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H8
Dying to Self

H8

We are to forgo self interest when appropriate.

Category: Godliness, Holiness & Righteousness

Type: Positive

Form: Explicit

Source dataset: Old Testament

Uniqueness: Not unique

Classical commandment: No

New Covenant Literal Application

Applies to Person Categories: Everyone

Literal Application: mandated

More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application

The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.

It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.

This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.

Detailed codes: GFm - Gentile female, mandated | GMm - Gentile male, mandated | JFm - Jewish female, mandated | JMm - Jewish male, mandated | KFm - K'rovat Yisrael female, mandated | KMm - K'rov Yisrael male, mandated

Read the full explanation from the source

Bible references

Key NT Scriptures
  • Colossians 3:5
  • Galatians 2:20
  • Galatians 5:24
  • Luke 14:27
  • Matthew 16:24-25
  • 1 Peter 2:24
  • Philippians 2:3
  • Romans 6:8
  • Romans 8:13
  • Romans 12:1
  • Romans 12:10
Supportive NT Scriptures
  • Colossians 3:3
  • 1 Corinthians 11:33
  • 1 Corinthians 15:31
  • 2 Corinthians 2:20
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17
  • 2 Corinthians 14:10-11
  • Ephesians 4:22
  • Ephesians 5:25
  • Ephesians 5:29-30
  • Galatians 5:14
  • Galatians 6:14
  • James 2:8
  • John 12:25
  • John 15:13
  • 1 John 3:16
  • Luke 9:23-24
  • Luke 17:33
  • Mark 10:24-30
  • Matthew 10:38-39
  • Matthew 11:28-29
  • Matthew 19:19
  • Matthew 22:37-39
  • Philippians 2:4
  • Romans 6:3-13
  • 2 Timothy 2:11
Supportive OT Scriptures
  • Leviticus 19:18
  • Leviticus 19:34
  • Proverbs 19:8
  • Proverbs 26:15
  • Psalms 44:23

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

The plethora of Scriptures that exhort us to die to our self-interests are due to the inclination of fallen man to dwell on himself and to put his interests above those of others. Still, we cannot completely ignore aspects of our welfare or we cannot live. We have to eat, clothe and shelter ourselves, keep from things unhealthy, and petition God to meet our needs (yes, petitioning God is most certainly a choice that is in our self-interest). Several of the Scriptures cited above speak of "loving ourselves", so "dying to self-interest" cannot be an absolute, and we therefore need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to determine when and how much each is needed. We encounter problems when we step out of God's will by being legalistic in either extreme - (1) putting others before ourselves in inappropriate circumstances, or (2) putting ourselves before others in equally inappropriate circumstances. A ludicrous example of the first extreme (putting another's need before our own) would be our stopping to feed a homeless man in the midst of our being severely injured and in need of emergency treatment. An equally ludicrous example of the second extreme (putting our self before another), would be our passing by an injured person lying in the street because we are hungry and late for dinner. Although neither of these examples are realistic, they do point to our need for God to cleanse us of unholy self-interest that is common to fallen man, and also to our need for Holy Spirit imparted wisdom in balancing our personal needs against those of others in the various situations that we encounter.

Classical commentators

This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the Jewish classical commentators.


Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

Related Law of Messiah commandments

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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