Why don't Christians follow the real teachings of Jesus?

Question

Here are three teachings of Jesus, quoted from the New International Version of the Bible:

1. In Matthew 5:39, Jesus says:
"do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

2. In Matthew 5:28-30, Jesus says:
"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."

3. In Mark 10:17-22, when a rich man asks what he must do in order to go to heaven, Jesus tells him:
"sell everything you have and give to the poor."

But most Christians don't follow any of these teachings?
Why not?

Answer 1

You must have missed the memo.

When you want other people to do something or not do something it's the "word of God" and they must obey or they burn forever.

When you want to do something that's forbidden in the bible or you don't want to follow the "word of God", it's just a story to make a point - you're not really expected to follow it.

It's a little confusing at first but most catch on pretty fast.

Answer 2

I would probably go and (re)read the book of Romans, particularly chapter 3 and in particular verse 3:23.."for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".

We are not saved by any work of our own, only by the belief in Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice to God the Father for our sins. While works cannot save anyone, works can be an evidence or indication of one's true salvation.

Even while saved, the Christian still has his/her human nature to deal with. It is this nature that we battle with daily. Remember, Christ was the only Being who was 100% Diety and 100% human. Only he led the perfect life. Only He could be the perfect sacrifice.

I am just truly thankful & humbled that He forgave me, and allowed me to be saved.

Also, take each of the Scriptures you have cited and read them back into the context of the whole story, rather than quote isolated texts. You will see that some of these are excellent illustrations of what we should strive to do. Unfortunately, many times our pride or greed prevent us from doing the right thing.

Also, many false doctrines have developed from Bible verses taken out of context. Always go back and read the section or book if someone quotes a verse. Also, invest in a good concordance or Bible commentary for further explanations. Some Bibles have excellent analysis right on the pages.

Answer 3

If you really want the answer to this question you have to understand that the reason Jesus died and rose again was so that man kind had a way back to God. We cannot be perfect and that's the whole point. We do strive to walk towards Jesus and make the right choices. But often get it wrong because we are human. Perfection is only found in Christ. Christians are not Christ but by grace he accepts us as part of his body. Not because of anything we have done but because of what he did for mankind by taking the sin of the whole world onto him self.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

Because they want to sugarcoat Christianity so that it is comfortable for them. I've been learning that Christianity is not as easy as people make it to seem, and because of the rough times I am stronger and am walking with Christ now, in fact Im even going to rededicate my life and be baptized again so that I can let my old nature be left in the waters!! I already have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and I am so excited about this new life I am leading!!! yay lol, but yeah people want everything to be easy and laid back, when really God's word says "Then Jesus said to his disciples, " "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" ". -Matthew 16:24

Answer 5

Not resisting an evil person means do not return evil for evil. Do good to those who hate you, so that the cycle of hate can end.

Number two is the reason why I make sure i'm not sinning to the best of my ability, because i know how much harm it causes.

Jesus told the rich man to sell all he had and give the money to the poor because he knew that this rich man had made his money his idol, and so it was keeping him away from God.

Answer 6

1- Turning the other cheek- Your right most Christians don't follow this teaching enough. Many do, but you don't see it so it appears most Christians don't.

2- The principle is- do what you must to avoid sin. Sadly, most Christians ignore this. As Christians, we let our society, which glorifies lustful sexuality, intrude too far into our lives.

3-Jesus asks the rich man to do what he knew would be hardest for him in order to follow Christ. The principle is we must be willing to do whatever God asks of us. Again, too many Christians follow societal values instead of Christs teachings.

Hope this helps
God Bless !!

Answer 7

1. Metaphor. It doesn't mean you are suppose to stand there and allow yourself to be beaten to a pulp. It means you are suppose to tolerate their differences and turn and walk away -- NOT bring yourself down to their level.
2. Metaphor. It doesn't mean you are suppose to cut off body parts, only that you are to stop doing what you know to be wrong.
3. Metaphor. If you sell everything and give it to the poor, then you will become poor yourself, and will no longer be able to give to the poor. You have to remain strong so you can help those who need it.
The Bible is filled with metaphor, and with language of a whole different time. It can't be taken literally, you have to read between the lines.

Answer 8

Unfortunately we can't all be like Jesus. I doubt anybody can. We are sinners, I am anyway, but that doesn't mean that I can't believe in HIm.

I have seen too much hypocrisy from so called Christians to follow what THEY believe to be the teachings of Christ.

I will follow what I believe to be the truth in my heart without the qualities of Christians and thier judgemental attitudes thank you very much. Me and JC, we are tight, I know this and there is no way that I will feel guilty because I don't live word for word from the 'Christian bible'.

Answer 9

When you say "Damn she stabbed me in the back!" Do you literally mean someone took a 7" cooking knife and plunged it into your spine, or do you mean someone betrayed your trust?

Same thing with those quotes, its not a literal meaning, its imagery. It means if you sin, do your best to remove that sin from your life in future. If you cheated once, avoid doing it again, make changes to yourself so you don't do it again.

The teachings about turning the other cheek relate to vengeance. Reacting like for like. Hitting someone because they hit you. Which is wrong. However. Responding intelligently, turning your back on someone hitting you, disarming someone ttrying to kill you, etc, these arent against the teachings of Jesus.

The final quote is a teaching about the temptations of sin, the rich mans sins are his lust for money. Jesus is telling him that to get to heaven he must give up on his sinful life of wealth. Only through living poor can he get to heaven. This doesn't apply to everyone, just to him.

EDIT:

Don't call people small for having faith. I'm tired of that. Just once I want people to admit the fact that EVERYONE, in times of hardship, pray or try to bargain with a higher force. Everyone here berates Christians and call us small for believing in a God. But truth is EVERYONE believes in a God when its convenient for them.

Answer 10

Funny how Christians call the eye-gouging parts "hyperbole", but treat stories of talking snakes and women being created out of ribs as "factual", never mind fit for teaching in a science class.