“It is not easy to know what Jesus called his hearers to repent from; he speaks often of sinners, but rarely of their sins. The social consensus of his contemporaries about what counted as sin is not of much help; we cannot assume that he shared the widespread notions of sin, because we know that he challenged his contemporaries on that very issue. So we have to infer what he wanted people to repent from by looking at how he wanted them to live; sin appears here as a failure to live the life of discipleship as described in the Sermon on the Mount” (emphasis added).
—Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, & Reconciliation (115)
Carolyn Custis James 
That’s a good comment. I like it. I also find Jesus comments in Matthew 25: 34-45 are very helpful in many situations, with many kinds of people. It helps define both din and virtue. That actually begins in my family. In my manuscript I’ve used this illustration: “Are you patient with your family? You’re patient with Jesus. Do you hug them? You’re hugging Jesus. Do you yell at them? You’re yelling at Jesus. Do you really want to do that?
“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: Love others as you love yourself.” (Gal. 5:14) Also John 13:34, “Love each other just as much as I love you.” And ” Your care for others is the measure of your greatness (Luke 9:48, Living Bible.)
Keep up the good work!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Something to ponder . . . | Carolyn Custis James