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I concluded my last entry with these questions……
Why would anyone choose the crushing demands of religion where they are virtually left to their own devices with no one willing to help, to lift a finger to support them? Whereas Jesus is offering them a yoke in which He takes the weight of responsibility and gives us rest for our souls?
The options are these…
a) to commit ourselves to a religious system that adds rule upon rule, ties those rules up in heavy loads and puts them on men's shoulders, but the leaders themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (Matt 23:4NIV)
b) to commit ourselves to a person, Jesus Christ (not a system or organization), and to take His yoke because He does much, much more than 'lift a finger to help'. "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."(Matt 11:28-30 NLT)
I'm convinced that one of the greatest challenges facing the authentic Christian Church today is to find ways to distance itself from 'religion' so that the world may see what true faith is like as distinct from what religion looks like.
But how do I identify the difference between the rules and regulations of religion and the legitimate disciplines of the true Christian life? It seems to me that they must look somewhat alike. I guess the real difference is in the motivation behind our outward behaviour.
Yes, I can see now that this motivation is what Jesus exposed as He went on the attack against the religionists of His day. I need to note some of these key issues from Matthew 23
Matt 23:5-7 NLT "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue!They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called 'Rabbi'.
This is their true motivation. They love the outward, public display of their religion. They love positions of power and recognition. Jesus nominates a couple of examples of the kind of religious "nit-picking" that is a feature of legalistic religion.
Matt 23:23-24 NLT "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel!
I have long since believed that one of the key characteristics of legalism is inconsistency of belief that leads to contradictory application. Like I said in my lost posting, Who would want to be part of a religious system that was riddled with inconsistent, contradictory rules and regulations when Jesus Christ offers a way of life that is so radically different and free?
I want to go a bit further with this theme in my next log entry.
