The way I view commands of Christ is that since He is God, anything he says to us by way of instruction, recommendation or of course, command, we should view as a command. For instance, in John 8:12, Jesus teaches that whoever follows Him will "never walk in darkness." I view this as a command to follow Him since darkness is evil and not of God.
Additionally, if Jesus restates Old Testament commands, then we should view that as a command for us to follow.
| If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved... | Romans 10:9 |
| Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? | Luke 6:46 |
| Teaching them to keep all that I commanded you... | Matthew 28:20 |
| If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. | John 14:15 |
| And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him... | 1 John 2:3-4 |