What comes to mind when you think of a Christian? For some people, the picture isn’t a good one, because the sad reality is that many people who live under the label of “Christian” don’t act very much like Jesus at all.
Lately I’ve been prompted to pause and consider what true obedience to Jesus really means and whether or not I am doing the things he said he cares about. In order to answer that question and engage in that obedience, I needed to know, of course, what it is that Jesus actually said to do. What did he emphasize? I knew I needed to go straight to the source, despite having been raised in the church and having heard the stories of Jesus many times. Familiarity doesn’t equal understanding, and there’s no room for guessing here. We don’t want to base our lives on mere assumptions and platitudes that aren’t truly biblical at all and can send us off in the wrong direction, making us like those who call themselves Christians but actually sully His good name.
So I’ve started reading through the gospels again, with a focus on the specific instructions of Jesus. I decided to list them here, bullet-point style, in case you need a refresher like I did. Some of these commands I have summarized in my own words or extracted from a parable. Some have been omitted either because the complexity of the passage didn’t allow for a bullet-point-sized reduction or because Jesus’ words were directed to a specific person in a manner that seemed unique to the individual’s situation. But you can head to the book of Matthew yourself for further clarity and study, so with the caveat that this is not a complete summary of the gospels and that I’ve taken a little bit of liberty, here are some of the things Jesus instructs us to do:
- Go to the Word of God for sustenance.
- Worship God and serve him only.
- Repent.
- Come, follow Me.
- Let your light shine by doing good deeds in the Father’s name.
- Practice and teach obedience to God’s commands.
- Be reconciled to another as soon as possible, before going to worship God.
- Flee from sin, even if you have to cut things off.
- Be faithful to your spouse and marriage vows.
- Don’t swear or make promises, just say yes or no.
- Don’t resist an evil person, but go the extra mile/turn the other cheek/give them more than they ask.
- Give/lend to anyone who asks.
- Love your enemies.
- Give in secret.
- Pray in secret and without superfluous words.
- Forgive when someone sins against you.
- Fast privately.
- Store up treasure in heaven, not on earth. Have eternal priorities.
- Don’t worry about your life or your needs.
- Don’t worry about tomorrow.
- Seek righteousness and the Kingdom of God first.
- Do not judge others.
- Deal with your own sin before pointing out others’.
- Do not give what is sacred to those who will trample on it.
- Ask God for what you want.
- Do to others what you would have them do to you. (This one IS actually in the Bible!)
- Watch out for false prophets. Recognize them by their fruit.
- Don’t just talk about God’s will. Actually do it.
- Build your life on a solid foundation (Jesus) by hearing his words and putting them into practice.
- Testify about what Jesus has done for you (but do it according to his leading).
- Take heart that your sins are forgiven.
- Ask the Lord to send out workers into the harvest field.
- Don’t be afraid, you are worth much to God.
- Be willing to acknowledge Jesus in front of people.
- Love Jesus more than anyone else.
- Pick up your cross and follow him. Be willing to give up your life and your ideas of how it should go.
- Receive Jesus and those he sends.
- Welcome and take care of little children. Do not look down on them, hinder them from coming to Jesus, or cause them to sin.
- Come to him with your burdens.
- Really see and hear (understand and heed) what he says
- Be willing to give all you have to gain the Kingdom.
- Be more concerned with having a clean heart than with outward signs of piety.
- Have faith in God’s power.
- Humble yourself and become like little children.
- Come together and pray in agreement with others.
- Continue to forgive others as many times as God has forgiven you.
- If you are able to accept singleness, do.
- Do not be jealous when God is generous with others.
- Lead by serving, not by lording your authority over people.
- Believe that you will receive what you ask for in prayer.
- Give to the government what belongs to the government (taxes). Give to God what belongs to God (yourself).
- Above all, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
- Secondly, love your neighbor as yourself.
- Humble yourself. Don’t seek prominence.
- Don’t do things for show.
- Don’t turn God’s house into a marketplace.
- Don’t neglect the spirit behind God’s laws (justice, mercy, faithfulness) for the sake of legalistic adherence to them.
- Don’t believe it if someone tells you they are Jesus or that someone else is, even if they display miraculous signs. You will know it without a doubt when he comes.
- Be ready for His return at any moment.
- Be engaged in faithful service and care for the people and things you have been put in charge of.
- Faithfully invest the resources and abilities God has entrusted you with to grow his kingdom.
- Care for people’s practical needs.
- Go everywhere and show people how to become disciples. Baptize them and teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded.
Do any of these instructions surprise you? Are any of them hard for you to accept? Which might you already be doing well, and where is the Holy Spirit prompting you to make a change?
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22
I hope each of us will take Jesus’ words to heart and put them into action in new ways in our lives, because if we want to be his followers, we need to actually do what he says. But a few reminders as we consider the commands of Jesus. First, we do not earn his love or our salvation by keeping them. The whole point of all the Old Testament commandments was not to succeed in making people holy through their own efforts but to help them understand their need for a Savior. Jesus lived a perfect life and died in our place so that we wouldn’t have to live up to anything, because we couldn’t do it on our own.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
The second thing we need to remember is that in all of Jesus’ interactions during his earthly ministry, he was most pleased not with those who were most meticulous about keeping the law but with those who came to him and humbly confessed their failings. It’s not the “healthy” who need the Great Physician, but the sick, and truth be told, we are all sin-sick and world-weary, and there is no point in pretending we are not. If we tell ourselves we can be good enough on our own, we will miss Him. But those who tear down their walls of pride and humbly come to Jesus are rewarded with lavish grace and sweet fellowship with the Savior. There is nothing better than being counted as his friend.
“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:32
Still, our Lord urges those who would follow him to abandon sin and live according to his ways, and those ways don’t always match up with human instinct or earthly logic, so we have to stop and really listen and take to heart what he said to do. I challenge you, and myself, to look again at what Jesus said and start putting it into practice. When we trust him enough to really hear and heed his words, we will shine a brighter light for those around us, we will store up treasure in heaven, and above all, we will bring joy to our Savior’s heart.
“Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 11:15
Jody Evans says
Wow! This is so rich! I’m not sure if I counted all the bullet points correctly, but I think there are enough there to focus on one a day for two months. Thank you for this work, my fellow hope*writer.