A Life Of Purpose: How To Live Out The Commands Of Jesus

How different would our world be if everybody followed the commands of Jesus Christ? Nobody would commit robbery or adultery. Nobody would purposefully kill or hurt another person. Parents would be respected and honored by everyone. There would be peace and serenity in the world, and nobody would be scared about being harmed by others. Everyone would give God devotion that truly delights Him.

However, the reality is far from this. The world is not perfect. Fortunately for us, we are given chances every day to make amends for our sins and live righteously. But only when we ask God’s assistance can we uphold all the commands of Christ.

The Commands Of Jesus

Remember And Repent

As Revelation 2:5 reads, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Repentance[1] isn’t merely a one-time act that takes place once we’ve been forgiven. The answer to fulfilling God’s word as well as depicting God’s nature is maintaining a habit of repentance in our lives. Making a decision to follow these words entails a willingness to change how we think on a daily basis.

Follow The Son Of God

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor,” declares John 12:26. One of Jesus’ commandments, to follow Him, is not a suggestion. It is a directive that requires a decision. Each individual must make this decision, which will influence every aspect of their life.

While Christ’s statement in John 12:26 serves as a command, they additionally offer us an invitation to enjoy our life in abundance with Him. As we truly submit to His power and follow Him unconditionally, His presence enters every part of our lives.

Uphold The Commands Of God In Spirit And Truth

John 4:23–24 proclaimed to us, “But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The demand to respect and uphold God’s Law is taken from Jesus’ teaching not to believe that He showed up to abolish the commandments or the Messengers of God. As Psalm 19:7 informs us, the Law is flawless. The written word of God is perfect and without error.

Therefore, we have to cherish the law of God in the depths of our souls because when we reflect on it, it acts like a constant reminder of our incompetence and the total fragility of our flesh. In light of this reminder, we are compelled to entirely depend on Christ and His power to keep the Law through our deeds.

Pray

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,'” Jesus instructed his followers in Matthew 6:9–13.

The Lord’s Prayer is an example of the prayer that Christ taught his disciples. The prayer refers to God as the Heavenly Father, glorifies his name, beseeches him to establish his kingdom and carry out His will on earth, asks him for daily sustenance and the absolution of sins, and requests assistance against evil and wickedness.

Be Engaged In Discipleship

In John 15:16, Jesus enlightened us by saying, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Also, this teaching is parallel with several verses, where Jesus encourages His followers to “let your light shine” (Matthew 5:12), “strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32), and “go into all the world” (Mark 16:15).

Although Jesus claims that His followers are the “light of the world,” we are incapable of carrying out His purpose unless He is at the center of our existence. Because of this, it’s crucial to be disciplined and take our time growing our connection with the Lord.

God not only serves as the foundational source of our existence, but He also makes an effort of expressing Himself through us. Through our actions, He makes Himself present to others and brings them to Himself.

Love God

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment,” says Mark 12:30. The most important lesson we can learn from the most significant commandment of all is that in order to lead a life of faith, we must first learn to love God with every aspect of our being.

This command calls for complete obedience to God and the determination of the hearts of God’s children to carry it through. This will help them develop an even greater affection for God and a closer connection with Him.

Love Your Enemies

But to you who are listening, I say: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; and pray for those who mistreat you,” Jesus expounded in Luke 6:27–28. Not only we must love others but also we must love our enemies. And we won’t be able to soften ourselves and love our enemies wholeheartedly with the same unconditional love that Jesus has for us unless we realize that they need Him just as much as we do.

Jesus’ love is precisely what our own enemies need, as evidenced by people who actually experienced it. The privilege of sharing the same love that has rescued and transformed them with others belongs to all who have faith. This love has the capacity to draw our enemies to Christ and grant them a fresh start with Him.

Be Reconciled

“Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift,” reads Mark 9:50. Jesus taught us to be in harmony with others and ask for reconciliation. Furthermore, according to the Word of God, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are “one body” and “members of one another” (Romans 12:5).

Everything we do has consequences on others around us, particularly the people closest to us. We can only continue to have an intimate connection with God and accomplish His plans if we are modest and make a commitment to make amends for any previous transgressions by cooperating as a team in the body of Jesus.

Seek The Kingdom Of God

Matthew 6:33 proclaims, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Have you ever thought about what the kingdom of God truly is and how it relates to you?

At its core, it is fairly straightforward: God’s kingdom is the place where He rules as King. This response could appear unimportant at first glance, but it provides an extremely valuable understanding of the commands given by Jesus (to seek God’s Kingdom) in Matthew 6:33. However we must be aware of false prophets. As Matthew 24:11 warns us, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”

When we embrace His words, He will provide us with a brand-new life, along with a set of ideals and beliefs. Seeking God as our supreme ruler in every facet of our lives is necessary if we want to embrace this new life. He has vowed to meet all of our needs as we do.

Do Not Judge

Jesus states in John 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge with right judgment.” Each individual has a spiritual desire for fair judgment that God has infused into them. However, we often act as the judge ourselves rather than presenting our case to the Supreme Judge of all of humanity.

We have a tendency to have very subjective senses of justice, which is one of the issues with this method. At times we desire to punish our offender severely, but when we make a mistake, we want to be treated with mercy.

After allowing God to work with humility and repentance in our own lives, we will then be equipped to compassionately tell these individuals the truth. If we don’t take these essential actions, we face the danger of not only hurting the person we are attempting to help but additionally of being judged by the exact standards that we used to evaluate them.

Take The Narrow Path

Luke 13:24 declares, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” Only through the life and strength of God can we be able to comply with the instruction to walk in a narrow path with Him.

We become vessels of God’s perfect love, which is revealed to us as we live in His Word, and that love radiates to all those around us, even to our enemies. Our adversaries can experience God’s tenderness and affection through this pure love, making them aware of their need for an intimate connection with Him.

Focus On Heavenly Rewards

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” reads Matthew 6:19–21.

The worth of currency or “treasure” in a worldly kingdom is heavily influenced by the kingdom’s economy. Similar to this, God alone judges what has eternal worth in His kingdom. Because of this, personal practices like donating, meditating, and praying are considered valuable by the Lord. Putting these practices into action is an effective way of gaining wealth or riches in heaven.

We tend to overlook the reality that, as Christians, our genuine wealth should be kept in heaven as we spend our lives here on earth. Our minds will start to treasure material things if we fail to control our focus. We will neglect God’s understanding of what is important and lose touch with eternity if we do this.

Rejoice And Leap For Joy In Christ

“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to do the same things to the prophets,” says Luke 6:23. Joy and gladness are normally the furthest things from our minds when we think of persecution and suffering.

Yet rejoicing is exactly what Jesus commands us to do. He’s not asking us to glorify suffering, hurt, or pain. But rather, we rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake and therefore share in eternal rewards!

It is difficult to suffer for Jesus because it expects us to embrace his unselfish qualities and let go of our own desires. But when we decide to rejoice, God leads us closer to Himself and into a deeper relationship. The kindness and grace of God are then manifested in us, and this works as a real example of God’s love for those who are mocking and persecuting us.

Do As God Says And Honor Your Word

In the chapter of Matthew, Jesus asserts, “But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne … All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:34, 37)

Through the example of Jesus, Christians have been granted the strength and capacity to uphold their word, just as God maintained His word through the arrival of His Son. As we progress in this truth, we will truly understand the significance of keeping our word as well as the realization that Jesus alone is the only one who can provide us the power to do so.

Ask, Seek, And Knock

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened,” Jesus said in Matthew 7:7–8.

When we faithfully pray in accordance with His commands, God yearns to show His might by answering our prayers. It is our right and duty to pray, regardless if it’s for our own needs or those of another person. And as we grow more reliant on Him in prayer, God, as our Father in heaven, will provide for our daily needs.

Go To Great Lengths In Proclaiming The Word Of God

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you,” says Matthew 5:38–42

Our opponents’ lives are driven by evil, which is why they are trying to harm us. The source of all goodness is God. The most important thing for our opponents to experience in order to know God is the goodness of Jesus (Romans 2:4). In going to “great lengths,” we received not only clear instructions on how to deal with our adversaries but also an avenue to introduce them to Jesus through our response.

How To Apply The Commands Of Jesus In Your Life?

As Christ demonstrated for us, we can continue to follow His commands today. Living a life of giving back and caring for others can help you uphold His commands not only in word but also in spirit. God vows to send us His Holy Spirit to lend a hand in wholeheartedly keeping them in our hearts. Acts 5:32 emphasizes that He supplies His Spirit “to those who obey Him,” referring to those who aspire to follow His teachings.

In the future, when His Kingdom arrives, God will make amends for the imperfections in human beings. Each one of us will learn how to cultivate a heart that cherishes God’s commands.

God promises, “I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10). If today we start to follow God’s laws and the commands of Jesus in their entirety, then we will play a significant role in His second coming.

Conclusion

The commands of Jesus are the foundation for the actions and behaviors He expects us to show toward Him and others. Each of these should resonate with us in a very personal way. According to Jesus, the full significance of the 10 commandments is love—love for both God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:36–40). And this kind of love is seen throughout the commands given to us by Him.

Jesus showed His love through His deeds, teachings, and commands. He wants us all to be safe, experience the kingdom of God, and have eternal life with the Heavenly Father by embracing the set of commands He proclaimed.