A Heart for the Lord
Readings: Matthew 15:1-20
15:1-20pp -- Mk 7:1-23
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" 3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6 he is not to 'honor his father ' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" 13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us." 16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "
Reference verses:
After the flood
Genesis 8:21
Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood
Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
Psalm 37:31 NIV
The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.
Jeremiah 17:9
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
A Heart for the Lord
Reading: Matthew 15:1-20
Have you ever cheated death? Well in a manner of speaking I did just that this week when we visited Chicago for the first time. Chicago Illinois is home to several of the world’s tallest buildings. I made my way up the Willis Tower formerly the Sears Tower where they have installed four glass boxes that jut out from the 103rd floor of the 105 storey building.
The box is made entirely of glass the sides the ceiling and the floor and sits 4.3 feet out from the edge of the building. Our Canada Sky Dome has a similar tourist attraction. These attractions allow you to be suspended many hundreds of feet in the air as you look down to the streets below with only a sheet of glass between you and eternity. It gives you the feeling that you are perfectly safe despite the danger.
In today’s scripture passage we see many religious people using their religious traditions and their free interpretation of God’s word much like that glass that I stood upon. They could see the danger of where they were standing but thought they were safe and sound because of how they had constructed God’s word to accommodate their needs.
Jesus took the time to point out the eternal danger that their design had placed them in.
There was a Jewish tradition that allowed a son to abandon his family duties to both his parents if he had given himself to God’s service. This was not a scriptural loop hole but rather a tradition that had become a part of accepted Jewish practice.
The son in this case had a clear conscience thinking that his parents could see how his service to God superseded his service to his family. But Jesus did not see things the same way and called them on it.
My question today is; do the so called transparent barriers that we construct between ourselves and God’s word provide enough safety from God’s wrath?
Jesus told his listeners that they were hypocrites for the way they twisted God’s word to satisfy their desire to dispose of their family obligations while pretending to meet their religious obligations.
I was always taught that two wrongs do not make a right. But in today’s brand of Social Gospel it seems many Christian Churches are ready to throw out the baby with the bath water.
Today we in Christ’s Church want to sidestep the moral and social issues of the day by twisting scripture to accommodate our modern view or interpretation of God’s word.
We no longer call people who are opposed to God’s plan of salvation sinners we soften the language and call them lost. We do not want to offend anyone with the message of Christ.
Well Jesus offended lots of people with His message and he especially offended the religious ruling class of His day so much so that these men of God wanted Jesus dead.
Romans 9:33 KJV
As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed
Jesus was offensive to those who thought themselves self-righteous and religiously superior to their neighbours. They were living a lie they were hypocrites just as Jesus said and they were offended because Jesus could see through them.
1 Peter 2:7-9 KJV
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
As Christians we may be just as guilty of twisting scripture to conform to the moral, social and religious accommodations of our culture in 2011.
What so called clear and transparent interpretations have you been applying to your walk and witness of Jesus Christ? Is it just enough to make you feel safe as you dangle from the precarious heights of today’s sinful culture?
We must be careful to be people who rightly divide God’s word, people who rightly interpret God’s word and who rightly apply God’s word in our church in our culture and in our personal lives.
Because:
Our God is not impressed with the words of our mouth but rather the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
We do not want to be called hypocrites for what we say and do. For that reason we must draw a line in the sand when it comes to accommodating our cultural values when they are in direct conflict with God’s word.
We can not be a people that are always backing up afraid that if we take a stand we might offend someone.
If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.
All around us people are falling, not from the great height of office towers but they are dangling by the thread of sin that is rampant in our society and culture today.
We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people - the called out ones. We have been saved from the great fall of eternal separation from God through and by the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.
It was the cross of Christ that saved us and the blood of Christ that washed us so that we might proclaim to those who are in danger of perishing that they too can escape hell and death.
The religious people of Jesus day were guilty of using the word of God to justify their sinful desires yet they were quick to point out the dirty hands of Jesus disciples.
They were more concerned with ritual ceremony than with spiritual substance in their lives. Let us live lives that show our hearts are right with God even if our hands our dirty.
Focus on your inner person so that Jesus will one day be reflected in your outer-person. Worry less about the spiritual condition of others and concentrate on your own walk with God – Amen.
