Judgment Against the Religious Man
August 22nd 2010 18:18
Many times, a religious person is quite different than a Christian. But there is some confusion about the distinction. God has laws, we see them laid out in the Old Testament. But man failed, and it was because God loved His creation (mankind) so much that He sent His Son Jesus to teach us and die for our sins as a sacrifice. This prophetic act allowed us to enter into a new arrangement, or covenant, with God. Jesus said that He did NOT come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Even though we must live by the commandments and not live by the flesh, the ritualistic “laws” have been done away with.
This is usually where confusion comes in. Most people think of Jesus as a great excuse for breaking the laws (commandments) of God, but they are wrong. They are confusing which “laws” the reference is to. God has commanded that we live a certain way. Commandments are like laws. But the laws that have been done away with are NOT the commandments or the things that God says HE does NOT want us to do. They are the rituals that man has deemed vitally important to outwardly show how religious they are.
There are many religious rituals that are deemed “highly important” and religious leaders have long misled people into thinking if they did not do these things then they would go to hell. When Jesus came, these little rituals no longer were important. Rituals can not save a man’s soul, only a relationship with Jesus Christ can do that. With this relationship everyone strives to please God and live according to His plan instead of their own.
Here is what Jesus said in Matthew 23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
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