Preaching the 800 commands of the New Testament

Preaching the 800 commands of the New Testament February 27, 2006

In case you thought the NT was easier to follow than the old, someone has helpfully catalogued the instructions of the New Testament. They are grouped and listed under various headings and worthy of more than the quick glance I gave them tonight (Thanks Paul Schafer for the tip!)

There are 1,050 commands in the New Testament for Christians to obey. Due to
repetitions we can classify them under about 800 headings. They cover every phase of
man’s life in his relationship to God and his fellowmen, now and hereafter. ……

Its funny that despite these hundreds and hundreds of instructions, so many modern preachers seem to think that there is something wrong with practical preaching that tells people how to live. There is no doubt in my mind that God has given us all these instructions for a reason. I believe that preaching that helps us understand exactly how we are to obey these instructions is the sort that will be of most help to us. Now of course any preaching that focusses only on the practical application is no use to us either, as we must understand the gospel that gives rise to these many commands. Too often Evangelical preaching is lopsided focussing either on how to live our lives OR on an a cut-down version of the gospel. Why cant we preach the WHOLE message of the New Testament?


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