Jesus talked a lot about obeying him. And he always used a very specific word; that word is “if”. Here are a few examples of what that looked like with the commands he taught. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, (not Iscariot), “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” Jesus answered and said unto him, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:21-23)

We can imagine this being applied to children and parenting. We all know that if our children did not do what they were told, like their chores, the consequences of that are a punishment, like no ice cream for the week. Now read the verses again and tell me what you see.

What you are seeing for the first time is a condition for following Jesus. That condition is that if you obey him, you are in good standing with the Lord. But if you decide not to because you believe that everything Jesus taught in the gospels was only for the Jews (even though gentiles and Jews obeyed Jesus), then you are disobedient to the Christ.

Jesus never came in the flesh and said, “Everything I say is just for the Jews.” That’s a lie, friends, and a very worldly popular one spewed from the devil himself. Jesus used words like “he” or “whoever” and other words to include all people from every race, tribe, and nation. The Kingdom of God is not limited to a special blood link of some sort. Look what happens when an individual decides not to obey.

“He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” (John 14:24)

Jesus said you don’t actually love him if you don’t obey him. Let me be clear, what is it that Jesus wants you to obey? Let’s start with a very easy command. Go out and preach the gospel full-time like the Apostles. Everyone knows this command; it’s referenced as the Great Commission. Do you think Jesus wants you working part-time for his kingdom? No, he desires that you forsake your old life and start a new one preaching the gospels.

Now the number one excuse I get universally from every single individual I cross paths with when I tell them this, is that they can’t live like Jesus did in his time. Well, that is another lie, friends. You can live as Jesus did, and he will take care of all your material needs. Just as he says.

How do I know this? Well, for one, from personal experience and from believing in the promises of Jesus in the gospels. Jesus repeatedly stated that he will supply all of our material needs and to not worry about where those needs will come from.

Therefore take no thought, saying, “What shall we eat?” Or, “What shall we drink?” Or “Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31)

Yet people do not see, or do not want to see, that Jesus actually means what he said. When you leave your job in obedience to Jesus and give him all of your time, effort, and energy, he will give you all of his time, effort, and energy. That being said, the Lord goes far beyond what any human could ever do. Often times we fail daily (not deliberately sinning, God forbid), but God will pick us back up and comfort us when we genuinely repent.

I have not had a job in seven years and never lacked anything. Recently, for about a year, I haven’t even asked anyone for anything, not hinting at my needs, and God still gives me what I need. He can do it for you too! So there is that covered, this excuse that it can’t be done today. Let’s examine some more verses on obedience, shall we, my friends?

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9)

This “doctrine of Christ” is everything Jesus taught that has been recorded for us Gentiles to obey and follow; I don’t have to explain it further. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3)

These commands are beneficial to us in many ways; they edify us, help us, the words Jesus spoke are alive and active, and support you mentally in difficult times. “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”(1 John 2:3-4) This is by far the strongest language used by a writer of the New Testament. This separates the ones who say they know God, yet in every way disobey him.

If you are working a job and making $100,000 a year or even $5,000 a month (that number is actually for the poorer class in the states), and you don’t even give to the poor in obedience to one of Jesus’ commands, when He is in front of you during judgment, how would you feel when he asks what you did in obedience to him?

You would be trembling, brothers and sisters! Because in that moment, the Lord will show you the truth that you were selfish and greedy and you only worked for yourself and your own greedy desires. This is where most people are at spiritually; they have no clue what Jesus demands of them. You can’t claim you know Jesus and not copy any of the things he did, like heal the sick or give to the poor, like food, time, support, etc.

Jesus said that whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:19) In another explanation of this statement, if you have broken the majority of commands from Jesus and you think you don’t have to obey anything besides water baptism or some other command. Your chances of getting into the pearly white gates are almost slim to none! Jesus is looking for obedience, folks.

Here is one paragraph from Jesus that should be shocking for viewers. ”Therefore whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
(Matthew 7:24-27)

Listen! Listen to what Jesus said! He says the house that was built not on his sayings fell! The house is always you when mentioned; your spirit is referenced as a house. The sayings Jesus is talking about are his sayings; he is the true teacher; he’s better than Solomon, David, and Paul because he himself is the Word made flesh, the Word of God. There’s a reason Jesus’ words are colored red to emphasize who is in charge.

Paul and Peter both knew just how important it was to obey what Jesus said. When I say, “what Jesus said,” I am listing everything Jesus commanded. Obviously there are “descriptions” in the gospels that don’t count, but there are many “subscriptions” (commands) that are required. Here is Peter pointing back to Jesus.

”And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:”
(Ephesians 2:20-21)

That cornerstone is Jesus, as Paul said. Here is Peter repeating the same thing but referencing Jesus being foreshadowed by a prophet in the Old Testament as the cornerstone. ”Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, who believe, he is precious; but unto them whom the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.” (1 Peter 2:6-7)

When laying down brick walls or starting a building, setting the cornerstone down first is still regularly practiced today. As Christians, you need to start with Jesus and everything he taught, and the rest of the prophets and apostles follow suit after. To make another important point about Christians needing to obey, all the early followers were addressed as disciples or followers of Jesus at first; later in Antioch they are called Christians. (Acts 11:26) This solidifies an essential point that Christians and disciples are the same thing. So when Jesus says something like, “You are my disciples if you obey me,” he means Christians.

Peter says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” Peter emphasizes the importance of obeying the gospel of God. This is referencing now what we would call the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Paul refers to an Old Testament verse where a follower of God asks the Lord who has believed the messengers sent to warn the people about what is to come. This links it to the same problem about people who deliberately disobey the gospel.

”But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”
(Romans 10:16)

A few verses later, Paul continues to describe what Esaias went through in his time. Esaias would often find individuals who sought after God who originally were not openly interested; they would have been considered gentiles in his time. Then Esaias mentions the rebellious Israelites who consistently disobeyed what God instructed originally.

”But Esaias is very bold and says, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.” (Romans 10:20-21)

Today, we have the same issue. People have more than the Israelites ever had in their time about who God is and what Jesus said. There are literally billions of Bibles in print and millions of sermons and videos online about the character of God in the flesh and what He demands. But what do people do with it? Not much to nothing if you were to ask me. We need to obey all that Jesus said and teach others the same. The world as a whole is disobedient to Jesus; that needs to change, and people everywhere need to repent and be broken on the rock of Jesus and his teachings, amen.