THE COMMANDS

1. THE COMMANDS OF CHRIST

2. Today we are beginning a new class which will last for 20 weeks.

3. In that time we will look closely at 25 direct commands of Christ.

4. Before diving into our first command, I would like to set the stage briefly…

5. The commandsof Christ are at the coreof the great commission and discipleship.

6. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

7. The commandsof Christ are at the centerof a true display of love for and obedience to God.

8. If you love me, keep my commands. Those who accept my commandments and obey themare the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. John 14:15, 21

9. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey my commands. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.John 14:24

10. The commandsof Christ are a crucialpart of walking in the Spirit and experiencing the abundant life that God intended for us.

11. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.John 15:10-11

12. Hopefully it is clearthat the commands of Christ are central in the Christian life.

13. What do we mean when we say ‘the commands of Christ’?

14. Simply we mean, any directive, any imperative statementsmade by Christ which stillpertain to the believer today.

15. The commands of Christ are any directive, that is; any imperative statementsmade by Christ which stillpertain to the believer today.

16. Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”Matt 22:37

17. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their crossand follow me.”Matt 16:24

18. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”John 15:4

19. Our format…

20. What was said?

21. Was it repeated?

22. What does it mean?

23. What should I do ?

24. R E P E N T !

25. What was said?

26. From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matt 4:17

27. “And you too will perish, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.”Luke 13:3

28. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32

29. The first demand of Jesus’ public ministry was a command for an incredible internal changeof heart & mind towards God & man… through repentance.

30. Jesus gave this command impartially to any and all who would come to listen to him.

31. The call to repent was a centraltheme & commonstarting point in Jesus teachings

32. Was it repeated?

33. The call to repent is repeated all throughout the Bible…the need to repent is one of the most repeated truths in the whole Bible.

34. "Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. "Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! …Therefore, repent and live." Ezekiel 18:30-32

35. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Jonah 3:6-8

36. Let everyone turn from his evil wayand from the violence that is in his hands.Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them… Jonah 3:8-10

37. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

38. “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” Romans 2:5

39. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out… Acts 3:19

40. To the angelof the church in Ephesus write…I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance...Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repentand do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Rev 2:1-2, 4-5

41. What does it mean?

42. If we are to repent, we must understand what it means, biblically, to repent.

43. We can get a good idea of what it means to repent from the word itself.

44. However, the best way to define what it means ‘to repent’ is by looking at the many occasions in the Bible when people repented and to see what they did/were asked to do.

45. The meaning of the Greek word for our word ‘Repent’ can be broken into two parts…

46. μετανοέω metanoeó meta - noeó

47. meta Is a prefix which means movement, an after-effect or change.

48. noeó Refers directly to the mind, its thoughts, perceptions, dispositions and purposes.

49. meta - noeó To experience a great change in the mind’s perceptions, dispositions and purposes.

50. It is important to remember the meaning of the prefix ‘meta’… meaning movement and after-effect.