Polluted Religion

John 18: 28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” 30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted. 31 “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.) 33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. 34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

Talk about living in a world where wrong is right and right is wrong. The chorus lyrics to the old Genesis song Land of Confusion in some ways should be applied to what was happening then and what is absolutely happening today. Land of Confusion:Now this is the world we live in (oh-oh-oh) And these are the hands we're given (oh-oh-oh) Use them and let's start trying (oh-oh-oh) To make it a place worth fighting for. Jesus was caught in the middle of evil in the religious leaders and the religion they were representing and even Pilate, a Roman, could see nothing wrong with Jesus. Pilate did not want anything to do with what the religious leaders were doing and in questioning Jesus He came up with his own conclusion about what needed to happen.

Our world is full of religions and some of them even attach themselves to Abba Father, and Jesus. The joining of those beliefs to the definitive truth of who the Bible says Jesus is pollutes the whole thing. I am not one who sets his faith in religion, and the pollution of even the gospel can mess everything up if we do not stay perfectly focused on the Word of God alone. Conservative, moderate, or liberal are terms that show man's slant on the Word of God can pollute the whole thing and that weakens the very faith we live. Our faith must be in the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that alone, or we stand guilty for polluting what happened on the cross. Caiaphas, the high priest wanted to shut up Jesus and stop the message, and he even tried to use the government in charge, the Romans. They hated the Romans so much they couldn't even go in to his chambers without being defiled by their very presence. So they left Jesus with Pilate alone. Jesus is pure in EVERY way and the very words He said to Pilate in His defense were perfect and undeniable.

Even a Roman could find no fault in Him, but the religious leaders were willing to lie, cheat, and manipulate the "system" to get "their" way. OH how we humans want things to go our way!! This is why Humanism is so rampate in today's church. If we don't agree with the Word of God we will just put our spin on the whole thing to satisfy us. A.W. Tozer wrote the following in His book The Radical Cross. “We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.”

How much has worldliness found it's way into the gospel of Jesus Christ? Too much I say. Jesus was framed, and wrongfully convicted because of the religious leaders warping of the Word of God and He "gave" His life in spite of all the injustice of the arrest, the trial, and the crucificixion. What an indictment it would be on us today if the world had a very positive attitude about what Jesus did . It would cause "the church" to have to rethink our commitment to the truth of the Word of God. That may have to happen to awaken the power of the Holy Spirit in the modern-day church. We need awakening and may our tendency to follow religion never stop that awakening from happening! It is time for Humanism and the impurity of religious beliefs to be removed from the church in every area. Let it begin first in the hearts of God's people and let the Word of God be our source for what to do. No more Polluted Religion.

Today's Message,

David Warren