Note: Yesterday, as I was doing my study on Matthew 26-27, the Spirit of God opened my eyes to observe an important spiritual lesson. The following is the message which emerged out of this study.
We are well aware of the betrayal of Judas to the Lord Jesus. After Judas delivered the Lord into the hands of the enemies, he changed his mind and felt horribly guilty for betraying the innocent blood.
In order to rectify his sin, Judas brought back the thirty pieces of silver for which he betrayed the Lord and returned to the chief priests and the elders. When they despised him, Judas threw the money into the temple and went and hanged himself.
Observe carefully what happened after Judas left: “But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money" (Matt. 27:6).
When we just read this verse, we may suppose how obedient they were to keep the law! How concerned they were that they did not want to do anything against the law! How pious and righteous people they were!
But just before, in the previous chapter, it is written that “the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth [secretly and cleverly] and kill him” (Matt. 26:3-4). They even sought “false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death” (Matt. 26:59).
What's more, after the Lord was resurrected, they gave money to the soldiers to spread the false message that the disciples came by night and stole the body of Christ (Matt. 28:11-15).
These religious people who were so zealous to keep the law by not putting the blood money into treasury, they were the same people who through deception have arrested Jesus, sought false testimonies (which the second last commandment forbids in the Ten Commandments), killed him and spread the rumor that Jesus' body was stolen by His disciples.
Were these religious people following the law when they lied and followed deceptive ways to fulfill their evil plan? But they were concerned that it is against the law to put blood money into the temple treasury!
Here is what I say dangerous and deceptive spirituality is—it is very zealous to follow some parts of the word of God while at the same time blatantly disobeying other areas of Scripture. A person who is a victim of such spirituality behaves very godly in some things and very devilish in other things.
Moreover, because of being very particular in obeying some parts of the word of God, this person thinks he/she is quite pious and pleasing to God [this is where the religious people of Jesus' time were deceived]. They are completely blinded about how hardened and rebellious they are in the other areas of God’s word which absolutely displeases God.
How spurious this spirituality is! It seems many of us in our time are entangled in this dangerous and deceptive spirituality.
Some may ask, “How are we entrapped in this dangerous and deceptive spirituality?
We may claim of loving God with our whole being while having no love for our neighbor. Does not the same word of God which says to love God also command us to love our neighbor as ourself? (Matt. 22:37-39)
We may humble ourselves before God in prayer and desire to walk humbly before Him while behaving arrogantly before people. Does not the same word of God which encourages us to humble ourself before God also command us to walk humbly before people? (Mic. 6:8; Phi. 2:3)
We may be gentle and kind toward believers while being unkind and harsh toward our spouse and children. Does not the same word of God which says to be kind towards one another as believers also command us to be loving towards our spouse and children? (Eph. 4:32; 5:22-6:4)
We may be active in sharing the gospel of Christ while speaking lies to others. Does not the same word of God which says to go and preach the gospel also command us to speak the truth to one another? (Mark 16:15; Col. 3:9)
We may be regular to Sunday fellowship and participate in corporate worship while neglecting to love church people and serve them? Does not the same word of God which says not to neglect church fellowship also command us to love and serve God’s people? (Heb. 10:25; Gal. 5:13)
We may be earnest in our prayers to God while gossiping about someone's weaknesses with others? Does not the same word of God which says to devote ourselves to pray also command us not to gossip about others weaknesses? (Col. 4:2; 2 Cor. 12:20)
We may be caring toward our spouse and children while dishonoring our parents and being careless towards them. Does not the same word of God which says to love our spouse and children also command us to honor our parents and care for them? (Eph. 5:22-6:4; Matt. 15:4-6)
We may be passionate for evangelism and church planting while being indifferent to care for orphans, widows and the helpless. Does not the same word of God which says to fulfill the Great Commission also command us to care for the orphans, widows and the helpless? (Matt. 28:19-20; Jas. 1:27)
We may be sincere in confessing our sins to God and asking Him to forgive us while we hold grudge and bitterness toward others. Does not the same word of God which says to confess our sins to God also command us to have forgiving heart toward others? (1 John 1:9; Col. 3:13)
We may be good in giving our tithes and offerings to the church while we love money and are possessive toward our possessions. Does not the same word of God which says to be generous in giving also command us not to love money and possessions? (2 Cor. 9:6; 1 Tim. 6:10)
We may be submissive in church while manifesting disobedience in the workplace. Does not the same word of God which says to be submissive in the church also command us to be submissive in the workplace? (Heb. 13:17; Eph. 6:5-8)
Everything said above could be vice versa.
We can go on and on and see how passionately we obey one Scripture and blatantly disobey other Scriptures. The worst part in this is that we may only see what we are obeying and justify ourself without seeing what we are disobeying and rectify ourself.
How we often fall in this dangerous and deceptive spirituality!
Remember, what the Lord Jesus said – "teaching them to observe ALL that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20). We are not called to obey one Scripture and disobey the other Scriptures. We are called to obey the whole Scripture wholeheartedly.
Wait a minute! Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying we should live a perfect and sinless life. Nevertheless, by God's grace, we should make every effort to follow all the Scripture. And whenever we fail to do so, let us repent of our sins and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to obey. But let us never justify what we disobey by what we obey. May we always be poor in the spirit and seek spiritual richness.
May the Lord open our eyes to see the horrendous spirituality that is prevailing in our time and give us the grace to live an authentic, God-pleasing Christian life. Let’s maintain a repentant and God-fearing heart, living a genuine life in Christ.
"Have mercy on us and save us, O Lord, from this dangerous and deceptive spirituality."
__________________________
We are well aware of the betrayal of Judas to the Lord Jesus. After Judas delivered the Lord into the hands of the enemies, he changed his mind and felt horribly guilty for betraying the innocent blood.
In order to rectify his sin, Judas brought back the thirty pieces of silver for which he betrayed the Lord and returned to the chief priests and the elders. When they despised him, Judas threw the money into the temple and went and hanged himself.
Following One Thing and Disobeying the Other
Observe carefully what happened after Judas left: “But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money" (Matt. 27:6).
When we just read this verse, we may suppose how obedient they were to keep the law! How concerned they were that they did not want to do anything against the law! How pious and righteous people they were!
But just before, in the previous chapter, it is written that “the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth [secretly and cleverly] and kill him” (Matt. 26:3-4). They even sought “false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death” (Matt. 26:59).
What's more, after the Lord was resurrected, they gave money to the soldiers to spread the false message that the disciples came by night and stole the body of Christ (Matt. 28:11-15).
These religious people who were so zealous to keep the law by not putting the blood money into treasury, they were the same people who through deception have arrested Jesus, sought false testimonies (which the second last commandment forbids in the Ten Commandments), killed him and spread the rumor that Jesus' body was stolen by His disciples.
Were these religious people following the law when they lied and followed deceptive ways to fulfill their evil plan? But they were concerned that it is against the law to put blood money into the temple treasury!
Here is what I say dangerous and deceptive spirituality is—it is very zealous to follow some parts of the word of God while at the same time blatantly disobeying other areas of Scripture. A person who is a victim of such spirituality behaves very godly in some things and very devilish in other things.
Moreover, because of being very particular in obeying some parts of the word of God, this person thinks he/she is quite pious and pleasing to God [this is where the religious people of Jesus' time were deceived]. They are completely blinded about how hardened and rebellious they are in the other areas of God’s word which absolutely displeases God.
How spurious this spirituality is! It seems many of us in our time are entangled in this dangerous and deceptive spirituality.
Some may ask, “How are we entrapped in this dangerous and deceptive spirituality?
Dangerous and Deceptive Spirituality
We may claim of loving God with our whole being while having no love for our neighbor. Does not the same word of God which says to love God also command us to love our neighbor as ourself? (Matt. 22:37-39)
We may humble ourselves before God in prayer and desire to walk humbly before Him while behaving arrogantly before people. Does not the same word of God which encourages us to humble ourself before God also command us to walk humbly before people? (Mic. 6:8; Phi. 2:3)
We may be gentle and kind toward believers while being unkind and harsh toward our spouse and children. Does not the same word of God which says to be kind towards one another as believers also command us to be loving towards our spouse and children? (Eph. 4:32; 5:22-6:4)
We may be active in sharing the gospel of Christ while speaking lies to others. Does not the same word of God which says to go and preach the gospel also command us to speak the truth to one another? (Mark 16:15; Col. 3:9)
We may be regular to Sunday fellowship and participate in corporate worship while neglecting to love church people and serve them? Does not the same word of God which says not to neglect church fellowship also command us to love and serve God’s people? (Heb. 10:25; Gal. 5:13)
We may be earnest in our prayers to God while gossiping about someone's weaknesses with others? Does not the same word of God which says to devote ourselves to pray also command us not to gossip about others weaknesses? (Col. 4:2; 2 Cor. 12:20)
We may be caring toward our spouse and children while dishonoring our parents and being careless towards them. Does not the same word of God which says to love our spouse and children also command us to honor our parents and care for them? (Eph. 5:22-6:4; Matt. 15:4-6)
We may be passionate for evangelism and church planting while being indifferent to care for orphans, widows and the helpless. Does not the same word of God which says to fulfill the Great Commission also command us to care for the orphans, widows and the helpless? (Matt. 28:19-20; Jas. 1:27)
We may be sincere in confessing our sins to God and asking Him to forgive us while we hold grudge and bitterness toward others. Does not the same word of God which says to confess our sins to God also command us to have forgiving heart toward others? (1 John 1:9; Col. 3:13)
We may be good in giving our tithes and offerings to the church while we love money and are possessive toward our possessions. Does not the same word of God which says to be generous in giving also command us not to love money and possessions? (2 Cor. 9:6; 1 Tim. 6:10)
We may be submissive in church while manifesting disobedience in the workplace. Does not the same word of God which says to be submissive in the church also command us to be submissive in the workplace? (Heb. 13:17; Eph. 6:5-8)
Everything said above could be vice versa.
Final Words
We can go on and on and see how passionately we obey one Scripture and blatantly disobey other Scriptures. The worst part in this is that we may only see what we are obeying and justify ourself without seeing what we are disobeying and rectify ourself.
How we often fall in this dangerous and deceptive spirituality!
Remember, what the Lord Jesus said – "teaching them to observe ALL that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20). We are not called to obey one Scripture and disobey the other Scriptures. We are called to obey the whole Scripture wholeheartedly.
Wait a minute! Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying we should live a perfect and sinless life. Nevertheless, by God's grace, we should make every effort to follow all the Scripture. And whenever we fail to do so, let us repent of our sins and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to obey. But let us never justify what we disobey by what we obey. May we always be poor in the spirit and seek spiritual richness.
May the Lord open our eyes to see the horrendous spirituality that is prevailing in our time and give us the grace to live an authentic, God-pleasing Christian life. Let’s maintain a repentant and God-fearing heart, living a genuine life in Christ.
"Have mercy on us and save us, O Lord, from this dangerous and deceptive spirituality."
_________________________________________
Enquiries:
cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) messageforourage@gmail.com
Great word. Very true day to day situations.
ReplyDeleteI liked when you said ALL. It is very much true.. many of us do not realize it.
The Spirit go God spoke to my heart brother.
ReplyDelete