His Word versus our own standards

[mont974x4]

The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, ‘It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself” (Wiersbe 134).

Wiersbe, Warren, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament Volume 1.

How sad it is when our traditions are valued more highly than His Word.

Our Lord fought so well against legalism. Let us boldly proclaim the Gospel of grace. Let us recognize where our own traditions have been used to put people into bondage so that we can repent.

 

[laconicstudent]

Um, why are you quoting a Rabbinic writing? It has nothing to do with Christians.

 

[mont974x4]

Um, why are you quoting a Rabbinic writing? It has nothing to do with Christians.

You do realize that the Christian faith has deep Jewish roots, don't you? Jesus was a Jew, as were most of the early church leaders that we read about in Scripture. The writers of our Bible are mostly Jews.

The reason the writing is important is it illustrates a mindset that Jesus stood against, Matthew 15:10-20 for example, and we see the same trend in churches today. For example, some denominations legalistic approach to alcohol, clothing choices, dietary laws, nudity, music and other forms of entertainment are modern applications of the principle.

 

[laconicstudent]

You do realize that the Christian faith has deep Jewish roots, don't you? Jesus was a Jew, as were most of the early church leaders that we read about in Scripture. The writers of our Bible are mostly Jews.

The reason the writing is important is it illustrates a mindset that Jesus stood against, Matthew 15:10-20 for example, and we see the same trend in churches today. For example, some denominations legalistic approach to alcohol, clothing choices, dietary laws, nudity, music and other forms of entertainment are modern applications of the principle.

Oh, that makes more sense then.

 

[ebia]

The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, ‘It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself” (Wiersbe 134).

Wiersbe, Warren, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament Volume 1.

I think you mean the The Bible Exposition Commentary.

Unfortunately Wiersbe hasn't footnoted the quote, because I would like to see it in context - it looks like hyperbole to me.

Our Lord fought so well against legalism.

What exactly do you mean by legalism?

 

[mont974x4]

I think you mean the The Bible Exposition Commentary.

Unfortunately Wiersbe hasn't footnoted the quote, because I would like to see it in context - it looks like hyperbole to me.

Thanks, fixed it. I am sitting here with a few commentaries.


What exactly do you mean by legalism?

I mean exactly what I said. Like the Pharisees we have built religious systems built on rules that were not ordained by God and we demand people obey them. We have violated ideas of freedom like those in Col 2.

Hang on, I am almost done with my sermon notes for tomorrow..I will share them.

 

[mont974x4]

It is Not What Goes into a Man that Defiles Him​

Mat 15:10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand.
Mat 15:11 "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."
Mat 15:12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?"
Mat 15:13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.
Mat 15:14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
Mat 15:15 Peter said to Him, "Explain the parable to us."
Mat 15:16 Jesus said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also?
Mat 15:17 "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?
Mat 15:18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
Mat 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Mat 15:20 "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man."

The same event is recorded in Mark 7:

Mar 7:14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:
Mar 7:15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
Mar 7:16 ["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."]
Mar 7:17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.
Mar 7:18 And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,
Mar 7:19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.)
Mar 7:20 And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
Mar 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
Mar 7:22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Mar 7:23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

Jesus and the Pharisees have been sparring back and forth over the Law and their traditions. The Jews often referred to their traditions as fences around the Law. We have talked about this a few times over the years. They would create new rules to help guard people from getting close to the edge of the Law, but it did not take long for those manmade rules to be thought of as, and treated, as the Law. So, when Jesus or the Disciples would violate their traditions they would get upset and claim they were breaking the Law and Jesus would correct them. “The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, ‘It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself” (Wiersbe 134). We see this play out in the arguments over working on the Sabbath and washing their hands, for example. In the event recorded in these passages we see Jesus really getting to the point of the matter.
He starts off by calling the people to pay attention. He calls them to hear and understand. It’s like saying, this is important, you really need to be sure you get this. He tells them that it is not what you eat and drink that makes you unclean, but what you say, and by extension what you do. Now, He does not say anything about actions in this verse, but I believe they are implied and this is supported by the list given in verse 19 (or verses 21 and 22 of Mark 7).
The response in verse 12 of Matthew 15 is quite telling. The disciples ask Jesus if He noticed that He offended the Pharisees. Of course He knew! He decided it was more important to offend them with the truth than allow people to continue to offend God without being warned.
Jesus explains that they will be uprooted. He uses the imagery of a plant being uprooted because it was not planted by the Father. This is the same thing as God destroying and uprooting false religious systems. The Pharisees had built their system of faith, a plant not sown by the Father, and it will be uprooted. Jesus says that they are blind men leading other blind men and they will all fall into a pit. I cannot help but wonder at the implications here for the end times judgment. It is not the point of this passage but it seems Jesus is alluding to the peril they face on that day. The Pharisees are being compared to weeds being pulled that will one day be thrown on the burn pile, or more to the point a lake of fire that will be stumbled into because of their own folly.
The disciples do not want to be foolish, so they ask for clarification. Certainly some foods and drinks have different physical impacts and depending on other physical issues some foods are better for a person than others. This is different than what is at issue here. Eating and drinking are not sin issues; they do not make us unclean, and therefore unable to come before God. Jesus offers a mini anatomy lesson. We eat or drink, it goes into our stomach, and at some point we eliminate it from our bodies. In fact in Mark’s account the fact that the heart is not involved in this process is pointed out clearly in verse 19 of Mark 7.
However, what we say comes out of the heart. If I harbor adultery in my heart it is going to impact what I say, and eventually what I do. If I harbor envy in my heart, my words and my actions will be impacted. What if my pride impacts my speech so I verbally beat up another believer? What if I allow it to impact how I talk to my wife and kids? What does making comments about other drivers indicate about my heart? What do the words I use in discussions at school or work say about my heart? Remember that Jesus said to look on a woman with lust in our heart is the same as committing adultery (Matt 5:27). Remember what He said about being angry and calling someone a fool in the same chapter?
One of the things I found interesting from the passage in Matthew is Jesus telling the Disciples to leave the Pharisees alone in verse 14. This is not main point for us today, we may hit it next week, but I want to address this briefly. The Pharisees have been told the truth, and we should tell people the truth, but in the end they are responsible for themselves and their own choices. What I am hoping we take from the event recorded in these passages is the importance of our own self-examinations.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

This is not a fun, or even a comfortable thing I am asking us to do in response to this sermon. I spend a lot of time examining various teachings and what others are saying and writing, and those are important but I am concerned I am becoming overcritical and judgmental of the people. I do not think it serves us or honor God very well if I recognize false teaching of others and ignore sin in my own heart that defiles me, my words, and my actions. It does not good if I am so concerned with what someone else is doing that I can’t leave it to God, and I ignore what is going in my own heart and what God is trying to teach me. I can’t teach you, or encourage you to do good and godly things, if I neglect my own heart. I certainly can’t demand, or even encourage, you to do things that are not commanded by God, no matter how good and wise they seem. The main point Jesus was making in this event is that all those extra rules and religious practices do not do anything for us, nor does not doing them make us sinners.
I am reminded of this passage from Colossians 2:
Col 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--
Col 2:17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
Col 2:18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
Col 2:19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
Col 2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
Col 2:21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"
Col 2:22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?
Col 2:23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
So, as we examine ourselves and we ask God to show us the error in our hearts, let us remember what is and what is not His standard.

 

[Fireinfolding]

Good post Monte

Mat 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Col 2:19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, ‘It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself” (Wiersbe 134).

Wiersbe, Warren, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament Volume 1.

How sad it is when our traditions are valued more highly than His Word.

Our Lord fought so well against legalism. Let us boldly proclaim the Gospel of grace. Let us recognize where our own traditions have been used to put people into bondage so that we can repent.

AMEN!

And so did my bro Paul

http://www.christianforums.com/t7458936/
"for I am having 5 brothers...." Luke 16:28

Matt 23:27 'Woe to ye Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
That ye are likened to sepulchres, whitewashed, who-any outwardly indeed appearing beautiful, within yet are being replete of bones of dead-ones, and of every uncleanness

Acts 23:2 The yet Chief-priest Ananias enjoins those standing beside him to be smiting of him the mouth.
3 Then the Paul said toward him, "to be smiting thee is being about the God.
Wall! whitewashed, and thou, thou dost sitting judging me according to the law, and being beside law, ordering me to be being smitten!' [Matt 23:27]

 

[Frogster]

I think you mean the The Bible Exposition Commentary.

Unfortunately Wiersbe hasn't footnoted the quote, because I would like to see it in context - it looks like hyperbole to me.



What exactly do you mean by legalism?

I always that it was common knowledge that they added the traditions to the Jews.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Originally Posted by ebia I think you mean the The Bible Exposition Commentary.

Unfortunately Wiersbe hasn't footnoted the quote, because I would like to see it in context - it looks like hyperbole to me.

What exactly do you mean by legalism?

Lawyers and Prosecutors......legalism.....

#3544 used 9 times in 8 verses according to ISA. Interesting this word is used only in Matt [1 time] and Luke [6 times] of the Gospels.
This form used in Luke 11:46, 52

Young) Luke 11:46 and he said, `And to you, the lawyers/nomikoiV <3544>, woe! because ye burden men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves with one of your fingers do not touch the burdens.

Luke 11:52 "Woe to ye the Lawyers/nomikoiV <3544>, that ye take away the Key of the Knowledge, yeselves not enter and of the ones entering ye hinder/forbid'

3544. nomikos nom-ik-os' from 3551; according (or pertaining) to law, i.e. legal (ceremonially); as noun, an expert in the (Mosaic) law:--about the law, lawyer.

 

[Emmy]

Dear mont974x4. In Matthews, chapter 22, verses 35-40, Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first Commandment is this, love thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like unto it: " love thy neighbour as thou loves thyself. On these two Commandments hang all the Law, and all the Prophets." This is what Jesus wants from us, love for God with all our beings, and love for each other, selfless love with no strings attached. You are right, Jesus also spoke out against legalism and making many unimportant demands. We know that Jesus is our Saviour and the Way back to God, our Heavenly Father. He told us again and again, " repent," exchange our selfish and wilful character for love for God, and selfless love and forgiveness for each other. " Love as we love ourselves, and forgive as God has forgiven us. I say this with love, mont. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.