10 Commandements of Authentic Community

Text: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you may also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) [NASB] & (Romans 12:9-21)

Background Comments:
How many commandments would you think that there are in the Bible? Would you believe that scholars say that there are between 252 to 613 of them? The 613 are found alone in the Old Testament.
One thing I know, there are too many to keep track of.
Jesus was confronted with a trick question by a religious leaders, ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 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 foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” (Matthew 22:26-39) [NASB]
Jesus condensed all 252 - 613 commandments into two! “Love God and love your neighbor.” Easier said than done, right!
As we continue our r12 series we will be taking a closer look this Sunday at (Romans 12:9-12) and (John 13:34-35) Take a moment and read both passages.
I came across this letter from an 8 year old, “Dear GOD, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.”
 Sound familiar? So much for the perfect family, so much for the perfect church!
Last week, we were reminded that we are a family, a community of believers. There’s more to this family, to community than weekly reunions. God has given us 5 purposes to fulfill in this family. Every commandment given to the NT church can fall into 5 basic purposes: community, discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and worship. If we’re to be a healthy church, we need to be a balanced church. We need to be purposeful about fulfilling these 5 purposes.
Let me ask you a question, how can we grow warmer through fellowship, that is Authentic Biblical Community? To answer that question, We find the answer in (Romans 12:9-21).
 Here we have a great passage on authentic Biblical Community. There are actually 24 commands given here in this passage, but we can group them into 10 Commandments. I call these the 10 Commandments Of Authentic Biblical Community.

Here they are:

Love one another. (v. 9)
Honor one another. (v. 10)
Worship with one another. (vv. 11-12)
Be gracious to one another. (v. 13)
Be benevolent to one another. (vv. 14-17)
Be understanding with one another. (v. 15)
Be at peace with one another. (vv. 16 & 18)
Be humble toward one another. (v. 16b)
Be honest with one another. (v. 17b)
Be good to one another. (v. 21)

By chance did you notice what two words keep showing up? They are “one another”! It’s about community!

Which one(s) of the Ten Commandments Of Authentic Community listed do you need to work on?

Now, find a quiet spot, take your Bible and pencil and answer the following questions.

Open:
As a child, who was the troublemaker in your family? Who was the peacemaker?

Explore:
Q-Which command in (Romans 12:9-21) do you find particularly helpful to you right now?
Q-In the first part of the passage (vv. 9-13) how does love operate within the family of faith?
Q-In the second part of the passage (vv. 14-21), how does love respond to those outside - maybe even hostile - to the family of faith?

Get It:
Q-Of the commands listed in these verses, which two are easiest for you to keep? Which two are the most difficult?
Q-Is loving your enemies (a) nice, but unrealistic; (b) for Jesus and apostle types only; or (c) a result of following Christ? How is Christ helping you to love?
Q-What relationship in your life most needs this lesson?

Apply:
Take a moment in silence to ask for God’s forgiveness, understanding, patience and power for this relationship?
Quoted from Illumina and Serendipity Bible