true and false religion

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A Matter of Ritual Purity Mark 7:1-4 The Pharisees, along with some religion scholars who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around him. They noticed that some of his disciples weren’t being careful with ritual washings before meals. The Pharisees— Jews in general, in fact—would never eat a meal without going through the motions of a ritual hand-washing, with an especially vigorous scrubbing if they had just come from the market (to say nothing of the scourings they’d give jugs and pots and pans). 5 The Pharisees and religion scholars asked, “Why do your disciples flout the rules, showing up at meals without washing their hands?”

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Page 1: True and False Religion

A Matter of Ritual PurityMark 7:1-4 The Pharisees, along with some religion scholars who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around him. They noticed that some of his disciples weren’t being careful with ritual washings before meals. The Pharisees—Jews in general, in fact—would never eat a meal without going through the motions of a ritual hand-washing, with an especially vigorous scrubbing if they had just come from the market (to say nothing of the scourings they’d give jugs and pots and pans).

5 The Pharisees and religion scholars asked, “Why do your disciples flout the rules, showing up at meals without washing their hands?”

Page 2: True and False Religion

Way Ahead of Their Time?

Page 3: True and False Religion

“The Pharisees held their traditions in high regard; unwilling to innovate more than necessary, they grounded everything they could in the teaching of their predecessors. Thus they wanted to know where Jesus, as a popular teacher, stands on issues on which their tradition commented (such as washing hands), they

can evaluate his teaching accordingly.”

Cra i g S . Keener

Litmus Tests

Same-sex MarriageImmigration Reform Gun ControlFemale LeadersEvolution GamblingEnd TimesInerrancy Drinking Dancing Smoking

Page 4: True and False Religion

Isaiah Predicted ThisMark 7:6-8 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right about frauds like you, hit the bull’s-eye in fact:

These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they are worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover    for teaching whatever suits their fancy, ditching God’s command    and taking up the latest fads.”

Page 5: True and False Religion

“The very thing the Pharisees prized as spiritual--the traditions derived from many pious and wise teachers who had tried to

interpret and apply God’s law--Jesus claims is undercutting the plain message of God.”

Cra i g S . Keener

Religious in FormBut Not Close to God in Heart

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Page 6: True and False Religion

It’s Supposed to Be about Right Relationships

Mark 7:9-13 He went on, “Well, good for you. You get rid of God’s command so you won’t be inconvenienced in following the religious fashions! Moses said, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel out of that by saying that it’s perfectly acceptable to say to father or mother, ‘Gift! What I owed you I’ve given as a gift to God,’ thus relieving yourselves of obligation

to father or mother. You scratch out God’s Word and scrawl a whim in its place. You do a lot of things like this.”

14-15 Jesus called the crowd together again and said, “Listen now, all of you—take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it’s what you vomit—that’s the real pollution.”

corban

Page 7: True and False Religion

Jesus was attacking the Pharisees because they were such HYPOCRITES--constantly emphasizing certain parts of

God’s law while conveniently creating loopholes for themselves so that they could violate the spirit of the law while appearing

to be strictly focused it.

Legal Loopholes

Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Page 8: True and False Religion

Heart DiseaseMark 7:17 When he was back home after being with the crowd, his disciples said, “We don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”

18-19 Jesus said, “Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you see that what you swallow can’t contaminate you? It doesn’t enter your heart but your stomach, works its way through the intestines, and is finally flushed.”

(That took care of dietary quibbling; Jesus was saying that all foods are fit to eat.)

20-23 He went on: “It’s what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution.”

Page 9: True and False Religion

Questions Seeking Answers

What is it about many of our Rules and Requirements that rub Jesus the wrong way?

What does life together look like when we stress Right Relationships more than

simply Following the Rules?What does Jesus want us to learn from his

“inside, not outside” assertion?

Page 10: True and False Religion

We instinctively formExclusive Groups

Page 11: True and False Religion

To Exclude & Expel

Girls Rule, Boys Drool

No Gurls Allowed

East Asians Only

Hipsters Only

Only If You’re Like Us

Definitely Not You

Page 12: True and False Religion

We destroy what we believe we’re protecting.

Page 13: True and False Religion

No gays

Not you

Too many questions

Too messyToo sinful

Too scandalous

Where’s the WIDENESS of God’s Mercy?

Keep out

Not like us

Only we meet God’s

requirements and follow enough of

God’s rules. Yay, us!

you’reout

“What a pathetic bunch of arrogant, irrelevant, ignorant, shallow,

heartless, conceited, God-less

hypocrites.”

Page 14: True and False Religion

Christ’s Love Is Unconditional

Matthew 11:28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

This is the plain message of God.