What Does Christ Expect?

What does Christ expect from us?  Whoa, what a question!  And there’s so many ways to answer it.  Maybe He expects me to love my spouse.  Perhaps love and discipline my child.  Be nice to others.  Stop eating a bowl of ice cream almost every single night (wait, that’s my wife talking, not God!).  The list could go on and on, and get really crazy. 

So, let’s try to keep this simple.  To begin with, we know that our salvation doesn’t depend on anything we actually do.  Salvation is a gift from God, which we accept in faith (see Ephesians 2:8).  But beyond that, we know Christ wants us to live godly lives.  In fact, He said that if we love Him, we will obey His commands (John 14:15).

The million dollar question is: what does Christ command? Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recorded Christ's teachings, including His commands.  Tom Blackaby collected and summarized all of those commands in a little book entitled--you guessed it--The Commands of Christ.  Below is a list of those commands, with a single biblical reference for each one.

Again, using Christ’s commands as some kind of checklist will not get us into heaven.  That is too much like religion, and religion never saved anyone.  But following these commands will improve our relationship with God and with those around us.  Check out the list, and take a moment to ponder where you could personally follow Christ a little better (and closer).

• Becoming a follower of Christ:
• Repent (Matt 4:17)
• Approach Christ as a child (Matt 18:3)
• Love God completely (Matt 22:37-40)
• Receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5)
• Choose the righteous path (Luke 13:24)
• Worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24)
• Remain in Christ (John 15:9)
• Remember and turn to God (Rev 2:5)
• Following Christ’s model
• Deny yourself (Matt 16:24)
• Take up your yoke (Matt 11:29)
• Follow me (Matt 4:19)
• Transformed way of thinking
• You have heard it said… but I say to you (Matt 5:38-39)
• Pray this way (Matt 6:9-10)
• Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19)
• Remember what I said (John 15:20)
• Not just “doing,” but “being”
• Humility (Mark 10:42-45)
• Mercy (Luke 6:36)
• Integrity (Matt 5:33-37)
• Walk in the light (John 12:35-36)
• Shine the light (Matt 5:16) of Jesus
• Avoid a judgmental attitude (Luke 6:37)
• Give freely to others (Matt 5:42)
• Strive for perfection (Matt 5:48)
• Avoid hypocrisy (Matt 6:5)
• Relationships
• Love one another (John 15:17)
• Love your enemies (Luke 6:27-28)
• Turn the other cheek (Luke 6:29-30)
• Forgive others (Luke 17:3-4)
• Be reconciled (Matt 5:23-24)
• Treat others as you wish to be treated (Luke 6:31)
• The Christian mission
• Seek first God’s kingdom (Matt 6:33)
• Go, baptize, and teach (Matt 28:28-20)
• Go into the world (Mark 16:15)
• Feed His lambs (John 21:15)
• Demonstrate God’s power (Matt 10:7-8)
• Pray for workers (Matt 9:37-38)
• Watch and pray (Mark 14:38)
• Be ready for His return (Matt 22:42-44)
• Don’t worry about how to witness (Matt 10:19-20)
• Warnings and encouragement
• Avoid fear in general (John 14:1)
• Avoid specific fears of persecution (Matt 10:38)
• Avoid suffering (Rev 2:10)
• Avoid being anxious (Matt 6:25)
• Handle holy things carefully (Matt 7:6)
• Beware false prophets (Matt 16:6)
• Do not worry about your lives (Matt 6:25)
• Give God what belongs to Him (Matt 22:21)
• Heed God’s righteousness privately (Matt 6:1)
• Hold onto and strengthen what God has given you (Rev 3:2-3, 11)