God's Commandments for
Everyday Living

By Laura Flores

 

Will I hear God's voice when he tells me what to do? I often wonder am I listening, am I following the will of God for my life? I was starting to do a study on obedience which turned into finding many actions laid out in the Bible that a true Christian should follow in his or her everyday walk. Maybe I need to focus on getting my life in order with the things his Word says should be part of my everyday walk before I want/expect a greater challenge. Through my reading I found many commandments but I will just go over a few.

In James 1:19-27, there is a section titled "The Conduct of True Religion."

James 1:19-27:
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Be swift to hear/slow to speak/slow to wrath. I know I have much to work on here. As Christians we need to be mindful if we are truly listening to one another. Are we waiting for God's wisdom in the words we speak or do we jump ahead of him and give our worldly advice?

21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Lay apart ALL filthiness, superfluity of naughtiness. We need to make sure we are not justifying certain things in our lives just because we don’t want to let go. I know that we as Christians keep ourselves just a little better than the world because that makes us feel holy, but God's Word has never changed. We need to live by his standards.

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls. Be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. The Bible says you will be blessed in your deed. It is so easy to throw money at a situation or to justify our business, but the Word says we need to be doers.

26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

1 Peter 3:10 says "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil (immoral or wicked), and his lips that they speak no guile (clever and dishonest methods of achieving something, slyness shown in a harming way)."

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

There are many other commandments listed in the Bible.

Mark 10:19:
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

There is no stipulation attached to honoring your parents like "only if you agree with them." You are to honor their position as your parent.

1 John 3:23:
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another.

In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about separating the sheep from the goats.

Matthew 25:31-40:
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The righteous will ask when did we do all of these things for you and the Lord answered “in as much as you have done it to the least of my brethren you have done it unto me”
These people were just spreading the love of Christ with those they encounter in their everyday life. Make sure we are not to busy to show love to all those that we encounter.

He tells the goats “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” because they have not done the above.

Matthew 25:41:
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

I think the main commandment in the Bible is BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON JESUS CHRIST AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. In doing this you will fulfill all the other commands. Below are just a few times in it is stated in the Bible.

1 John 3:18:
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Love is a verb.

1 John 3:23:
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and to love thy neighbor as thyself. The Bible says on these two commandments hang all the law.

Matthew 22:37-40:
37 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.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

By this love shall all men know that you are his disciples.

John 13:34-35:
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 15:12:
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

1 Timothy 1:5:
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

 

 

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Presented July 10, 2016