Jesus was not a moral teacher

Jesus was pretty clear when he claimed to be God, so even to say that you believe in his teachings isn't entirely fair or accurate to Jesus (whether you believe him alive or dead), because if you believe in His teachings, then you believe in God, but if you do not believe in God, then you do not believe in the teachings of Jesus.

Now if you want to claim the peripheral, no-strings attached morality that can be gleaned from the larger whole of his teachings, that's something that makes logical sense as a soundly stated POV (even if I don't agree with it).

But you cannot claim to believe in the teachings of Jesus (without any sort of specifying disclaimer) and then to also not believe in God. It might help to see the totality of Jesus's teachings not as teachings, but as a claim to deity, which is more accurately reflected in the scriptures.