: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:20). It is our job to make disciples and then to teach them the commandments of Jesus. Not the suggestions, not the guidelines, but the commandments of the Savior.
The apostle Paul writes these words to the believers in Corinth: “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 14:37). He has not been talking about salvation in this part of his epistle. He has been giving Christians instructions about how they are to live and behave in church. But now he insists that anyone with wisdom will acknowledge that what he has been sharing is, in fact, commandments from God.
When we read in the epistles of Paul, where he says: “Husbands, love your wives,” or “Wives, respect your husbands,” or “Children, obey your parents,” are these simple guidelines that we may or may not need to follow, or are they the commands of God? And of course, they are God’s commands to His children who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus.
Guideline or Command
Imagine you attend a home Bible study and every week you see Charlie and His wife, Susan. They are both enthusiastic Christians, with great personalities, and they love to participate in the Bible studies. But one evening Charlie shows up with a different woman whom you have never seen before. When you ask him about his wife, Susan, he tells you, “I decided I no longer want her. She always nagged me about things and was much too bossy. So I left her, and now I am living with this lady,” and he introduces you to Agnes. You are shocked, and you blurt out, “You cannot do this. Don’t you know that the Bible forbids adultery?” He replies that yes, he knows that there is a commandment against adultery, but since he is now a New Covenant grace Christian, the law has no demands on him. Besides, the prohibition against adultery was more of a guideline for Christians, not a commandment. After all, we are not under Moses anymore!
Anybody with any sense knows that sins such as adultery, fornication, stealing, murder, and theft are just as wrong, just as evil, and just as much prohibited under the New Testament as they were under the Old Testament. In fact, the apostle Paul, the apostle of grace, declared that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Yes, my friend, there are commands for Christians to keep. We do not get saved by keeping God’s commands; we are saved by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, but when this salvation occurs, one earmark of grace in our lives will be an overwhelming desire to please God and keep His commands. John writes: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4).
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