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The Teachings of Jesus Christ |
Dear Brethren,
Hundreds of millions of people claim to be
Christians. Who, among them, knows what Jesus
taught? What about us - the ones who think we know the
doctrines of Christ? Are all of us in the
various Churches of God, Christians? What makes a person a
Christian? For instance, America is considered by many to be a
"Christian nation." We know that saying, "I am a Christian," does not
make a person a follower of Christ. "As many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14) How
well do we know the principles Jesus taught?
Now that the Spring Holy Days are behind us, there could be
a tendency to let down a bit. Let's be careful not to be lulled into
a false sense of complacency. Let us not be as those who sleep. None
of us would dare claim that we have nothing left to learn - would
we? God has given us this time that remains until His coming, to
become more like Jesus. There is always a risk of falling into the
trap of thinking that we have a good bit of time remaining. In the
Scriptures, we are warned not to fall into the trap of saying to ourselves, "My
Lord delays His coming" - which would cause us to be unprepared at His
return.
"But and if that evil servant shall say in his
heart, My Lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his
fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the
drunken; The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when
he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware
of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with
the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth." (Matthew 24:48-51)
Most of us would say that we know what Jesus
taught? How many of the teachings of Jesus could we write down if
we had to? All too many of us have accepted a substitute
"Christianity." There is another requirement in
the above verse that has been overlooked by too many in God's
Church. Not only are we to be "looking for Him," we are
taught to have a right relationship with our "fellow
servants." Prophecy, was not put in the Bible so that whoever can figure
it out first will get the jump on everybody else. Our faith is not one of
solving mysteries or the breaking of secret codes. The kingdom of God does not come observation, nor with
calculations. Did Jesus teach that it is all important to pronounce His
name in the ancient Hebrew dialect? What did Jesus
teach?
Spiritually, brethren, we are not prepared for the return of Christ.
We mistakenly seek recognition. We look for miracles. We respect
persons. We have all too many substitutes for "Christianity." A
Christian is not one who knows about the place of safety. A Christian
is not one who tithes and goes to Church on Saturday - some Jewish and
Protestant folks do that.
A Christian is one who knows what Jesus taught
and lives it to the full. Jesus tells us how to be Christians
and end up in the Kingdom of God. Jesus says, "Feed Me." "Make
sure I have a place to sleep." "Provide clothes for Me." "Look out
for Me when I'm sick or in jail" - and many, many more values and morals.
"There are also many other things which Jesus
[taught] did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that
even the world itself could not contain the books that should be
written." (John 21:25)
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked,
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we
thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw
we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
(Matthew 25:34-39)
It sounds all too simple. None of us would
turn Jesus away if we saw Him in need. In fact, we would stand in
long lines just to talk to Him - we'd drive for hours to be with Him.
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, truly I say unto you, inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto Me." (Matthew 25:40)
Here, Jesus teaches us a definition of
Christianity. Jesus taught that to be a Christian - we are to be
serving our "fellow servants," the brethren. We need to put
into practice what Jesus taught about how to love the Brethren. We
can make phone calls and send cards. We can visit in each other's homes.
We can let our lights shine by our personal examples. We should be
working on being more patient, less selfish, more dependable - the
list is endless. We must be finding new and better ways to be living
sacrifices.
Notice Brethren - these are not optional. These and other
ways of aiding others are absolutely required of Christians. Jesus
Christ tells us of the dire consequences if we neglect to love our fellow
man. Then shall he answer them, saying, truly I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal." (Matthew 25:45-46)
Brethren, let's not let down - rather let's make it our personal
crusade to learn what Jesus taught - and put it into
practice. Time is too short - let's urge each other
onward. When Jesus says to each of us, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord,
and do not the things which I say?" - we do not want our
answer to be, "I accepted a substitute 'Christianity', because I did not
know what you taught!"
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Sermon: |
"The Teachings of Jesus Christ Part 1" |
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Sermon: |
"The Teachings of Jesus Christ Part
2" |
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Sermon: |
"The Teachings of Jesus Christ Part
3" |
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