Matthew 15:1-20
It is so easy to deceive ourselves into thinking that we can please God through our performance without giving Him our hearts. When we focus on performance, we become experts at rationalizing about our behavior to the point that we can convince ourselves that all is well even when we are living in obvious sin. The Pharisees had their religion of self-righteousness and rationalization down pat. They had plenty of rules and regulations, but no true love for God or relationship with Him. If I am honest with myself, the religion of rules is, far too often, the direction in which my heart leans so I must constantly remind myself of the truths of this text.
Walking with God is not about the TRADITIONAL it is about the RELATIONAL. The Pharisees confront Christ because His disciples are not washing their hands before they eat in the way that the tradition of the elders said they should. Christ ignores their preoccupation with hands and goes straight for the heart. Apparently, the Pharisees, who lived in many ways like kings, had rationalized that they didn't need to help their parents financially because they had given all that they had to God already. Never mind their fancy clothes and big houses, it all belonged to God. This is the epitome of rationalization. They convinced themselves that God needed them so much that they were excused from the basic principles of His Word. They are concerned about eating only the right foods and hand washing, while their parents were starving and suffering from neglect. God does not need our money nor our religious rituals. He wants us to love Him and to demonstrate that love through a genuine and sacrificial love for those that are around us.
Walking with God is not about the EXTERNAL it is about the INTERNAL. Christ knew that it was easy for men to become satisfied with simply wearing a mask of religious activity. The lists of what to eat and not eat and what could be done on this day or that had become a means of convincing themselves that all was well between them and God. They were willing to give up bacon in order to hide their hearts from the Lord. As a result they were angry, proud, petty, grumpy and lost. Christ cuts through all of the plastic and calls us to a true life of worship in which our hearts are open to Him. He knows that our problems are not about what come into our mouths but what come out of them. Our words of anger, pride, lust, hatred and lies reveal that we have a very serous heart condition. The problem is that we try to fix our hearts with the band aids of external religion when what we need is the Doctor of internal medicine to give us a heart transplant. My heart is no different than the prideful Pharisee or the immoral pagan. I must not be deceived into thinking that I can hide behind good behavior or religious activity and humbly lay my heart open before the Lord. Only by His grace and the cross of Christ can I enjoy a genuine relationship with Him, receive a new heart from Him and rejoice in the true worship of Him.
Walking with God is not about the TRADITIONAL it is about the RELATIONAL. The Pharisees confront Christ because His disciples are not washing their hands before they eat in the way that the tradition of the elders said they should. Christ ignores their preoccupation with hands and goes straight for the heart. Apparently, the Pharisees, who lived in many ways like kings, had rationalized that they didn't need to help their parents financially because they had given all that they had to God already. Never mind their fancy clothes and big houses, it all belonged to God. This is the epitome of rationalization. They convinced themselves that God needed them so much that they were excused from the basic principles of His Word. They are concerned about eating only the right foods and hand washing, while their parents were starving and suffering from neglect. God does not need our money nor our religious rituals. He wants us to love Him and to demonstrate that love through a genuine and sacrificial love for those that are around us.
Walking with God is not about the EXTERNAL it is about the INTERNAL. Christ knew that it was easy for men to become satisfied with simply wearing a mask of religious activity. The lists of what to eat and not eat and what could be done on this day or that had become a means of convincing themselves that all was well between them and God. They were willing to give up bacon in order to hide their hearts from the Lord. As a result they were angry, proud, petty, grumpy and lost. Christ cuts through all of the plastic and calls us to a true life of worship in which our hearts are open to Him. He knows that our problems are not about what come into our mouths but what come out of them. Our words of anger, pride, lust, hatred and lies reveal that we have a very serous heart condition. The problem is that we try to fix our hearts with the band aids of external religion when what we need is the Doctor of internal medicine to give us a heart transplant. My heart is no different than the prideful Pharisee or the immoral pagan. I must not be deceived into thinking that I can hide behind good behavior or religious activity and humbly lay my heart open before the Lord. Only by His grace and the cross of Christ can I enjoy a genuine relationship with Him, receive a new heart from Him and rejoice in the true worship of Him.
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