Matthew 23:Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. 5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms, they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi.
When Jesus appeared on the scene it was at the height of religious activities. The reason all of this fell apart was that disobedience, pride, power, position, and the human element was the dominant thing in those religious circles. The religious leaders not only believed all of these religious practices, but the teachers of the law were indoctrinating the people and putting extra religious demands on the people. Jesus' teaching exposed all of the compromised teachings of the law of Moses and exposed the teacher's intent in their doctrinal abuse. In verse 5 Jesus said Everything they do is for show, and the reality of the abuse was brought to light and it was ready to be Undone. The religious leaders were not going to let go without a fight and the power they had by teaching the law to benefit themselves was going to be a challenge for Jesus in the days ahead. When sin gets a foothold, even in religion, it is tough to root out.
In the modern-day church, we call them traditions, and many are half-truths and compromised teachings as filtered through human reasoning. The only way to find the pure truth of the Word of God is to study it ourselves and let the Holy Spirit guide us in what to believe. When we get in the Word the humanistic leanings of man will be Undone, just like the teaching of the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
The end result will be the Word of God coming alive for you and a journey of faith will begin to draw you more and more into the Word of God. If you want to enlarge your faith. Study the Word. If you want to find the mysteries of God. Study the Word. If you want to deepen your relationship with the Lord. Study the Word! If you want unfiltered truth that propels you more and more into the Word. Study the Word!!
When we learn more from God's Word our lives become Undone from Humanism and redirected in a more Godly path. To be Undone by the Word will either be fought or rejected by a believer. You must choose which you will follow. Joshuas 24:15 says it well. Joshua 24:15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
The choice is yours. Follow God's Word or become a religious follower. God is waiting to show you the kingdom. Open the eyes of our hearts Lord. Ephesians 1:18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
The Pilgrimage Continues.
David Warren