Gospel Commands for Living a Good Life
A New Testament View of the Ten Commandments
by
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What do the gospels share about righteous living? In two of the gospels (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34), Jesus is asked to state the most important commandment by one of the teachers of the Jewish law. So, the following chapters can be summarized by Jesus’ answer to first love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second proceeds from the first, love your neighbor as yourself. I had originally wanted to concentrate on the second command, but after analyzing the gospels I could not ignore the spiritual side of living well. Humans cannot live well without addressing the needs of the human spirit. If the spirit is not fed, it gets thirsty. Perhaps it is not surprising that my academic analysis produced spiritual data that could not be ignored since the Bible was my primary data source.
Scripture, which for me includes both the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible, has been a key source of spiritual renewal for me. I have not memorized much of the Bible, but I do know that the Lord is my shepherd, as shared in the beloved 23rd Psalm. God has good things in store for us if we will accept them. When we give our allegiance to God, He sends a Spirit of Truth to guide us (John 16:13). This was a key theme in Charles M. Sheldon’s book, In His Steps. This book sparked a movement of Christians vowing to live their lives with Jesus as their example, asking “What Would Jesus Do?” or WWJD. I wore one of the plastic bracelets for a while. Jesus’ life and example has been a powerful force for goodness in my life as well as in the world.
Jesus relied on Scripture as He taught and preached: Law & Prophets, Isaiah, Moses, and others with a short list provided in Appendix B. Jesus only had the Old Testament of the Bible, but He held it in reverence as a source of truth and of comfort. In fact, when temped in the desert after His baptism, He found support from Scripture as the devil’s temptations were refuted. Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). As shared in Psalm 119, all Scripture is valuable for living a righteous and fulfilling life. Spiritual food can be found in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Jesus stated in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil.” Jesus acknowledged the value of Scripture which in His day was the Old Testament, often referred to as the Law and the Prophets. After Jesus’ baptism and before His public ministry, He was tempted by the devil. He used Scripture to answer all three temptations. Perhaps solid knowledge of the Bible could help all of us make good decisions when faced with life-changing experiences, opportunities, and temptations. Jesus did not replace the Old Testament teachings, but allowed Scripture to guide His life. With the guidance of Scripture, He was able to show us how to live. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
I have found great comfort and direction in Scripture at various times of my life. I have always kept a Bible handy at work and tried to read from it at least once a day. One day, my husband had forgotten to do something that was very important to me. I was mad. As I approached my Bible reading, my heart was troubled. God led me to a verse that I truly needed at the time. Psalm 66, just one verse 66:18 (Coincidently, 18 was my programmer number at the time). “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” It was amazing how quickly I forgave him and felt at peace after reading that. The Bible truly has a supernatural power to put my mind at ease. Troubles do not always disappear, but I am always able to face times of trouble with God’s help.
My goal in writing this book is to discover the pathway to live a good life. The Bible is my source of spiritual strength. I pray that all readers find their own path to spiritual renewal. “So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:2-6).
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About the Book
How does one live a good life? Solomon’s conclusion in Ecclesiastes was that we should fear God and adhere to his Ten Commandments. But how well did the teachings of Jesus follow these ancient commands? And did Jesus rely on the law of the Old Testament as he taught and preached or did he bring fresh ideas that instigated the writing of the New Testament?
Mara Jane Cawein relies on her thorough analysis of the four gospels to present the Ten Commandments as taught and exemplified by Christ in order to examine the process of righteous living while guiding spiritual seekers to reflect on their own paths and relationships with God. Along with her inspiring stories, Cawein offers personal commentary that connects teachings from the Old and New Testaments, references to additional Bible verses and songs, thoughtful discussion questions, and ponderances that reflect on a variety of religious topics and ideas.
Gospel Commands for Living a Good Life shares insight, wisdom, biblical references, and thought-provoking questions and ponderances that lead others through the Ten Commandments as taught and exemplified by Jesus in the gospels, with love for God and compassion for our neighbors.
About the Author
Doctor Grammy (Dr. Mara Jane Cawein) is a retired educator, mother of 3, and grandmother of 14. She has a BS in Mathematics, MSE in Math Education, and PhD in Leadership Studies, all from the University of Central Arkansas. She was a computer software engineer, a high school mathematics teacher with national board certification, and a university instructor for educators and pre-service teachers.
While on a college of education staff, she worked with pre-service teachers and national board candidates. She led state sites for non-traditional licensure and candidate support for teachers pursuing national board certification. She served on the board for Arkansas Teachers for National Board Certification (ATNBC). She has also assessed teacher candidate entries for the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards (NTBPS).
She is a member of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), an international honor society in education. She served as counselor for the Pi Beta chapter, led sessions at multiple conferences, and volunteered to assist with scholarship selection. She was honored as a KDP Teacher of Honor. She also co-authored a chapter for a teacher leadership book published by KDP.
She has served as a Sunday school teacher, youth director, attended numerous Bible study groups, and led many as well. Some of the topics of the special mission studies that she led include Native Americans, Haiti, and poverty.
As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), she has served as chapter treasurer, chapter regent, state historian, and state scholarship chair. DAR’s motto is “God, home, and country”. During her tenure as regent, her chapter’s motto was “In God we trust.”