Must Christians Follow the Teachings of Jesus?

Ronin Truth · Jul 20, 2016

Must Christians Follow the Teachings of Jesus?

Many of the writings from Harmless As Doves Ministries focus on the teachings of Jesus, but must Christians follow these teachings? To answer this question, the larger issue of salvation must be examined. Over the centuries, the church has been greatly divided over the issue of salvation, with the two predominant, opposing theories being “salvation through faith” and “salvation through works.” “Salvation through faith” advocates argue that to obtain salvation, one must simply believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. According to such arguments, actually following Jesus’ teachings is not necessary for salvation. On the other hand, the “salvation through works” theology holds that one earns their way into heaven through good works.

Sadly, this debate tears apart the holy scriptures. Each side of the debate refers to Biblical passages which support their position, and ignore the rest of the Bible. With their divine inspiration in mind, we condemn such narrow-minded division of the scriptures. This study intends to view the Bible as a whole, illustrating two equally valid points: 1) man cannot save himself through his own deeds, but must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness; and 2) true faith manifests itself through obedient actions.

Salvation through Faith

The first point mentioned above (that salvation is gained through faith in God’s grace) is easily demonstrated with the mention of just a couple of verses:

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The above verses obviously declare that once someone “believes” in Jesus, that person has obtained salvation. We do not wish to challenge this notion. As mentioned above, we believe that man cannot save himself through his own deeds, but must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness. On the other hand, while we do not wish to dispute this issue, we must acknowledge that the scriptural description of salvation does not end here.

Salvation through Faith and Works?

While we agree that faith is required for salvation, is there no more to the issue than simple belief? If so, how are we to understand the following:

Hebrews 5:8-9: Though he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and, once made perfect, he became the source of external salvation for all who obey him.

Salvation for all who obey him? Interesting…

As stated above, we believe that true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. Throughout the course of this article we will examine the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels as well as the writings of John and Paul.

To begin with, however, we must take a quick look at the book of James. Found within this book is one of the finest, most straight-forward pieces of advice that can be found within the scriptures:

James 1:22: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James further elaborated on the interconnectedness between faith and works in the following chapter, passionately condemning the notion that faith is the only requirement for salvation. Faith without works, according to James, is “dead.”

James 2:14-24: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no good works? Can such faith save him? …faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by works, is dead… I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without works is dead? …You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

As James points out, simple faith alone cannot be the only requirement for salvation, because even the demons believe! As we have said before in this article, true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. To repeat what James wrote, “I will show you my faith by what I do.”

Jesus on Faith, Works, and Obedience to His Teachings

When one reads Jesus’ teachings on salvation, this link between faith and obedient actions becomes clear:

Matthew 7:21: Not everyone who calls me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Luke 6:46: Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?

Matthew 19:17: …If you want to enter life, obey my teachings.

John 8:51: I tell you the truth, if anyone follows my teachings, he will never see death.

Just because we believe in Jesus, just because we call him “Lord,” our salvation is not guaranteed. We see from the above passages that we can only enter the kingdom of heaven if we call him “Lord” and do what he says. In fact, obedience to his teachings is the very heart of Jesus’ message. At the end of the book of Matthew, after his resurrection, Jesus gave his followers instructions – what is known as the “Great Commission.”

Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Contrary to what modern Christianity teaches, Jesus did not instruct his followers to go out and make believers, but to make “disciples” who “obey everything I have commanded you.”

John on Faith, Works, and Obedience to Jesus’ Teachings

The books of first and second John equate the belief in Jesus, even the love of Jesus, with obedience to his teachings:

1 John 2:3-5: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.

1 John 3:24: Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them…

1 John 5:3: This is love for God: to obey his commands...

2 John 1:9: Anyone who transgresses and does not continue in the teachings of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teachings has both the Father and the Son.

We have stated throughout this article that true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. The above verses confirm this notion. 1 John 2:3-5 shows us that we only truly “know” Jesus “if we obey his commands.” Only “liars” claim to know Jesus while ignoring his teachings. Furthermore, 1 John 5:3 defines “love for God” in general as obedience to his commands. What about the Christian who doesn’t follow Jesus’ teachings? 2 John 1:9 answers this question frankly: that individual “does not have God.”

Paul on Faith, Works, and Obedience to Jesus’ Teachings

Those who argue that simple belief is all one needs for salvation often rely on the writings of the Apostle Paul, and for good reason. Paul wrote a lot about the importance of faith.

Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

As a former Pharisee and persecutor of the Christian church, Paul was well schooled in the culture of his day – a culture which strongly believed that one could earn salvation through good works. Paul strongly opposed this notion, and instead wrote about the grace of God and belief in Jesus.

The culture of Paul’s day held that works alone could bring salvation – and Paul believed they were wrong. To the opposite extreme, the current Christian culture holds that salvation is obtained through belief alone. Paul’s writings also condemn this notion. As written in the introduction of this article, it doesn’t matter whether you hold that salvation is obtained through works alone or faith alone – both options ignore the other half of the Bible. A further look at Paul’s writings confirms our conclusion: that true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. Actually, Paul’s words are similar to our own:

Galatians 5:6: …The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

1 Corinthians 13:2: …if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Simple faith, according to Paul, is not what counts, but “faith expressing itself through love.” Faith alone, Paul declared, does not matter – even enough faith to move mountains! Paul is “nothing” unless he has faith and love. Above we saw from the book of James that “faith without works is dead.” Here, Paul seems to have been saying that faith without love is dead. Paul continued this theme in his other writings:

Titus 1:16: They profess to know God, but in works they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

As demonstrated above in 1 John 2:4, those who claim to believe in Jesus while ignoring his teachings are called “liars.” In the above verse, Paul refers to them as “detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.” In fact, Paul wrote much more about the interconnectedness of faith and works:

Titus 3:8: …those who believe in God should be careful to devote themselves to good works… 1

Colossians 1:11: And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work…

Titus 2:13-14: Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

1 Timothy 4:16: Take heed to your life and to the teachings. Follow them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

According to Paul, those who say they believe in Jesus should “devote themselves to good works,” bear “fruit in every good work,” and be “eager to do what is good.” Paul takes this thought to the furthest conclusion in the verse directly above, stating that if you follow the teachings of Jesus “you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Faith, Works, Salvation, and Judgment

Lastly, we turn our attention to the depictions of the day of judgment found in the scriptures. Over and over again we learn that the judgment is not concerning belief or disbelief, but a judgment of our actions. The book of Revelation is clear on this subject:

Revelation 20:12: And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Revelation 22:14: Blessed are those who follow his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

The Apostle Paul also characterizes the day of judgment in such a manner:

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9: He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the teachings of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord…

Romans 2:5-6: But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done."

2 Corinthians 5:10: We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The book of Revelation informs us that the dead will be “judged according to what they had done,” and “blessed are those who follow his commandments.” The issue of belief is not even mentioned! Likewise, Paul wrote that it is not simply the unbelievers who will receive punishment, but “those who do not know God and do not obey the teachings of our Lord Jesus.”

In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus gave a very detailed description of the day of judgment. With the righteous to his right, and the unrighteous to his left, he will address both groups. To the righteous he will say:

Matthew 25:34-40: Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

According to the text itself, those on Jesus’ right are righteous not because they simply believe, but because they fed the hungry, clothed those in need, looked after the sick, showed kindness to strangers, and visited prisoners. Jesus will then turn to his left and address this group:

Matthew 25:41-45: Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Similar to the group on Jesus’ right, those on his left are unrighteous not because they do not believe, but because they did not feed the hungry, cloth those in need, look after the sick, show kindness to strangers, or visit prisoners. For both groups, judgment will not concern a simple examination of faith versus lack of faith. Jesus’ judgment will examine what Paul called “faith expressing itself through love.”

Conclusion

In the introduction to this article we stated that it was our desire to view the scriptures as a whole, illustrating two equally valid points: 1) man cannot save himself through his own deeds, but must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness; and 2) true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. We truly believe the scriptures support both propositions.

The original question this article intended to address was, “Must Christians follow the teachings of Jesus?” Consequently, we thought it would be fitting to conclude with a reiteration of Jesus’ comments on the issue.

Matthew 7:21: Not everyone who calls me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Luke 6:46: Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?

Matthew 19:17: …If you want to enter life, obey my teachings.

John 8:51: I tell you the truth, if anyone follows my teachings, he will never see death.

Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

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