Several times Jesus tells us that if you want to be His follower, you must do what He has said to do. There is much confusion over this issue and over time His words have been explained away. This is because what He said to do is not easily done. We must deny ourselves and constantly make choices that are not in our own personal best interests. It is in our best interest to lie if we get caught doing something wrong. It is also in our best interest to fight tyranny and oppression. But as Christians, we can no longer do these things and that is hard.
So to clear up mis-conceptions and deceptions, I have undertaken to find the commands and sayings of Our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.
THE COMMANDS OF JESUS FROM MATTHEW
• Let your light shine so men can see your good works.
• Your righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. (Modern preachers)
• Do not be angry without good cause.
• Do not call your brother (Fellow Christian) a fool.
• Settle disputes quickly, before you get sued and lose all you have.
• Do not lust after women, don’t even look hard at them.
• Do not divorce your wife unless she was a harlot before marriage and adulterous afterward.
• If you do divorce, do not remarry.
• Don’t swear oaths or allegiance to anyone or anything. IE- no pledge of allegiance, no swearing in court, not even on a Bible.
• Resist not evil. In other words, do not fight back against those who would rob or kill you.
• If you’re sued in court and lose, pay the judgment and then some extra.
• Lend anything you own to anyone who asks.
• Love your enemies.
• Do good things to those who are mean and hurtful to you.
• Speak to everyone the same, president or bum.
• Don’t do good works for the sake of getting praise or notoriety.
• Pray alone and don’t keep repeating yourself.
• Don’t hoard stuff or accumulate wealth.
• Live for God and not career or money.
• Live for today, tomorrow will take care of itself.
• Judge fairly for you will be judged by that same standard.
• Take care of your own soul before you give any spiritual advice.
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
• Beware of false preachers who are out there to deceive and rob you.
• Don’t stay where you ain’t wanted.
• When you are arrested for your religious views, do not rehearse what you are going to say.
• Do not fear any man.
• Fear God.
• Do not deny that you are a Christian or that you belong to Jesus.
• Love Jesus ABOVE anyone or anything else.
• Give anything to anyone who asks. Anyone.
• Follow Jesus’ example.
• Be merciful.
• Never EVER EVER speak ANYTHING against the Holy Ghost.
• Keep your mouth shut until you have something important to say. You will account for your words -all of them.
• Never disrespect your parents, even if they are wrong.
• Deny yourself, make right decisions no matter how painful.
• Be humble.
• Get rid of things that lead to sin.
• If a fellow Christian does something wrong, tell him. If he doesn’t listen, get witnesses. If he still won’t listen, ignore him.
• Forgive him if he repents.
• Encourage kids to know Jesus and tell them at every opportunity.
• Obey the ten commandments, give all to the poor.
• To be greatest, be the least.
• Give the government their stuff.
• Call no man ‘Father’
• Do not be called ‘master’
• Help the poor.
If the life you lead would preclude your behaving under these guidelines, then you are not a Christian. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. I know you will not change your life by reading these things. However, if you meet someone who lives the way that Jesus said then you will find him doing what I have written above.
But under no circumstances should you say ‘I am a Christian’ when you don’t model your life after the commands of Jesus.
