….and he said to them, ‘Follow me’ — Matthew 4:19 

TL;DR: The message of Jesus isn’t passive; it’s a call to action, to participate in a journey to a destination so beautiful that we would sell all that we own to get there. If we stop at Jesus the Saviour and fail to act on the words and ways of Jesus the Teacher, we are missing the point. The real question is, what is the action?

Who is this for?

I believe that everyone can learn something from Jesus’ teachings. But Jesus Himself says, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). If your life is already full of deep meaning, love, joy and peace, then perhaps you don’t need these words as guidance. But if you feel that something is missing in your life, if peace is a concept you know only in theory, never in practice, and no matter what you do, there still seems to be a sense of lack inside you, then I encourage you to read on.

I am on this journey, at the very start. Even here at the beginning, I can feel the life that Jesus promised. It’s a bold statement to make, but I know in my heart that anyone (including me) who has lost the meaning and purpose in their lives, if you take the time to understand and do what Jesus taught, one day in the future, you will feel a sense of peace that will make you cry tears of joy. The world around you will change, and you will realise that you already have everything that you need. 

The teachings of Jesus, as I understand them, can have profound significance for the way that each of us lives every moment of our lives. The claim that the teachings of Jesus are outdated and no longer relevant is totally untrue. I would go as far as to say that they have never been more relevant, and if you stay with me for long enough, hopefully you will understand what it is that I am talking about. The teachings of Jesus are a literal instruction manual on how to live out our maximum potential – a meaningful, loving, fulfilled and healthy life. A life of abundance instead of a life of lack. To access this life, we all need to take a walk down the narrow road. 

Introduction

I am writing this blog for several reasons. First, I like writing, and I think it has value in itself. I am also endlessly fascinated by the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the ‘penniless preacher from Galilee’ as H.G. Wells called Him. His words get into my head, and I have insights about life that I could never have imagined. It’s like all the seemingly separate parts of my chaotic existence are starting to make sense. Unfortunately, I often see Jesus’ message being misrepresented or overlooked because of 2000 years of Chinese whispers, resulting in an oversimplified Gospel desperately in need of renewal. 

In many circles today, especially in the West, Christianity has become ‘uncool’, often seen as oversimplified, ideological, or tied to difficult parts of history. We have developed shame about our past and who we are, and Christianity is part of this. Outside of the Christian community, I rarely hear people talking about Jesus. Conversely, it’s very cool to quote the Buddha and wear clothes with Hindu icons. There is no doubt that Christianity and the name of Jesus have been used by the powerful to commit all sorts of hurt across the globe, from colonial conquests to personal manipulation, but to dismiss His teaching feels like a serious case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. 

The problem 

In many Christian spaces, whether online, in churches or wherever else people talk about Jesus, I see a very simple equation presented. We are told that a simple path should lead us nicely and easily to ‘salvation’. This equation is best summed up with the following quote from Paul in the book of Romans: 

“....that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

— Romans 10:9 

Why is this a problem? 

One of the most common ideas in Christianity is that what Jesus did meant that we are forgiven and saved if we ‘simply’ have faith in him. Salvation is through Grace – something that is freely given and not earned. This idea does stand up to scrutiny, because if we were in a world where you had to ‘earn’ salvation, you can imagine what that would be like; people climbing over each other to demonstrate grander and grander acts of worship and servitude. But does this simple idea of Grace freely given tell the whole story? My deepest fear is that when taken at face value, it may actually lead people away from salvation rather than towards it. Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor who died in a concentration camp because of his resistance to the Nazi regime, referred to this phenomenon as cheap Grace. 

Listening to someone speak recently, I heard that there was another ‘salvation’ at church at the weekend. I also hear people talking about ‘when I get to heaven’. This concerns me deeply, because action is driven by incentive. If you think you have ‘completed the game’, then you are not going to put in any effort and certainly not do things that cause you genuine discomfort. The issue is that the path Jesus calls us to walk is the path of discomfort. The path of ‘death to self’.

It reminds me of the film Armageddon, when they are on the meteorite that has to be destroyed to save the Earth, and time is running out. The spaceship commander, Colonel Willie Sharp, decides that they should detonate the nuclear bomb on the surface of the meteor. But Harry Stamper, aka Bruce Willis, knows that unless the bomb is deep enough in the meteor, they have wasted their time. Similarly, if we stop with Jesus the Saviour and fail to act on the words and ways of Jesus the Teacher, I fear that we, too, are wasting our time. 

Salvation by simply saying that you accept Jesus does not make any sense. Why would something so arbitrary lead to eternal life? It is exactly this lack of sense that pushes many people away from Christianity and stops many others from ever exploring it. 

The solution to the problem

I certainly do not have all the answers (and never will) but as I read the words that Jesus Himself is recorded as saying, and also those of Paul in their full context, the confusion and feeling of uncertainty have started to lift. Humans either overcomplicate or excessively simplify. It reminds me of when I (often) lose my keys and they end up being in the first place I looked, but I did not see them so I kept looking. The answer is to look properly, or as Jesus says, ‘those with eyes let them see’.

While Paul’s words seem to tell us that all we need to do is say that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour and we are saved, here is what Jesus has to say.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly points to some kind of criteria: 

“…unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:20

After telling the disciples that he was soon to die, Jesus talks about what is needed to be His disciple:

 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” — Luke 9:23

In the book of Matthew, we find what I believe to be one of the most important things that Jesus said, and what looks to be in direct conflict with what Paul is interpreted as saying: 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ — Matthew 7:21

If Paul’s statement really did mean that all a person has to do to be saved is to confess Jesus with their mouth, then Jesus’ own words directly contradict this. It’s almost like the two verses are a pair of opposites.

Finally, in the Great Commission, we hear the resurrected Jesus give His parting instructions to His disciples, pointing clearly once again to the necessity of following His teaching: 

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19-20

There are many, many more examples, but I think it is clear that Jesus was and is calling for action. There is nothing passive in His message. 

Even Paul, often cited as the “faith alone” apostle, repeatedly insists that true faith leads to action:

• “…the only thing that matters is faith expressed through love.” (Galatians 5:6).
  
• “…..you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart” (Romans 6:15–18).

At the time when Paul made his statements about confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus, this act would have been radically countercultural in a way that is not true today. Under first-century Roman occupation, to say “Jesus is Lord” meant Caesar is not Lord. Saying this was a risk to your life. I am not saying that some people do not take a significant risk in modern times to publicly declare that they are following Jesus, but in the developed West, this is generally not the case. For the verse to apply to us, there would need to be a significant risk of death by us making this declaration. 

What am I trying to say?

Christianity loses its purpose when reduced to slogans or traditions, but regains it when we take Jesus at His word and actually live out His teaching. Following Jesus is not about ticking a box; it’s about transformation. 

The question is: how do we get there?

What am I not saying?

I am not saying that the initial act of faith is unimportant. It is deeply significant, but it is not the whole story. It is the first step on a path, and cannot be separated from obedience. 

I am also not saying that the Church has deliberately misrepresented Jesus. But to experience the fullness of Jesus’ promise involves personal responsibility, to seek, to listen, and to walk His way for ourselves.