Monday, November 30, 2015

Understanding the Christian Trinity

Here are my 6-points for understanding the Trinity.

To break it down even further The Trinity entails the following:

1. Father, Son, Holy Spirit= One God, One Being/One Essence, co-equal, co-eternal. The single essence is shared corporately, collectively—within the three persons being co-equal and co-eternal, yet the essence or being of God is indivisible, simple not divided into parts. A kingdom divided will not stand [Matt 12:25, Mark 3:24-5]

2. Father, Son, Holy Spirit= all distinct persons, while having simultaneously three self-centers of consciousness but yet there are not three deities. The persons are not confused with the single essence. Just as we are all human in essence, yet we are not the same persons (see step 5).

3. Father, Son, Holy Spirit= each having different roles in what is called the economy of the Trinity. The Father chooses who will be saved (Eph 1:4). The Son redeems them (Eph 1:7). The Holy Spirit seals them (Eph 1:7) Jesus works in perfect unity with the Father and knows and performs the will of the Father (John 8:42), and yet also has a human will within one person of the Word incarnate in the hypostatic union (Truly God, Truly Man). This is why Jesus can claim he is The Truth (John 14:6).

4. Omnipresence:
"Just as God is unlimited or infinite with respect to time, so God is unlimited with respect to space. This characteristic of God's nature is called God's omnipresence (the Latin prefix omni-means 'all'). God's omnipresence may be defined as follows: God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.
A good example of where Christians gain this thought from Scripture is Jeremiah 23:23-24 where God says "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" But throughout scripture there are other allusions to this thought (cf: Ps. 139:7-10; Col. 1:17; etc.).

5. There is a distinction between essence (being) and persons. Everyone is a (human) being, and also a person. The two terms are not the same. We are all human beings (sharing the same nature), yet different persons. We are all distinct from each other. There is a functional distinction; Being, and Person. Being is what we are. Person is who we are. Person within the Trinity is derived from the word Prosopon (Strong's Number: 4383, derived from the word Optanomai which means to look at, behold to allow one's self to be seen, to appear, visage), which means: the face, countenance (expression). Prosopon is the index of the inward thoughts and feelings the appearance one presents by his wealth or property, used in expressions which denote to regard the person in one's judgment and treatment of men, in essence, the outward appearance of inanimate things


6. The Word became Flesh (John 1:14): The Word took on flesh and has two separate natures, Divine and Human. There is no mixing, no dividing. Jesus is both truly God, truly man. When we understand the term “truly” as meaning completely, therefore it would follow that that there is no mixture of the divine with the humanity to make something completely new. Also there is no addition to either nature or depletion of either nature. In other words, to be fully complete is complete—not partial, this is the hypostatic union. The Word is God which emanates from the Father, and his Word is of himself, just as our words come from us, not of anyone else. This is a perfect union so it remains two complete and distinct natures of Christ within one person
of Christ.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Was Jesus only sent to Israel?

Often times Muslims will use Matt 10:5; Matt 15:24; John 4:22 to say Jesus was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

But what they tend to ignore is that in 1 Cor 14:6-28; Matt 28:19; Col 3:16; John 3:16; John 10:16 these passages insinuate that Jesus is for all nations.  And they also ignore many other passages as well.

Acts 13:47 "The Lord has commanded us, saying, I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth"
Acts 18:6 "Henceforth, I (Paul) will go unto the Gentiles"
Rom. 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom. 15:16 "I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles"

“Matt. 10:5 refers to a specific mission, the sending forth of the seventy, and says nothing that can be construed as a permanent, all-time, everybody directive against Gentile evangelization. The second verse is spoken by Jesus and refers to the mission Jesus had while on earth, which was primarily to the Jews. It says nothing about a permanent directive, and indeed is not said to disciples at all.” –[James Patrick Holding]

What is interesting about Matt 15:24 is that this passage was directed to a specific person, that being A Canaanite Woman’s Faith. As we see in Matt 15:28 Jesus said her faith was great, and her request was granted. This was used as a test for the woman’s faith [Jesus as the rich young ruler in Mark 10:18].

Dr. Constable notes:
[“A good teacher may sometimes aim to draw out a pupil’s best insight by a deliberate challenge which does not necessarily represent the teacher’s own view—even if the phrase ‘devil’s advocate’ may not be quite appropriate to this context!”]


What is also interesting is that during Pentecost, they were speaking in tongues. Why would tongues be utilized if not for people of all nations which have different languages? Clearly the gift of tongues was to reach those outside of Israel and to nations that didn’t speak Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic.

Speaking in tongues in Acts 2.

Take a look at who was in the crowd when Peter preached on Pentecost:

Acts 2:8 How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language?

9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages.”

Luke says Arabs were there, but not a word about them being Muslim!


Source:
http://www.tektonics.org/qt/sheepjourney.php

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

66 Books or 73 Books within the Cannon?

Response to the arguments for its inclusion:
1. It is disputed whether or not these books were included in the LXX for many reasons:
• The earliest copies of the LXX that we have are Christian in origin and were not copied until the fourth century. It is hard to tell if the original Alexandrian Jews had this widercanon.
• The three extant copies of the LXX do not agree concerning the canon.

Philo, a first century Jewish scholar in Alexandria who used the LXX extensively, did not mention the Apocrypha even though he commented on virtually all the protocanonical books. The same can be said for Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian who used the LXX extensively, who explicitly states that the apocryphal books were never accepted as canonical by the Jews.
2. Many works were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls which are not canonical.
3. Knowledge of a work does not make it authoritative. Many people know of the deuterocanonical books, and may even respect and quote from them with authority, but this does not necessarily mean that they believe them to be inspired.
4. While early Christians did quote from the deuterocanonicals from time to time, the earliestChristians showed no evidence of accepting them as Scripture. It was only when the Christian community began to break ties with the Jews that their inclusion became an issue. The earliest Christian list of books in the Old Testament is that of Melito, bishop of Sardis (A.D. 170), and it contains only the protocanonical works (Protestant canon).
5. Hippo, Rome, and Carthage were all North African or Roman local church councils that did not have the authority to declare the canon. Augustine, the North African bishop of Hippo, accepted the Apocrypha (although slightly different than the Roman Catholic version) and had heavy influence upon these councils. This explains their acceptance.
6. Martin Luther rejected the Apocrypha just as many others throughout church history had done. There was no official “infallible” declaration on the canon by Rome until after Martin Luther rejected them. It was an over-reactive response to Luther’s rejection that caused the Roman Catholic Church to declare them to be Scripture at Trent. Until that time, they were doubted by most and labeled either Apocrypha or deuterocanonical books.
Arguments for their exclusion:
1. The New Testament never directly quotes from any apocryphal book as Scripture with the common designation “it is written”. Often, when people claim that it does, the references are a stretch to get them to match the deuterocanonical books, or they are, at best, mere allusions that evidence knowledge of the deuterocanonical books. If there are genuine allusions to certain deuterocanonical books, this does not mean that the writer believed them to be inspired any more than Paul's quotation of Aratus (ca. 310–245 B.C.) in Acts 17:28 means that he believed Phaenomena was part of the canon. (See also where Jude quotes from the apocryphal book Enoch in Jude 1:9).
2. The Palestinian Jews (those who lived in Israel) never accepted the deuterocanonical books. This was the key argument for the Reformers. The basic idea is that if Christ did not recognize them, they are not canonical. Josephus (born c. 37 A.D.), a primary Jewish historian, plainly writes about the accepted canon of his day which is the same as the current Protestant canon. He makes no mention of the Apocrypha and does not hint at a canon controversy in his day (Against Apion 1.41). The Talmud makes a similar point: “After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel.” Philo, who lived in Alexandria in the first century, did not accept the Apocrypha either.
3. From a Protestant perspective, there are significant theological and historical inaccuracies in the deuterocanonical books (e.g., works-based salvation, Tobit 12:9; cruelty, Sirach 22:3; 42:14, 2; doctrine of purgatory, 2 Maccabees 12:41–45). What is more, these books have historical errors. It is claimed that Tobit was alive when the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 B.C. and also when Jeroboam revolted against Judah in 931 B.C., which would make him at least 209 years old; yet according to the account, he died when he was only 158 years. The Book of Judith speaks of Nebuchadnezzar reigning in Nineveh instead of Babylon.
4. The Apocrypha itself attests to the absence of prophets in its own time.
5. The deuterocanonical books were in dispute for so long and held to secondary status that it would be problematic to say that they contain the voice of God since most people did not recognize them to be His voice. (c.f. John 10:27)

Source:
The Theology Program (Bibliology and Hermeneutics workbook.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

124,000 Prophets? Can we trust the Quran or Bible?

The 124,000 Prophets/messengers/warners


I have been noticing many facebook groups talking about these 124,000.

The theory is that there were prophets for the nations and cultures [Quran 2:285]. I noticed many Muslims have stated that all these prophets were the way, delivered the truth and had the word of God. Then they go on to state that Muhammad came then for all nations and the prophets were sealed.

P1. 124,000 messengers sent for every nation
P2. Each messenger was the way, delivered the truth [Quran 29:46]
P3. Muhammad is for all nations

So Therefore to answer the three statements:

1. If the 124,000 were the way and delivered the truth, then we should be able to follow any prophet that we choose. Shouldn’t matter which one we follow as truth is immutable and eternal.

But let’s define truth:

1. Truth exists
2. Truth is immutable
3. Truth is eternal
4. Truth is mental –not independent of mind
5. Truth is superior to the human mind
6. Truth is God

Truth exists—there is knowledge, and therefore the object of knowledge. To say truth doesn’t exist is self-referential nonsense (self-refuting).
Truth is immutable—what is true today will be true tomorrow, and we know this because if it is truth, its truth always. Pragmatism is not truth.

Truth is eternal—truth will never perish.

Truth is mental—it presupposes the existence of minds. Truth cannot exist without a mind, and an eternal mind means eternal truth.

Truth is superior to the human mind—truth cannot be subjective and individualistic. The human mind is changeable, finite, mutable, and subject to error. Truth therefore transcends human reason, and superior to the human mind.

Truth is God—an ontological ground for truth. Truth cannot be anything perishable or contingent (dependent upon something else), therefore the truth always has existed in an eternal mind. Only God possesses these attributes; God must be truth and he has this attribute.

2. So now that we know truth is God this means we should be able to find it no matter which prophet we follow. The Bible has many people that were prophets, around 40. The Bible also has a long history of 1500 years during this process. This is an abundant amount of truth from many sources where God has interacted with his followers, showing history, many literary forms (genres) which include poetry, laments, personification, Anthropomorphism, hyperbole, Litotes, Ellipsis, Parables, Allegories, Riddles, Symbols, Narrative, Tragedy, Parallelism, Chiasms, Wisdom, Epistles, Apocalyptic, and so on… With this, each literary form will require an exegesis and hermeneutic to properly get the authorial meaning for then and there to understand the here and now (Homiletical principle).

3.  I disagree as if Muhammad was for all nations and is the role model for all time we should be able to imitate him today. So can we marry a 6 year old today? No. Can we have 11 wives at a time? No.

Role Model = a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated. So Muhammad cannot be imitated in that sense so he was only for those of his nation and era.

With that being said, we also know that the Quran affirms the Gospel.
1. The verses below are from the Quran, which presuppose the availability of the true revelation of God to the people of Muhammad's day. [Surah's 3:71,93; 10:94]

2. A true Muslim is obliged to believe in all the revelations of God. Surah's [2:136; 4:136; 29:46]

3. The Quran makes no distinction between God's revelations. [Surah 2:136]

4. The Qur'an claims that NO ONE can change the Word of Allah. [Surah's 6:34; 10:34]

5. Allah's word cannot contain error and cannot change.

6. Allah is said to preserve the Qur'an [Surah's 15:9; 85:21-22]

7. The words of Allah are said to be unalterable [Surah 6:34; 18:27; 6:115, 10:64 and 50:29]

Let’s take a look at those verses that confirm the Torah and Gospel during Muhammad’s day:

5:44 Sahih International
Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah ] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah , and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the disbelievers.

5:45 Sahih International
And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution. But whoever gives [up his right as] charity, it is an expiation for him. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

5:46 Sahih International
And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.

5:47 Sahih International
And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.

5:48 Sahih International
And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.

3:3 Sahih International
He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.

3:4 Sahih International
Before, as guidance for the people. And He revealed the Qur'an. Indeed, those who disbelieve in the verses of Allah will have a severe punishment, and Allah is exalted in Might, the Owner of Retribution.

2:40 Sahih International
O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [upon you] that I will fulfill your covenant [from Me], and be afraid of [only] Me.

2:41 Sahih International
And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me.

2:136 Sahih International
Say, [O believers], "We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."

2:285 Sahih International
The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."

3:93 Sahih International
All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, [O Muhammad], "So bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful." [this means people of Muhammad’s day had the uncorrupted Torah, same one as in the Dead Sea Scrolls before Jesus’ time.]
4:136 Sahih International
O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.

5:68 Sahih International
Say, "O People of the Scripture, you are [standing] on nothing until you uphold [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord." And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. So do not grieve over the disbelieving people.

6:92 Sahih International
And this is a Book which We have sent down, blessed and confirming what was before it, that you may warn the Mother of Cities and those around it. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it, and they are maintaining their prayers.

10:94 Sahih International
So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.

29:46 Sahih International
And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."

So as far we know, if we believe the Quran is true, the Quran affirms the Torah and Gospel of the day of Muhammad. However, we also know that the findings in the cave at Qumran was the discovery of the dead sea scrolls around 1949.

“Dead Sea Scrolls: Dramatic Evidence for the Reliability of Messianic Prophecy The Dead Sea Scrolls comprise the oldest group of Old Testament manuscripts ever found, dating back to 100--200 B.C. This is dramatic, because we now have absolute evidence that Messianic prophecies contained in today’s Old Testament (both Jewish and Christian) are the same Messianic prophecies that existed prior to the time Jesus walked on this earth. It goes without saying, manuscript reliability and textual criticism have taken cosmic steps forward! Check it out – There is no question that Jesus Christ was the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for!” - See more at: www.allaboutarchaeology.org

We can verify what was before Muhammad scientifically and compare it to what we have today. And the Textual critics have done this for the last 2-3 centuries. We know what we have today is accurate beyond a reasonable doubt.

As for the New Testament we also have texts that predate Muhammad which attest to what we have today and verified as 99% accuracy before and after Muhammad. The complete Bible is found in the Codex Sinaiticus which can be found online at:
Codex Sinaiticus

“Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. The hand-written text is in Greek. The New Testament appears in the original vernacular language (koine) and the Old Testament in the version, known as the Septuagint that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians. In the Codex, the text of both the Septuagint and the New Testament has been heavily annotated by a series of early correctors.” [ibid]

We also have “The Codex Vaticanus, so called because it is the most famous manuscript in the possession of the Vatican library, is generally believed to be from the fourth century, and is thought to be the oldest (nearly) complete copy of the Greek Bible in existence. Lacking from it are most of the book of Genesis, Hebrews 9:14 to the end, the Pastoral Epistles, and the book of Revelation; these parts were lost by damage to the front and back of the volume, which is common in ancient manuscripts.”
Bible Researcher

Conclusion:
The Quran affirms the Torah and Gospel, Dead Sea Scrolls affirm the Old Testament, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus  and all other manuscript copies also affirms the New Testament.

What do scholars say?

Of the remaining differences, virtually all yield to vigorous textual criticism. This means that our New Testament is 99.5% textually pure. In the entire text of 20,000 lines, only 40 lines are in doubt (about 400 words), and none affects any significant doctrine. [Geisler and Nix, 475]

Greek scholar D.A. Carson sums up this way: "The purity of text is of such a substantial nature that nothing we believe to be true, and nothing we are commanded to do, is in any way jeopardized by the variants." [ Carson, D.A., The King James Version Debate (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 56]


“The first thing to say is the first thing that I almost always say, even though my conservative evangelical critics among the scholars refuse to notice that I have said it (repeatedly!) and pretend that I never have said it, which is this:  the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of differences are immaterial, insignificant, and trivial.   Many of them cannot even be represented by different translations of the (different) Greek texts into English.  Probably the majority matter only in showing that Christian scribes centuries ago could spell no better than my students can today.   And *they* didn’t have dictionaries!  Let alone spell check.”
“So, it is true that the huge majority of variations don’t matter.  But do *any* of them matter?  Well, the answer to that question depends entirely on what it is that you think matters.   For a lot of people – including, I’m assuming (but cannot be certain), the reader who asked the question – if none of the variants would require a radical change of any fundamental Christian doctrine, then, well, none of them ultimately matters.   So unless there are variations that indicate that Jesus’ mother was *not* a virgin, or that say that he was *not* the Son of God, or that claim that he never *was* raised from the dead – well, unless there are variants like *that*, then the variants don’t matter.” [Bart Ehrman Bart Ehrman on Variants, do they matter?

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

What is required for salvation?


Someone had asked me earlier, what is required for salvation, what is the process. Whilst I was baptized, I leave this open as a requirement for salvation.

Primarily, one must repent and believe upon Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. From there it is a faith seeking understanding principle, one must grow. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. – 2 Peter 3:18

Order of Salvation (Ordo Salutis)

Many reformers believe in this order or similar variations of salvation:
1. Election--God's choice of people to save. This choice occurred before the foundation of the world.
2. Predestination--The work of God to ordain to salvation those who have been elected to it.
3. Calling--The preaching of the gospel message.
4. Regeneration--The change in the person produced by God.
5.Faith--The trust an individual has in the work of God on the cross.
6. Repentance--Turning from sin.
7.Justification--The imputation of righteousness to the individual thus making him righteous according to the law.
8.Sanctification--God's work in the individual to make him more like Christ.
9.Perseverance--God's work in the individual results in the person continually believing throughout his life.
10.Glorification--Resurrection to glory with God.


Initially; the Father does call us in the beginning (John 6:44).  Myself, I have a slight different take on predestination but suffice it to say there are those that would say God’s sovereignty would be affected if not precisely agreed upon fashion of predestination (not getting into that here). Hearing the message one is apt to understand God and what is required of us, despite the law being written upon our hearts (Jerimiah 31:33, Romans 2:15-16, Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). Regeneration of course takes place which we can see by the fruits (Titus 3:5, 1 John 3:4-11, Colossians 3:5) and they will no longer remain in sin purposely and will notice their faults when they do and repent and not continue in sin.

Of course the believer will trust and rest in the work of Christ on the cross (1 Cor 15:3-4, Romans 5:11, Hebrews 9:22, Leviticus 17:11). Repentance and Justification; once one is cognizant of what is sin according to the Bible, then they must repent of their sin and recognize that they need salvation (Romans 3:23). We become sanctified by Christ through his work on Calvary (1 Cor 1:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Galatians 2:20, John 17:17, 2 Cor 5:17, Romans 6:6; 6:1-23, Hebrews 13:12, 1 John 1:9, John 15:1-4). Perserverence (Luke 8:11-15, Matt 24:13, 1 John 2:19, Matt 7:21, Philippians 2:12)

Finally, in heaven we reach glorification after resurrection. So it isn’t just repent, believe and be saved necessarily as Jesus did command certain things of us.

Some things Christ commanded of us (some have broken this down to 49 things:

Repent
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

Follow Me
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

Rejoice
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).

Let Your Light Shine
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Honor God’s Law
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).

Be Reconciled
“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23–25).

Do Not Lust
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:28–30).

Keep Your Word
“Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37).

Go the Second Mile
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 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. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:38–42).

Love Your Enemies
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:44–46).

Be Perfect
“If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:46–48).

Practice Secret Disciplines
“. . . When thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. . . . When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. . . . When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:1–18).

Lay Up Treasures
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).

Seek God’s Kingdom
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

Judge Not
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:1–3).

Do Not Cast Pearls
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6).

Ask, Seek, Knock
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8).

Do Unto Others
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

Choose the Narrow Way
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).

Beware of False Prophets
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:15–16).

Pray for Laborers
“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38).

Be Wise as Serpents
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

Fear Not
“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Hear God’s Voice
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

Take My Yoke
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

Honor Your Parents
“For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death” (Matthew 15:4).

Beware of Leaven
“Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6).

Deny Yourself
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” (Luke 9:23–25).

Despise Not Little Ones
“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10).

Go to Offenders
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican” (Matthew 18:15–17).

Beware of Covetousness
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

Forgive Offenders
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21–22).

Honor Marriage
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4–6).

Be a Servant
“. . . Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26–28).

Be a House of Prayer
“It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer . . . ” (Matthew 21:13).

Ask in Faith
“Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea: it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:21–22).

Bring In the Poor
“Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:12–14).

Render to Caesar
“Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:19–21).

Love the Lord
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).

Love Your Neighbor
“And the second [commandment] is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:39–40).

Await My Return
“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:42–44).

Take, Eat, and Drink
“As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28).

Be Born Again
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:5–7).

Keep My Commandments
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Watch and Pray
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Feed My Sheep
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–16).

Baptize My Disciples
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

Receive God’s Power
“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).


Make Disciples
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19–20).


List of 49 commands taken from:
http://iblp.org/questions/what-are-commands-christ