Is there any validity to the idea that certain commands are more important than others, based on the number of times they're mentioned in the Bible? For example, some people think that God considers evangelism more important than serving the poor, since it's mentioned more times in the Bible. -- K.A.
In one sense, no, not really. In fact evangelism is mentioned only a handful of times in the Bible, whereas helping the poor is mentioned frequently! Yet both are part of our Christian mission, and it would be tragic to choose one over the other. Some things are more explicit than others, so careful interpretation is essential.
When something is mentioned only one time, we had better understand the context, or we easily misunderstand. The "Golden Rule," for example, is found only in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31, while perseverance is mentioned dozens of times. Yet who would conclude that the Golden Rule is in any sense less important?
Of course when something is repeatedly mentioned, then we can see a pattern, a theme... And thus it seems reasonable to conclude that God is drawing our attention to it. So repetition does mean something!
For more on biblical interpretation, please refer to my audio series Anchored.
