Today’s bible study begins with a POWERFUL lesson for ALL churches throughout the world, as well as EVERY religion!
Jesus Condemns Man-Made Religious Rules &
Traditions!
Maybe it shouldn't be surprising that Satan, who is well-versed
in Scripture, deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5) by
twisting God’s Word to them. It should serve as a reminder to ALL Christians that
a superficial knowledge of the Bible is insufficient in facing our spiritual
adversary. To confront the enemy effectively, we must truly understand God’s
Word, and to do so we must intentionally study it!
Sadly, many religions and most Christians are on a
different, less challenging path than what God teaches in His Word. As we look into today’s bible study, we see
the religious leaders descending up Jesus at a location and confront Him about
a “tradition” of the need to wash hands before you eat. While it’s always a good idea, the religious
leaders turned it into a mandate that caused them to elevate it ABOVE God’s
Word.
I often think of my Catholics friends who pray to saints and
Mary, or even my friends who are Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses who elevate the
teachings of Joseph Smith and Charles Taxe Russell far beyond the teaching of
Scripture. Which surprises me! Because Jesus is very clear hear in Matthew 7:6-9
who warns against such evil.
Listen to what Jesus said, “Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when
he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me. Their
worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands
from God.’ For you ignore God’s
law and substitute your own tradition.” Then he said, “You skillfully
sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.”
Did you hear what He said?
Man-made religious rules NOT found
in Scripture is a FARCE!!! He tells them that these rules (man-made religious
rules) are an attempt to “skillfully sidestep” God’s law!
And, to show them how they’re sidestepping
God’s law, He provides a POWERFUL example that addresses the issue of unwashed
hands. As an example, Jesus shares the old tradition that “sidesteps” the 5th
Commandment to “honor your father and mother.”
The religious leaders gave the people who committed such sin a way
out. Jesus condemned them for this!!
In essence, Jesus says – “And so you cancel the word of God in
order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many
others.”
Jesus deeply offended the religious
leaders of His day by saying this! And,
I’m probably offending you as the reader if you’re guilty of holding man-made
religious rules at the same level or above God’s Word!
Following man-made religious rules
is very dangerous when trying to please a Holy and Perfect God!
After following the healing of a
demon-possessed girl and a blind mute in Matthew 7, another miracle takes place
in Matthew 8 - the feeding of over 4,000 people with only 7 loaves of bread and
a few small fish. Keep in mind that only men were counted in those days. Yet
many of these men had brought their wives and children (just as we read in the
book of Matthew in the feeding of the 5,000), so there may have been over
10,000 people!
In spite of these POWERFUL MIRACLES,
the religious leaders still want proof to the legitimacy of His ministry. Even
though they saw these miracles, they didn’t want to believe they were miracles.
How many times have we seen or
heard of God performing miracles, yet we still find ourselves NOT believing in
God who can change your circumstances?
-
He can provide the money when it
seems like there’s no way to get it!
-
He can save your marriage when your
partner has left you!
-
He can get you the job that perfect
for you when there just doesn’t seem to be a way!
-
He can cure your teenage daughter
or son of addictions when it seems impossible!
-
He can heal any disease…and has
often done it!
Why is it that we still don’t
believe???
Even Jesus’ disciples had a hard
time with believing! While they saw hundreds
and hundreds of miracles, and had just witnessed the feeding of the 5,000 then
later the 4,000 plus people, Jesus had to remind them of these miracles while
they were in the boat and worried that they had no bread.
It’s amazing how blind we can be!
Jesus Confirm He Is The Messiah
Jesus was curious as to what His
disciples were thinking about Him. While He knew them better than themselves,
this was His opportunity to allow Peter to proclaim the truth about Him – that He
was, in fact, the Messiah the Jews have longed for.
Jesus Predicts His Death
While this passage (Mark 8:31) is
one of many instances where Jesus tried to forewarn His disciples of His soon
coming crucifixion, they just didn’t want to believe it! And, when He was arrested by the Roman army,
the disciples who told Jesus they were committed to Him, fled the scene and
Peter denied ever knowing Him on three separate occasions.
Since Jesus knew this would
eventually happen, He reminds them that they shouldn’t be ashamed of knowing
Him. In fact, Jesus says an amazing
thing in Mark 8:38 – “If
anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the
Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t
want Jesus “ashamed” of me!
We should be vocal and proud of our
Lord! So many so-called Christians tell
me, “Well, I don’t share Christ with others because it’s a personal thing.”
Wow!
That’s not it! You’ve just
lied! The truth is, you’re ashamed of
Him. You’re ashamed of what other people
will think of you if you mention Him or if you share your faith about Him! Hogwash!
The reality is…you feel the same fear that Peter felt on that day when
He denied the Lord 3 times!
What
Do You Mean…”If I Can”
I love this statement by Jesus in
Mark 9:23!!
In this true story, a man brings his
son to Jesus who is horribly possessed by a demon or group of demons. In fact, what makes this so horrible is that since
the young man was a little boy the demons have tried to kill the boy through
violent seizures. When that didn’t work,
they would force the boy to throw himself into a blazing fire. When that didn’t
work, the demons would force the boy to drown in a nearby lake.
And while the father tried
desperately to seek help from Jesus’ disciples, they couldn’t help this boy at
all.
So…when Jesus sees an argument
happening between the father and His disciples, He stops and asks about what’s
going on. The father explains His disciples couldn’t help the situation at all
and was very frustrated by it all.
Jesus, being frustrated with the
father and His disciples, accused them of having no faith.
Amazingly, the father says, “Have
mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
Jesus promptly asks, “What do you
mean, if I can? Anything is possible if
a person believes.”
The father, who is desperate, cries
out to Jesus and asks for His help to fully believe in Him and His ability to
cure His son.
Jesus cast out the demon and then
proceeded to share an important truth the disciples needed to know about certain violent demons.
Although the disciples had cast out
demons before, they were confused as to why they couldn’t cast this powerful demon
out of the boy.
Notice what Jesus said in Mark 9:29 –
“This kind can be cast out only by prayer and fasting.”
Who
Will Be The Greatest In God’s Kingdom?
Sadly, this issue came up among the
disciples. And Jesus tells them that
whoever would be the servant of others would be greater than the rest.
Are you using your spiritual gifts
and talents to serve the Lord and others?
Using
Jesus Name!
The disciples were furious when they
found out that another person (one outside of the group of disciples) was
casting out demons in His name. They tried to stop him, but Jesus told them not
to! Any believer using Jesus’ name can
cast out demons…if they believe!
What Hell Is Like
No one knows better about what Hell
is really like than the One who created it!
He created it for Satan and his
demons when they rebelled against Him prior to the fall of Adam and Eve. But because God is so Holy, sinful people can
NOT stand in His presence. He won’t allow it!
When Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered
the human race. And, God’s heart was broken!
However, because of man’s sinfulness,
he is destined to Hell unless He invites Jesus into their heart as their Lord
and Savior. God knows of no other way
for you and I to enter His Kingdom except through His Son, Jesus Christ.
If all mankind were to enter Heaven,
then it was ridiculous that Jesus died on a cruel cross.
But since mankind is sinful, we
needed a Savior – One who was sinless, who would carry our sins on the cross
and die in our place to atone for our sinfulness!
Praise God! We can have forgiveness of sin and eternal
life when we put our faith and trust in Jesus – God’s Son who died for us so
that we can spend an eternity in Heaven (and not Hell).
What about you? Do you know Christ as your Savior? If not…invite Him into your life right now!
You can simply pray this prayer to
Him…
Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner. I
know I need forgiveness. And, I know and believe that You died for me on the
Cross some 2000 years ago so that I could have the opportunity to enjoy you forever
and escape Hell. Please forgive me of
all my sin! I invite You right now to
come into my heart and life to become my Lord and Savior. Thank you Jesus! I believe in You and put my trust in You!
If you prayed that prayer and meant
it with all your heart…then WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!!!!
I have some free material on my
website to help you if you’ll contact me!
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