I have heard numerous sermons saying that "Jesus wasn't just a good teacher". I get that, I accept that, I believe that. But all too often this is followed up by the preacher saying that, in effect, 'all that matters is that Jesus died on the cross and was raised', as if, because 'Jesus was more than a teacher', this means that his teachings are secondary, and hence get sidelined. I do the opposite: I believe that, so far as practical living is concerned, how Jesus taught us to live is of primary importance, his death is the result of contemporary religious leaders of Jesus' day silencing a dissenting voice, and that his Resurrection just rubber stamps his authority. Thus I place Jesus' teachings central in my Faith, and all else peripheral to this, pretty much. Once Jesus' teachings are core, all else of importance is generally pulled in by them, and in how they are pulled in, we get insights into the correct understanding of scripture. Something like that, though my conclusions may fly in the face of tradition, I accept that.
What I aim to do here is to discuss Jesus' teachings, as separate from the question of Faith itself. I believe his teachings are worth following even if your are not Christian. I see a parallel with the teachings of the Buddha: they are great teachings to follow even if you are not a Buddhist. I have again heard numerous sermons saying things like 'not relying on your own reasoning', and there is a sense in this, but there is also a major problem: without checks and balances on meaning, the meaning of teachings will distort in time as a tradition grows and spreads. We have no tool other than reason to counter this, except to appeal to e.g. the Holy Spirit as some kind of 'magic fairy force that prevents distortion'. I don't believe that there is such a 'magic fairy force', and that the Holy Spirit is not and should not be thought of as that. To do so not only inhibits our capacity to question what we are taught, but also is to misunderstand the Spirit itself. I will give thoughts elsewhere on a possible 'rational explanation' for the mystery of the Spirit. I do not believe in a materialist view of metaphysics, but I do allow for that possibility when trying to 'cover all bases' in my thinking. So I follow through my reasoning from materialist assumptions 'just in case', rather than 'because I believe them'.