Where in the Bible does Jesus tell people to be good?

[Wootah]

Where in the Bible does Jesus tell people to be good?

[Divine Insight]

He tells people to keep his commandments in several places in scripture.
Surely his commandments are "good"?
So in that sense he's telling people to be good.

He also said, that unless our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the pharisees we shall in no way enter into the kingdom of God. So he's telling us to be righteous. And being righteous is to be "Good"

He is also quoted as having said that the righteous shall go the way of eternal life. So this certainly seems to suggest that if a person wants to obtain eternal life they had better be righteous (i.e. good)

He told the adulteress to "Go and sin no more". So he was clearly telling her to be good. This also suggests that it must be possible to not sin, otherwise why would Jesus tell this woman to do something that is impossible for a human to do?

He is also quoted as saying the following: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

So he's clearly telling us here that our behavior is going to affect our social status in heaven. This also reveals to us that there must be different social classes in heaven. Some considered to be lesser and some considered to be greater.

That's something we almost never hear from evangelicals. They seldom, if ever, teach that heaven will contain lesser and greater social classes.

I wonder what it would feel like to go to heaven only to discover that you will be considered to be the least in heaven?

And again, this appears to be based on how well a person has kept commandments. (i.e. how "good" they have been)

[StuartJ]

Nowhere in the THE Bible Jewish people use.

Nowhere in the THE Bible Samaritan people use.

[marco]

Where in the Bible does Jesus tell people to be good?

I'm not sure what's intended here. His entire life's oration seems to be saying just that. His Sermon on the Mount commended good qualities and promised rewards for being nice.

In Matthew 5 he says:

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." That would qualify, however unrealistic.


He does say in Mark 10:18

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. "

This is not asking people to be bad; it is just a rather smart-alec uncalled for, rude put-down, making several mountains out of a molehill. In saner moments he would commend good deeds, such as the sacrifice of the widow offering her penny. When people say: "Good morning," they are not setting themselves up as meteorologists.

[JehovahsWitness]

Where in the Bible does Jesus tell people to be good?

I know of no scripture where Jesus instructs people to be good. He tells them to be perfect, like God.





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[Realworldjack]

[Replying to post 4 by marco]

I'm not sure what's intended here.

It seems to be a simple question.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

This is sort of funny, because when I first saw this thread last night, and began to ponder on the question, I thought about this very same passage, but there is a tremendous difference, between instructing people to be "good", as opposed to commanding them to be, "perfect."

That would qualify, however unrealistic.

No, I am not thinking that would qualify, since there would be a tremendous difference between, "good", and "perfect." He seems to be saying, "good is not good enough."

In fact, as we look at the next passage you refer to which was,

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. "

He seems to be saying, "we are not even good."

You also refer to the, "Sermon on the Mount" and how it "commended good qualities and promised rewards for being nice." But there would be much said here that would be out of our reach, don't you think?

We cannot go through all of it, but one example would be when he said,

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Well you see, when it is said, "do not commit adultery" I can poke my chest out with pride with the best of them and say, "I have never done such a thing." However, when you throw in the "lust of the heart", I am condemned, and the thing is, I really have no control over my heart. I may be able to attempt to control it once it starts, but I cannot control things like lust, greed, hatred, envy, etc., from springing up from my heart.

So then, I may be able to see laws, and commands, and these things may be able to control my external behavior, but these laws, and commands can do nothing about my heart.

So again, it seems to be a simple question, and thus far all we seem to have come up with is, Jesus tells us, "we are not good", and "we are to be perfect", which is a far cry from simply being good.

[rikuoamero]

Where in the Bible does Jesus tell people to be good?

Asks a Christian, startlingly enough...

If you don't know, or are implying Jesus doesn't tell us to do so...what does this imply about him and his supposed status or character, especially as a teacher of morals?

[Divine Insight]

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. "

The fact that both of these obviously contradictory statements are attributed to the Jesus character in the Bible should be all people need to recognize that these stories are totally fabricated fiction. (whether any person named Jesus ever existed or not)

Or, if we insist that some guy named Jesus actually said these contradictory things, then we can rest assured that he was a total fake who was preaching nothing more than nonsense.

At one point he tells us to be perfect like God, and at the next moment he tells us that no one is good except God alone.

If it is impossible for us to be perfect, then why tell us to be perfect?

Clearly this theology has been caught red-handed preaching utter nonsense. Anyone who continues to take it seriously after recognizing this simply isn't paying attention, or they are unwilling to face the truth.

[marco]

[Replying to post 4 by marco]

I'm not sure what's intended here.

It seems to be a simple question.

Yes, it is a simple question and I don't know what the intention behind it is. Do you?

No, I am not thinking that would qualify, since there would be a tremendous difference between, "good", and "perfect." He seems to be saying, "good is not good enough."

In fact, as we look at the next passage you refer to which was,

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. "

He seems to be saying, "we are not even good."

Good is a shade of perfection. Of course he's asking folk to be good; his suggestion that they aim for the stars means that if they strike the moon they still attain some success. But basically telling ordinary mortals to be perfect is stupid but Jesus wasn't perfect himself.

So again, it seems to be a simple question, and thus far all we seem to have come up with is, Jesus tells us, "we are not good", and "we are to be perfect", which is a far cry from simply being good.

When Jesus said: be perfect, this is an example of the hyperbole he liked to use. It means - try your utmost! Did he actually use the words: "Be good" ? We don't know. We can merely deduce his intentions from his parables. He didn't say "Be bad," but we know he didn't intend that advice, again from his reported rhetoric. If the simple question is - Do the words "Be good" appear somewhere among Christ's quotes? - I can't see the reason for such a question. He probably didn't say: "Don't hang yourself; be joyful; smile a lot; eat sensibly..." but we can deduce nothing from this omission. Ergo my puzzlement over the simple question.

[Realworldjack]

[Replying to post 9 by marco]

Yes, it is a simple question and I don't know what the intention behind it is. Do you?

I do not know the intention, but I do not need to know what the intention may be, in order to give an answer, if I have one. When one asks the intention of a question, it sort of gives the impression they would like to dodge the issue. In other words, if you have the answer, then give it, and not worry about what the intention may be.

Good is a shade of perfection.

I don't think it is, but let's not get bogged down here. Jesus said, we are not even good, therefore it would not matter the shade, since the question is, "Where in the Bible does Jesus tell people to be good?" And we have not found a reference as of yet, but we have found where we are told, "we are not good."

Of course he's asking folk to be good

GOOD GRIEF! Here we are again, insisting on what Jesus meant, when on the other hand we argue, that we cannot even know what he may have said. If we cannot know what he may have said, then we cannot know what he may have meant, concerning something he may have never said.

Next, how can you demonstrate that Jesus was, "asking folks to be good?"

his suggestion that they aim for the stars means that if they strike the moon they still attain some success.

Again, how can you be so certain, this was his intent, because this is not what I get at all from this command?

When we take all of what Jesus is said to say, along with the rest of what the Biblical authors have to say, what he is saying is, "good isn't good enough, perfection is required, and you are not even good. Therefore, you should look at giving up your attempts at being good in order to appease God, and beg for mercy." This is what the whole of the Bible is concerned with, which is, giving up our efforts to appease God.

But basically telling ordinary mortals to be perfect is stupid

Nice! That'll win an argument.

When Jesus said: be perfect, this is an example of the hyperbole he liked to use. It means - try your utmost!

This is unreal? For someone who insists that we cannot even know what Jesus may have said, you can tell us exactly, (and I mean to the point) exactly what he meant, concerning something he may have never said.

So let's imagine for a moment, that Jesus never actually said these words at all. Would he have still meant what you insist here, even if he did not say the actual words?

Did he actually use the words: "Be good" ?

I am not sure, but one thing I am sure of now would be, you can tell us what he meant, even if he did not say the words.

We don't know.

Right, but if we want to know what he meant even if he did not say these words, then all we have to do is to ask you.

We can merely deduce his intentions from his parables.

Oh really? I did not know it was that simple?

He didn't say "Be bad,"

Maybe not, but he was said to have said, "no one is good." Sooooooo? What would that mean? Well, it would seem to mean, "you don't need to be bad, because you are bad."

Oh, and by the way, since you tend to think that Paul usurped the words of Jesus, let us see what Paul had to say,

There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.�
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,�
“The poison of asps is under their lips�;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness�;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.�
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes

Now this would be a quote by Paul from the Old Testament. Ergo, it would seem that Paul, Jesus, and the OT would agree, that we are all bad.

There is no need in arguing over whether or not all these would be correct that we are all bad, because that would not be the debate. The debate is, "does Jesus tell us to be good", and what we have found is, we cannot find such words, but he, Paul and the OT tell us, we are bad, which would seem to indicate that there would be no reason to tell us to be good, when we cannot.

I can't see the reason for such a question

Well I have no idea the intent of the originator of the OP, but I can certainly see a reason, and my reason would be to demonstrate that Christianity has nothing to do with morality, other than to encourage folks to give up on the chase.