It is nice to say that you follow the Bible, but what does that mean? Think about all the different commands. There are many categories of them:

1. Commands to Israel in the Old Testament. These are found primarily in the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), otherwise known as the Torah or the Pentateuch, and are given by YHVH through Moses.
2. Commands to the disciples and multitudes following the Christ. These are found in the four New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and are given by Y’shua (Jesus) the Christ.
3. Commands to various regional churches. These are found mainly in Paul’s letters (Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and I & II Thessalonians)  but are also seen in the second and third chapters of Revelation, and are given by Paul and the Christ respectively.
4. Commands to specific individuals. I & II Timothy, Titus, and Philemon contain instructions specifically for them and are given by Paul. III John was written to Gaius.
5. Commands to Israel in the New Testament. Hebrews, James, and I Peter contain commands either to Hebrews, the twelve tribes, or those living in the diaspora, all of which are probably Israelites. These are written by various human authors.
6. Commands to “Christians” in general. II Peter, II John, and Jude are written to them that have obtained like precious faith, the elect lady and her children, and them that are sanctified, preserved, and called, respectively. These are probably all designations for “Christians” in general and are written by the respective authors of the books.
7. General Principles found in Proverbs and other places. The rest of the Bible can be mined for general principles of living on various subjects. These are especially prevalent in Proverbs, which is primarily the writing of Solomon.

What categories of commands should Christians follow and how thoroughly or academically should this be done? My proposal is to start with the commands of the Christ to His disciples and the multitudes interpreted in harmony with the Torah. Why? Well, the Christ told His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 to teach the people they converted all the things that He had commanded them. Christians today are a product of their evangelistic efforts.

Also, the words of the Messiah must be interpreted in light of the Torah. Why is this? Well, one of the reasons Y’shua (Jesus) came was to fulfill the law (see Matthew 5:17). While there is disagreement on exactly what this means, I believe it certainly means He did not disobey any aspect of the law or teach contrary to it during His ministry (Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 12:32; 13:1-5).

After studying the commands of the Christ found in the four gospels in harmony with the Torah, we can then cautiously start approaching the rest of the Torah using the Christ’s implicit instructions through His actions as a guide to try and correctly understand it. Other sections of Scripture may be approached and integrated after this, such as the letters of Paul and the Proverbs of Solomon. Realization must be made that these passages were not commands written for individual Christians. The Torah was a legal code for the nation of Israel. The Book of Proverbs are not absolute commands or truisms, but rather general principles. Paul’s letters are written to specific churches that may or may not apply to Christians in general today. Also, in his second Epistle, Peter warns us that Paul is hard to understand.

II Peter, II John, and Jude (I John could probably be included as well) may be good books to study in conjunction with the gospels, since they almost certainly were written to Christians in general. However, to do this, you must believe that the words these men wrote are exactly what the Christ intended to be communicated.