Christianity is a religion started after the death of Christ, otherwise known as Jesus of Nazareth. His disciples spearheaded the formation of this religion. What is worrying, however, is that the Christian faith is denigrating the actual teachings of Jesus in favour of the opinions, teachings and writings of some of the disciples.
sundayword BY PROSPER TINGINI
Most notably are the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of St Paul to various church entities like the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. The letters of Paul dominate most of the Christian teachings of today and constitute almost half of the contents of New Testament Bibles. Although no longer relevant, it should be noted that Paul only converted to Christianity long after the death of Jesus Christ. Paul was initially in the forefront of persecuting Jesus Christ’s followers, hence he practically had very little understanding of Christ’s teachings and purpose, let alone to speak on his behalf.
However, Jesus Christ wanted to manifest the power of the Holy Spirit when He converted Paul’s heart into one of His after-death staunchest followers. Paul is a living example of the forgiveness of human sins by the Lord. While it can be concluded that most of what Paul wrote was inspired by the Holy Spirit, it should also not be disputed that some of his writings were based on hearsay as he was not part of Christ’s disciples during His life on earth.
Another worrying thing is that most of us Christians have now substituted the Lord our God with Jesus. Jesus is now the God that people worship, instead of making him the way to the Lord our God. There should be a clear distinction between “the way” and “the destination” ie. Jesus and God.
In Matthew 5 verse 17-20 Jesus Christ clearly stated His mission regards the laws and commandments; “Think not that I have come to abolish the laws and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven”.
It is common knowledge that the entirety of God’s laws and commandments are almost impossible to follow, hence Jesus Christ told the crowds that it would be easier for one to pass through the eye of a needle than to go to heaven, as a reference to the laws. Mankind has to rely on the forgiveness of sin, to forgive their inability to follow the entire law and commandments as prescribed by the Lord our God. Humanity has also developed an insatiable appetite to quote the scriptures of the New Testament written by the likes of Paul, to extinguish God’s laws and commandments. Those teachings do not come from Jesus Christ but from deliberate misinterpretations of the scriptures to suit human needs, tastes and practices.
In one of his letters, Paul directed the Colossians to disregard the laws and commandment, contrary to the teachings of Christ, whom he prior to his conversion had zealously spearheaded the persecution of His followers. He had very little knowledge of his teachings. Paul wrote (Colossians 2 v 20-22) “Why do you submit to regulations, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human percepts and doctrines?” Some of Paul’s teachings were thus in direct contradiction to the teachings of Christ.
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In Mark 7 verse 6-13 and Matthew 15 verse 3-9, Jesus Christ spoke, “Well, did Isaiah prophecy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘These people honour me with their lips but their hearts is far removed from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the principles of men.’ You leave the commandments of God and hold fast the tradition of men”. It is evident that the teachings of Paul do not tally at times with the teachings of Jesus Christ. If Christians prefer the teachings of Paul ahead of the actual spoken words and teachings of Jesus Christ, are we not being led astray? Anyone can quote any part of the Bible to justify their practices and evil doings. Unfortunately, the Bible offers such a space for corrupt and devilish use.
Most Christians nowadays subscribe to the notion that Jesus Christ replaced all the laws and commandments of God with one or two of His own. This is a grave misrepresentation of the scriptures.
Mark 12: 28-31 and Matthew 22 verse 35-40 carry different but almost similar stories. Jesus Christ was asked by the people, “Teacher which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “You shall love your God with all your heart and soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets”. Clearly, some Christians have given a different and inaccurate meaning to Jesus’ statement to then imply that these two commandments replace all others, which is catastrophical. There are numerous other laws and commandments that cover a lot of other issues not related to the love of the Lord our God and the love of our neighbours.
Jesus Christ illustrated this when He was asked further questions. Matthew 15: 16-20, Mark 10: 17-20 and Luke 18: 18-21 carry a similar story. Jesus was asked, “Teacher, what good must I do, to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One (God) there is who is good. If you want eternal life, keep the commandments”. He was further asked, “Which?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honour our father and mother and you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
It is evident that Jesus Christ was directing people not only to follow the two commandments, but to follow others outside the two and 10 commandments. The commandment to love your neighbour as yourself is actually one of the many others outside the 10 given by God at Mount Sinai more than a thousand of years before Jesus was born.
Prosper Tingini is a religious writer. He has compiled a book titled: God’s Constitution for Mankind — the Laws and Commandments. Phone: +263 771260195 or email: [email protected] or purchase a copy from Innov8 Bookshop No. 23 G. Silundika Ave. Harare [between 1st & 2nd Street])
