Luke 5: 17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” 21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man[d] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
When religion gets in the way of God moving “Houston we have a problem.” Religion was trying to keep the Son of God from being the Son of God and Jesus was having to explain himself at every turn “to religious people.” If you have a Spirited-filled relationship with Jesus you will probably have to explain yourself again and again, just like Jesus did. Why? Because religion has a little bit of God and a lot of man in it. Just sayin...
The conclusion is “don’t be religious” but be Spirit filled and live from there. Oh we have seen abuses of the Spirit-filled life and some people can only believe in something the “group” believes in, but don’t fall into that compromised trap. It is compromised because it has too much man and not enough Spirit in it. Look at what Paul wrote in Galatians 5 and you will see what I am writing about. Galatians 5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. Paul was dealing with the same type of religious people Jesus dealt with in the above verses in Luke 5 and the same type of religious people were following Paul around trying to disrupt the preaching of the gospel and discredit who he was to the point of trying to bind him to religious laws.
Jesus met them face to face and showed them the truth of who He was and Paul did the same again and again. Paul had to because those religious people would try to pull the new converts into their religion and the wrong direction. We will always have religious people trying to “human-down” the life of the Spirit, but do not forget the Holy Spirit. Francis Chan wrote a very truthful book called Forgotten God:Reversing the Tragic Neglect of The Holy Spirit. The following quote from his book says a lot about what it means to live by the Spirit. “I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit's leading on a daily basis. Christ said its better for us that the Spirit came and I want to live like that is true. I don't want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.”
The last verse in Luke 5 says the following. Verse 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” When was the last time you were gripped with great wonder and awe? If it has been awhile, you may be in the “grip” of religion and you need to be in the “grip” of the Holy Spirit. Religion will only lead to a weak faith and a distant relationship with our Savior, who died so that our relationship with our Father is very close to the point where we call Him Abba Father, or daddy. Life in the Spirit is life in a close walk with God and He loves you, so love Him back and let Him lift you to new heights in your life and soar like an eagle. The crippled man in Luke 5 jumped up, picked up his mat and went home praising God. What is the result of your “walk” with God? Jump up and praise God for He is worthy! Are you willing to accept anything it takes to get to that point?
The Pilgrimage Continues,
David Warren