The will of the Father and the will of the Son. Keeping the commands of Jesus begins with recognizing what they are. The following outline is a collection of Jesus’ imperatives. As you read through them, ask God to help you observe these words, apply them, and faithfully follow them throughout your life.
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” – Romans 11:22
The Specific Imperatives
These imperatives are from the New Testament, and they are the specific instructions, commands, and imperatives that Jesus spoke to His followers.
| Number | Command of Christ | Verse (ESV) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repent | "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." | Matthew 4:17 |
| 2 | Let not your heart be troubled | “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" | John 14:27, John 16:33, Matthew 6:25-26, Philippians 4:6-7 |
| 3 | Follow Me | "And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” | Matthew 4:19 |
| 4 | Rejoice | “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. " | Matthew 5:11–12 |
| 5 | Let Your Light Shine | "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. " | Matthew 5:16 |
| 6 | Honor God’s Law | “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. " | Matthew 5:17 |
| 7 | Be Reconciled | "So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. " | Matthew 5:23–25 |
| 8 | Do Not Lust | "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. " | Matthew 5:28–30 |
| 9 | Keep Your Word | "Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil." | Matthew 5:37 |
| 10 | Go the Second Mile | "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. " | Matthew 5:38–42 |
| 11 | Love Your Enemies | "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? " | Matthew 5:44–46 |
| 12 | Be Perfect | "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." | Matthew 5:46–48 |
| 13 | Practice Secret Disciplines | “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." | Matthew 6:1 |
| 14 | Lay up treasures in heaven | “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. " | Matthew 6:19–20 |
| 15 | Seek first the kingdom of God | "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." | Matthew 6:33 |
| 16 | Judge not | “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. " | Matthew 7:1-2 |
| 17 | Do not throw your pearls to pigs | “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. " | Matthew 7:6 |
| 18 | Ask, seek, and knock | “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. " | Matthew 7:7-8 |
| 19 | Do unto others | “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." | Matthew 7:12 |
| 20 | Choose the narrow way | “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. " | Matthew 7:13-14 |
| 21 | Beware of false prophets | "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. " | Matthew 7:15 |
| 22 | Pray for those who spread the word | "Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” | Matthew 9:37-38 |
| 23 | Be as shrewd as serpents | “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. " | Matthew 10:16, Romans 16:19 |
| 24 | Fear God. Do not fear man | "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." | Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4-5 |
| 25 | Listen to God’s voice | "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." | Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:23, Luke 14:35, 1 Kings 19:11-13 |
| 26 | Take my yoke | "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” | Matthew 11:29-30 |
| 27 | Honor your parents | "For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ " | Matthew 15:4 |
| 28 | Beware of false teaching | "How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. " | Matthew 16:6, Matthew 16:11-12 |
| 29 | Deny yourself | "And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. " | Luke 9:23, Matthew 10:38, Mark 8:34 |
| 30 | Do not despise little ones | “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. " | Matthew 18:10 |
| 31 | Go to Christians who offend you | “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. " | Matthew 18:15, Galatians 6:1 |
| 32 | Forgive offenders | "Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." | Matthew 18:21-22, Proverbs 19:11 |
| 33 | Beware of covetousness | "And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” | Luke 12:15 |
| 34 | Honor marriage | "So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” | Matthew 19:6, Matthew 19:9 |
| 35 | Lead by being a servant | "It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” | Matthew 20:26-28 |
| 36 | Make the church a house of prayer for all nations | "And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” | Mark 11:17 |
| 37 | Pray in faith | "And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” | Matthew 21:21-22, John 15:7 |
| 38 | Bring in the poor | "He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” | Luke 14:12-14 |
| 39 | Render unto Caesar | "Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” | Matthew 22:19-21 |
| 40 | Love the Lord | "And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment" | Matthew 22:37-38 |
| 41 | Love your neighbor | "And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. " | Matthew 22:39 |
| 42 | Be born again | "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’" | John 3:7 |
| 43 | Await my return | "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. " | Matthew 24:42-44 |
| 44 | Celebrate the Lord’s supper | "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, " | Matthew 26:26-27 |
| 45 | Watch and pray | "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” | Matthew 26:41 |
| 46 | Keep my commandments | "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. " | John 14:15 |
| 47 | Feed my sheep | "When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” | John 21:15-16 |
| 48 | Make and baptize disciples | "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, " | Matthew 28:19 |
| 49 | Teach disciples to obey | "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” | Matthew 28:20 |
| 50 | Receive God’s power | "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” | Luke 24:49 |
Partial Obedience is Still Disobedience
To further stress the necessity of obedience, the account of God rejecting Saul for his disobedience is found primarily in 1 Samuel 15:1-35. This chapter narrates the specific event where King Saul disobeys God’s command, leading to his rejection.
Command to Saul:
- 1 Samuel 15:1-3: Samuel, the prophet, conveys God’s command to Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites, including their king, livestock, and all their possessions: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel, and donkey.’”
Saul’s Disobedience:
- 1 Samuel 15:9: Saul does not fully obey the command. Instead of destroying everything as God instructed, he spares Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and keeps the best of the livestock: “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”
God’s Regret and Rejection of Saul:
- 1 Samuel 15:10-11: God expresses His regret for making Saul king because of his disobedience: “Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, ‘I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.’ And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22-23: Samuel confronts Saul, emphasizing that obedience to God’s word is more important than sacrifice: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”
Final Pronouncement of Rejection:
- 1 Samuel 15:26-28: Despite Saul’s attempt to justify his actions and seek forgiveness, Samuel makes it clear that God has permanently rejected him as king: “But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.’ As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, ‘The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.’”
This passage encapsulates Saul’s failure to carry out God’s explicit command and marks a turning point in his kingship. It highlights the seriousness with which God regards obedience and ultimately leads to the rise of David, who is described as “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). Saul’s rejection emphasizes that partial obedience is still disobedience in God’s view.
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