Do everything Jesus said?
“We should do everything Jesus said,” is one of the most dangerous lines you’ll ever hear. And you’ll only hear it from hypocrites.
I guarantee you that those who say we must do everything Jesus said aren’t doing everything he said. Jesus said, “Be perfect” (Matt 5:48). If you are not perfect, then you have no business demanding perfection from others.
Jesus preached words that the whole world needs to hear but you are not the whole world. Some of what he said was meant for other people:
- Jesus called the Pharisees sons of hell (Matt 23:15). You are not a son of hell, so why would you heed words meant for the sons of hell?
- Jesus also told the Pharisees they belonged to their father the devil (Joh 8:44). You belong to your Father in heaven (1 Jn 3:1). So why would you heed words intended for the devil’s children?
- Jesus even preached to the devil (Luke 4). Are you the devil? Then you should not assume that words directed to the devil were meant for you.
Some of Jesus’ words were meant for other people, and some of his words were meant for another time. For instance, Jesus preached the law to those born under the law. Since you are not under law, the law that Jesus preached then is not for you now.
Jesus was the greatest law preacher who ever lived. Yet he never preached the law to non-Jews and he didn’t preach it after the cross. The law-keeping covenant has come and gone. The new covenant of grace, in contrast, is eternal. As we will see, Jesus’ revelation of grace is as important today as it ever was.
There is a right way and a wrong way to read the words of Jesus.
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Good post-BTW thanks for the GraceQuotes site as well-I found a translation/paraphrase of the Bible on it- The Mirror Translation-that is really good.
I thought that I was the only one that had that revelation! I was just like your typical Christian back in the 90’s, full of zeal and ready to set the world on “fire” for Jesus, when I received this wisdom. A Christian friend of mine was wanting me to picket an abortion clinic here in the United States, and I did not feel like going. After the opportunity passed, I began to feel condemned for not going with my friend. I mean, what kind of Christian would not jump at the chance to “show off” in front of all those TV cameras that were going to be there? So I went to the bible to find out what Jesus said about political activism, and what our responsibilities were. Guess what? Jesus did not say anything regarding the earthly kingdoms except “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and God what is God’s.” This lead me to realize that the immoral government laws and regulations of the day was not an “attack” by the enemy, but rather a by-product of the church’s concentration on the Law, and not teaching the full gospel of Grace. The strength of sin is in the law, and the evidence shows that the more laws a society has, the more crimes that are committed. That is very true here in the United States. Jesus did not address the government systems of the day because they were of this world. Jesus addressed only the Jews because they were the only people who had a covenant with God. The Scribes, Pharisees, and the Sadducees were instruments of Satan back then much like certain clergy members are today. When I had this revelation, I wanted to rebuke it as “doctrines of demons” as one “friend” of mine told me it was. However, as I have grown in Christ, I realized that that incident in my life was the sowing of the seed of Grace in my life. I have since had a VERY hard time “assembling myself with other believers.” I just cannot reconcile a “balancing” of Grace with works. I would rather go to sites like this and be blessed instead of attend church with a filter on my mind. I believe that God has called me to teach and preach the unadulterated gospel of Grace in this country. I ask that you believe that with me, and we will see the true manifestations of the sons of God!
Brian … I have since had a VERY hard time “assembling myself with other believers.” So much true in our lives with my wife as well. But I believe, that God is raising up a new generation of Christians living and enjoying radical Grace so we can actually meet physically as a Church as well.
Be blessed.
bro i feel you today i just couldn’t go church for same reason-law being hammered. prefer to watch tv or listen to jp
Brian, with all my heart i am completely agreeing with you. As the Holy Spirit revealed “that in the ages to come He will show the EXCEEDING RICHES of His GRACE in His KINDNESS towards us through Christ Jesus”, we are surely the ages to come.I am from the Philippines working here in Saudi Arabia fully concentrated on the grace and goodness of God. I fall in love with Jesus day by day because of Grace (revealing the goodness and wonderfullness of God). I have a complete records of Joseph Prince preaching in Houston,Texas (Joel Osteen Ministries) and i saw a lot of Americans rejoicing beyond compare on the grace messages.
“Some of what Jesus said was meant for another time. For instance, Jesus preached the law to those born under the law. Since you are not under law, the law that Jesus preached to them is not for you. If you think you must keep the law to be righteous/blessed/holy/forgiven, then you have set aside grace and Christ died for nothing.”
Oh Paul I just love that statement! This is why we need to wear ‘cross tinted glasses’. This is one of the reasons why the Word has to be rightly divided.
Keep on keeping on Paul!
and surely the most basic reason why atheism is being touted as alternative is the law!
Do you have any insights into Jesus’ parables like the sower? I have heard so much emphasis on we must break up our fallow ground to ensure we are good soil that the emphasis is on us rather than Jesus’ finished work. I think He is saying more about Himself being the good fertile soil that the seed/Word grows in
Very thoughtful….definitely true.
How wonderfully refreshing!!! So many seem to say that “if Jesus said it, it is to be followed.”
Even more distressing is the statement that “all the scripture is without error,: and thus is be for obeyed absolutely.” Oh my,,,surely the Lord has made you to be a breath of fresh air in the all-too-often “smoggy” air of Christian “teaching”…
I “just happened” upon your site and immediately rejoiced in the expression of such freedom and joy that is ours in the life in Christ..
Thank you!.
That concerns me people wanting to leave churches and be alone.God ordained the local church.Local church has a function for the body and the community.Loved the post and can’t wait for the next goodies.thank you.
Sandy – When the local church is not established, then it is better to not have to sort out the teachings every week of denominationalism that lead people to a life of defeat and lack. We should not go to church to fulfill our “duties.” In my locale there is no organized body of believers that teach the whole truth. It is not my job, nor anyone else’s for that matter, to insert myself into a body of believers, and undermine the teachings of the established pastor. In my effort to communicate the truth and to see people set free, it would actually do more harm than good. The Holy Spirit is capable enough to do works in those particular bodies through decency and order. I would be nothing more than a usurper with the truth, and I believe that there is a better path. I am called to speak the truth in this area, but not on another man’s foundation. God is big enough to cause the circumstances to fall into place to give rise to a revolution that is not birthed out of rebellion. God truly did ordain the local church, but He did not ordain the local “Jesus Club.” The misrepresentation of Jesus is the single most destructive weapon facing the church today. People do not reject Jesus, they reject the “other Jesus” that brings condemnation and judgement. Grace to you, and blessings on your journey.
Thank you for your reply. Your wisdom is well received. I have just recently moved to North Carolina from Houston TX where my family and I were members at Lakewood. We were fortunate enough to see all three messages by Pastor Prince. The anointing was unlike any other that I have experienced. It has been the inspiration that has caused me to move back to my hometown and start a good work. We are no longer under a bowl but we are to be placed on a stand. Be a light. Thank you for your agreement.
Jesus called the Pharisees sons of hell (Mt 23:15). You are not a son of hell! So why would you heed words meant for the sons of hell?
Jesus also told the Pharisees they belonged to their father the devil (Joh 8:44). You belong to your Father in heaven (1 Jn 3:1). So why would you heed words intended for the devil’s children?
Jesus even preached to the devil (Lk 4). Are you the devil? Then you should not assume that words directed to the devil were meant for you.
The Pharisees were hypocrites, and obsessed with money. We should note the accusations laid against them to help us to identify those people in our lives. They are people who focus all their energy on getting us to do things, while they eat steak in their million dollar mansions. If you are a hypocrite, and focus on the minutiae of YHWH’s instructions instead of the larger matters, you will literally justify sleeping with your secretary while you preach every week that your church members tithe 10%. Gross not net. As for Luke 4:1-13…nope I am not the Devil, but it is nice to have a record of how Messiah interacted with him. It is clear that our interactions should be the same. Let our heavenly Father do the talking, not us.
Good words my friend, peace 🙂
Sorry to bore you with Matt 28.20. But Jesus was not a hypocrite and he told us to do everything he commanded.
I agree that all those words like ‘sons of hell’ were meant for the Pharisees. Now the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to his disciples Matt 5.2 so it seems reasonable that it is also addressed to Christians today.
Matt 23 .2,3 teaches us that even if teaching comes from hypocrites we should consider it carefully and decide if is biblical and then if it is so obey its demands. We cannot say ‘Because this comes from a hypocrite this has no relevance for me and I am excused’. So even if hypocrites say ‘Obey everything that Jesus commanded’ this does not mean that we should not obey everything Jesus commanded. We may think there are other reasons for non-compliance but the fact that hypocrites are telling us is not a valid reason.
You say that Jesus preached the law to those born under the law and that this law does not apply to Christians today. I suppose you must include in ‘those born under the law’ his disciples when he was on earth. Are you saying that all commands of Jesus before the cross are effectively void since all of them are given to ‘those born under the Law’?
The bigger problem is that none of us can know for certain what Jesus said as the first writings weren’t written until after 70AD or some 30 to 40 years after Jesus was crucified. And we do not have any of those texts. The earliest text fragments we have are from around 200 or 300AD! Which means we do not have any original text or idea what was written. And then it was rewritten, added to, reduced, words left out, words added, modified by whatever church leaders were in power at the time, mistakes made in copying by hands. In fact, most scholars say that there is not one word that can be assigned to Jesus with any certainty. So
in essence we do not know what Jesus or even if he said any of the things we believe he said. Our belief in what Jesus said is based on writings that may have nothing to do with Jesus. One scholar stated that in the ‘Our Father’ prayer, the only words that ‘may’ have been actually spoken by Jesus are “our father”; everything after that greeting cannot be confirmed as spoken by Jesus. Also keep in mind that as of today, there are at last count over 43,000 variations of the New Testament texts. This includes those variations missing a single word on up to completely different sentences and paragraphs. For example, the most quoted story of Jesus saving the girl about to be stoned for adultery was added to the text well after 300AD, or well after Jesus was crucified and in all likelihood never happened, especially considering that Jewish law commanded that the male involved in this should be punished as well. So to answer the question of “what did Jesus say?” we do not really know and may never know.
I may not be articulating this correctly but the more I read the gospels the more I see that Jesus came to do three things essentially:
(1) to fulfill the Law,
(2) to be the door between God and man by revealing the “kingdom of God” which was first mentioned by John the Baptist, and
(3) to reveal a better way (grace) than the current system under the Law. And we see throughout Christ’s ministry the continual extension of grace everywhere He went.
I have received books by Paul Ellis, and I am thoroughly enjoying them, I feel the same as Brian in his comment. Our church( or pastor) preaches a mixed grace/works message and scares the people with that scripture” and did we do not this and that in your name?” and Jesus replied” I never knew you” etc, and then applies that to people in the church that aren’t doing enough for the Lord or don’t do anything for the Lord. Also uses the parable of the lazy servant.
The message is simply superb. Having lived most part of my life in the dark cell of Law, this revelation of the true nature of our Abba and His Son Jesus Christ is an eye opener! Thanks for sharing such wonderful truths from the Bible! I would like to receive your messages. Kindly include me in your mailing list!
In Christ,
Vimala Stephen.
Hi Vimala. If you would like to receive these messages by email, you need to subscribe yourself. I can’t do that for you. It’s not hard. Just follow the steps listed here. Thanks.
Adom and Eve were told not to eat the fruit, or they shall surely die. Satan comes and tempts them to eat the fruit, saying they shall not surely die. Guessing Adam and Eve wished they had listened to God and did what He said, and not listened to Satan. Saints, everything Jesus tells us to do is for our own good. When will we simply trust Him and with childlike faith follow His instructions. God has called me to perfection, and though Im far from it He has also promised to perfect me. My job is to trust Him and now go after it counting everything else but loss in my pursuit of it. I chose to trust God in this, not man. (please name a sin i should allow to remain in my heart, without it causing all kinds of mischief.)
Everything? Jesus told us to amputate our hands and remove our eyes if we are tempted to sin. So are you an amputee, a sinless person, or a hypocrite who picks and chooses which words of Jesus he obeys?