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The question Was "love your enemies" ever included among the evangelical counsels? mentions evangelical counsels. In the question James T mentions that they are something to be kept by monastics but not Christians in general.

What is the basis for evangelical counsels and what are some examples?

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(Per Wikipedia), the evangelical counsels are three counsels (or pieces of wisdom that we should follow) in order to be "perfect".

Matthew 19:21 (NIV)

There are three counsels that are considered "evangelical counsels": chastity, poverty (or perfect charity), and obedience.


The evangelical counsels are not considered part of the requirement for salvation. As James T mentioned, these are often counsels kept by monks, but not by the general population. A great quote from the Catholic Encyclopedia sums this up well:

Catholic Encyclopedia

Biblical Basis

The biblical basis for these are:


1 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV)

Poverty/Perfect Charity

Matthew 19:21 (NIV)

The idea with this is that we should be obedient to the Catholic church and the people who God has put in authority over us. This is based somewhat on:

Luke 10:16 (NIV)

Therefore, the people who have been put in place to teach are teaching as if from Jesus himself. Therefore, we should be obedient to them and their spiritual authority.

Desires of this world -vs- Evangelical Counsels

Essentially, there are three "good things" of this world:

  • Riches

  • Pleasures of the flesh and of the appetites (sexual appetite, food appetite, etc.)

  • Honors and positions of authority, which increases self love

These three things are not, in themselves, bad. These three things will not deny you heaven. However, these three things are what the evangelical counsels are attempting to address.

source: Catholic Encyclopedia

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