In this series, we want unbelievers to understand that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship. We also want believers to understand that the way to life the Christian life is not by religion. Many unbelievers have concluded Christianity is a religion because believers have taken a religious approach to living the Christian life. Therefore, one of the best things that believers can do for unbelievers is to lose our religion.
We’ve talked about justification - being right with God. We said we can’t be made right with God by our good works, but only by the work Christ performed through His death for our sins and His resurrection.
We’ve also talked about sanctification - living right for God. The way to live right for God is not by a religious approach focusing on “do’s and don’ts” but by cultivating our love relationship with Christ.
One of the ways we cultivate our love relationship with Christ is through our reading and studying of the Bible. Through the Scripture, we can grow in our relationship with Christ and thus, be enabled to live for God. Jesus prayed for us and said: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” - John 17:17 (NIV)
Through spending time in God’s Word, we can learn truth that enables us to live right for God. This brings us to our today’s topic - how, as followers of Christ, we need to reject religion for real truth.
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Paul is writing to the church in Corinth - a church he started. He had been away for a while and another group had arrived, who taught things contrary to Paul. This group was part of what scholars refer to as “Judaizers.” We first encounter the “Judaizers,” in Acts 15.
“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.’” - Acts 15:5 (NIV)
These folks were believers who insisted that if one was to be right with God and live right for God, they must adhere to the law of Moses.
As we pointed out last time, as we looked to Matthew 11:28-30, Rabbis in Jesus’ day would develop a suggested way of living called a “yoke” to teach people how to keep from violating the law of Moses. A rabbi would have thousands of laws called “hedges” he taught as his suggested way of living right for God.
This was the Judaizer’s approach. Paul, however, said the way to live for God is through a growing love relationship. The Judaizers brought letters of recommendation to validate their teachings. Paul’s letters of qualification were the changed lives of the Corinthians themselves.
In verse 6, Paul contrasts his approach to the Scriptures with that of these Judaizers. What is saying is that his approach to the Scriptures presented real truth as opposed to that taught by the Judaizers, as
evidenced by the changed lives of the Corinthians believers.
How could Paul and these Judaizers approach the same Scripture (the Old Testament) and come to such different conclusions? The difference was that the Judaizers took a “letter of the law” approach, while Paul took a “led by the Spirit” approach.
1. A “letter of the law” approach focuses on defending tradition, while a “led by the Spirit” approach focuses on discovering truth - vs. 7-11
This New Covenant that Paul mentions in verse 6 is spoken of in the Old Testament. But these Judaizers were so focused on defending the traditions of Judaism that they failed to see it!
“‘The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,’ says the LORD. ‘I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’” - Jeremiah 31:31-32a; 33 (NLT)
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” - Ezekiel 36:25-28 (NIV)
Though the New Covenant, God would enable His people to know: A) Unconditional forgiveness; B) The presence and power of His Spirit; C) Real transformation from the inside out; and D) An
intimate love relationship with God.
What Christ provided was predicted by Scripture, yet they didn’t see it. Why? They focused on defending traditions, not discovering truth.
“A problem comes when we mistake the vessel for the trea sure, for the treasure is the life and power of Jesus Christ. I will always be the person who was brought up in the First Baptist Church of Buffalo, Missouri, and the First Baptist Church of Willow Springs, Missouri, and Shiloh Baptist Church in Rover, Missouri. I thank God for all that. But to make that spirituality my life - that’s the point at which I may begin to think that being a good Baptist is more important than being obedient with my whole person to Jesus Christ.
Now, substitute for “Baptist” anything you want. The problem is that conducting the religious life can become an entirely cultural kind of thing. And we can idolize our religious culture. It is so important for us to remember that a culture can capture us and shut off our access to the supernatural spirituality of the Kingdom of God.” - Dallas Willard, The Great Omission
2. A “letter of the law” approach focuses on reinforcing my way of thinking, while a “led by the Spirit” approach focuses on revitalizing my way of thinking - vs. 12-16
Paul refers to Exodus 34:29-35. After Moses would spend time in the Lord’s presence, his face would radiate God’s glory. The Israelites would see this when he spoke with them about what God said. Then he would put a veil over his face. Paul says Moses did this so people wouldn’t be disappointed to see that the glory eventually faded (v. 13).
Moses put a veil over his face to keep the people from seeing the glory fade & the Jews (and Judaizers) had a veil over their hearts that kept them from seeing the lasting glory of God’s truth. That veil was they’re determination on reinforcing their way of thinking.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” - Matthew 5:17 (NIV)
Jesus did this in the way He taught (The Sermon on the Mount) and through what He did (the establishment of the New Covenant). This is what Paul means in verses 14 & 16 - as we let the Spirit illuminate our understanding, we will change our ways of thinking as we are taken deeper and deeper into the truth found in God’s Word. And one thing is for sure, we will come to know Christ better and better as we see that even in the Old Testament, Jesus is all over the place!
3. A “letter of the law” approach focuses on what I need to do for God, while a “led by the Spirit” approach focuses on what God can do through me - v. 17
When my approach to Scripture is to learn what I need to do for God, I become burdened with obligations I cannot fulfill. But as I look to Scripture to learn what God can do through me, I am freed to live life on a higher level. The Holy Spirit not only inspired the writing of Scripture, but illuminates my understanding of Scripture and enables me to apply the Scripture. What Paul says echoes our Lord’s words:
“But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth).” - John 16:13a (Amplified)
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” - John 8:31-32 (NIV)
We’ll talk about this more as we continue in this series.
4. A “letter of the law” approach focuses on outward conformity to what others say is right, while a “led by the spirit” approach focuses on inside-out conformity to what the Lord is like - v. 18
“And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.” (Amplified)
Conclusion: Perhaps you have heard it said, “Some people have missed salvation by a matter of inches - the distance from the head to the heart.” The point is that salvation is something one experiences in their heart. Until one experiences God in this way, their intellectual knowledge of God will do them no good with respect to salvation.
While acknowledging this to be the case, it must also be emphasized that ALL of God’s truth is known in this way - in the heart. If it is true (and it is) that “some people have missed salvation by a matter of inches - the distance from the head to the heart,” it is equally true that “some believers are missing out on the fullness of salvation by a matter of a few inches - the distance from the head to the heart.”
