St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 5 - 6, Man voids Commandments of God

Our paragraph topic is: ( Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 4.   

Evil stands with the Pharisees as they challenge Christ about the law.  The Pharisees had witnessed the disciples of Christ breaking the Law by not respecting the traditions the Pharisees had implemented.  For the Pharisees were the keepers of the law.  They were the enforcers of the Law.  They were the learned in the law and no one knew more of the law, handed down to Moses, than they.   They held their office in high esteem and believed that they had the authority of God to command that the people follow the Law as they interpreted it.  So they challenged Christ, the author of the Law.  They did not know.  They did not understand.  They could not see because evil had taken them.

They had made void the commandment of God through their arrogance.  They had cancelled the judgement of the father of Justice according to their own designs, that they may maintain their enforcement upon the people and set aside judgement for themselves.  For they had no honor for their fathers and mothers.  They had no desire to obey the commandments.  They had set themselves apart from the people that they may set themselves above the law.  For this was the design of evil and the arrogance of man, to rule the people as they saw fit, without following the commandments of God.   For Christ said to them,  But you say ‘Whoever shall say to his father or mother, "Any support thou mightest have had from me is dedicated to God," does not have to honor father or his mother. ' So you have made void the commandment of  God by your tradition.

Man was with evil and evil was with man and together they were one.  The evil doer became evil, even though they were not made the same.  For evil resided with man but man was made from God and still had the spirit of God within him.  Yet evil came and took over man and he knows not what he does.  For evil persuades with convincing arguments and compelling evidence to the minds of men and man has no defense save to call upon the love of Christ.  Evil has no defense against the love of Christ and his Holy Spirit.  For Christ was the sacrifice that paid for all mankind to be free of sin.  Christ gave his life and his spirit so that man could be restored to salvation.  Christ came and died for our sins that man may be justified before God.  Yet evil still prevails and man knows not.

The Pharisees voided the commandment of God and replaced it with their own tradition.  Today man voids the commandments of God and replaces them with his own interpretation of how we should live.  We live in a world surrounded by the presences of evil.  Yet we know not that it exists and desire not to know that we are in a battle.  For evil tells us that we may set aside the commandments of God.  Evil tells us that we may live the life that we desire on this earth and not suffer the consequences of God's justice.  God is the ultimate judge and there is no other higher authority.  His justice is complete.  His justice is true.  His justice is honest and fair.  For he who transgresses the commandments subjects himself to God's justice, and this is what evil desires of man, that he suffers the justice of God and loose eternal life that is store for him in heaven.

So evil distorts, evil deceives, evil disguises truth, evil lies, and evil does everything that it can to turn man away from his true self.  For man was created in the image and likeness of God and his true place is in heaven.  But, changed by the designs of the world, man has lost sight of who he is.  Man does not know that he is the light of the world.  Man does not know that within him the Holy Spirit is to dwell.  Man has forgotten that Christ came, suffered and died for our sins that we may no longer live in sin.  Yet sin prevails and man continues to live, asleep in a world of sin, as evil grows in the minds and hearts of man.  

For the evildoer does the deeds of the evil one and man is not aware.  And the evildoer makes void the commandments of God that evil may prevail.  Guard your hearts!  Guard your minds!  Be vigilant of what you see and what you hear.  For evil is subtle in its attack upon the children of God.  Pray daily that the other advocate will come and live within you that you may be protected against the attacks of evil.  For you can know him.  You can see him.  You can carry him with you every minute, every second of the day that you will be protected and shielded from evil.  Seek him.  Ask for him to come.  Know that he will be with you for Christ has promised that he will send him.  And when he comes, Christ has said that you will be filled with his light that you will see and know the truth of who you are.  For the eye is the lamp of the body and if the eye is sound then the body will be full of light as though it shines from a lamp within.  Seek it!  Find it!  Know it, and you will see the spirit of Christ within.     

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 4, The Transgression.

Our Paragraph topic is:  ( Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 3.

The Pharisees questioned Christ.  Within themselves they believed that they had the authority to question him.  They believed that they were the enforcers of the law and that it was their duty to demand correction where they saw wrong.  For the disciples of Christ had taken food without washing.  The disciples had made an error and did not follow the laws and tradition laid down by the Pharisees.  So in their arrogance they questioned Christ about the behavior of his disciples.

Christ saw into their hearts.  Christ saw into their minds.  Christ saw the evil within them that they did not know.  Christ knew who they were and he knew the evil that was in them.  He knew the evil that persuaded them to come and speak about the behavior of the disciples.  For this evil had transgressed the commandments of God before. The evil within them decided that they were to rule mankind.  This evil decided that they were to control man and decide his destiny.  The evil inside decided that mankind would worship them and not the one true God.  The evil within the Pharisees decided that they would turn mankind away from God.  So they persuaded the Pharisees to question Christ.  But Christ saw their evil and he knew who they were.  His question to them was:   "And why do you transgress the commandment of God?"

The Pharisees were only vehicles through which the evil worked.  The Pharisees were only instruments through which the goals of evil were accomplished.  For evil was suggested to them.  Evil worked within them.  Evil made their plans with the Pharisees and the goals of evil were completed through the workings of men.  The Pharisees did not know why they transgressed the commandment of God, but evil knew.  The Pharisees did not know why they believed that they had authority to change the laws of God but evil knew.  For evil wanted to turn man away from God.  Evil hated the commandments of God and evil wanted to deceive mankind so that they could control his behavior and not God.   For God said, 'Honor thy father and thy mother '; and, 'Let him who curses father or mother be put to death.'

And so it is today.  Loving and godly parents lay down the law to their children.  Parents provide for their children.  Parents protect their children, care for them, educate them, give the love and nurturing that the body and soul needs to come forth and be a witness to the will of God.  But then the world takes over.  The world gets into the children.  The world draws the children into the darkness and without hesitation they become lost in the world.  For as the children grow and become older they rebel from the ways of the parents.  The children want the desires and the passions that the world has to offer and regard parents and being old and outdated not in tune with modern times.  And the world calls them to their death.

What makes us transgress the commandments of God?  How do we decide to go against his will?  Do we instantly make the decision to do so?  Do we see a lie and decide to lie?  Do we know dishonor and decide to dishonor?  Do we feel adultery and decide to be adulterous?  Or are we the pawns of the evil that is within us?  Are we whispered to, talked to, have visions from the evil that comes to turn us away?  Are we drawn into the transgression through the simple daily prodding of the world around us?  For evil is in the world.  Evil is through the world.  Evil is the heart of the world and it will not let us go until death comes. 

Do not be taken by evil!  Do not live in the evil of the world believing that it is the reality of life.  For the world is inclined towards death and has no life.  The world is darkness and leads to destruction.  Christ came into the world to bring life.  Christ came into the world that there may be light and not darkness.  But we must choose.  We must be aware of the darkness.  We must awaken from the deceit of the world and open our hearts to the light of Christ.  We are not of this world but of the kingdom of heaven.  For our treasure is in heaven and not in the world.  There lies our home.  There, in heaven, will we find eternal peace and the eternal joy that the world cannot give.  There in heaven will we see ourselves as we are in Christ.

COME!  Find your peace.  Find your truth.  Find your eternal joy and know the truth of the commandments.  For they were given to us to keep us on the path of life, the path that leads us to our eternal home.  Be not persuaded by the urgings of the world to transgress the commandments of God.  For God is our father, our creator, our protector, our provider.  He has prepared great and wondrous things for those who love him.  But for those who transgress, the wrath of the justice of God awaits.  Turn away from the suggestions of the evil that is in the world and live by the commandments of God.  Come!  Have eternal life in Christ!

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 3, The Commandments of God vs Worldly Traditions.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 2 

The Pharisees questioned Christ about the practices of his disciples.  They did not wash before eating as the Pharisees had practiced and preached to the people.  For it was the Law that the people should wash before eating and it was the authority of the Pharisees to enforce the law.  So they witnessed this transgression and questioned Christ about why he did not enforce this tradition.

But Christ saw their plan.  Christ knew their intentions.  Christ understood the hearts of the Pharisees as they came forth to question him.  For the Pharisees were men of education.  The Pharisees were men of influence.  The Pharisees were the authority on the Law.  They were the enforcers of the authority for the people of Israel.  They were the final source of what should and should not be, the ultimate authority.  And in their arrogance and their power they opened their hearts to the evil one.  The Pharisees changed the commandment of God.

Christ did not address the question of the Pharisees.  He did not speak to the traditions that they sought to enforce.  Christ saw them for who they were.  He saw their hearts and knew that they were not followers of the laws of God.   But he answered and said to them "And why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

The influence of power and the suggestions of the evil one had infected the hearts of the Pharisees.  For they had held the seat of power for many years.  They had ruled over the tribes of Israel for decades.  Their minds and their hearts were filled with the intoxication of power that they knew no wrong.  And the arrogance of power opened the door for Satan to come in and turn them.  For through his influence the laws were changed.  Through his influence men placed themselves above the commandments of God and made their own decisions.  How would it hurt if we lusted just a little?  How would it hurt if we lied just a little?  How would it hurt if we stole a little?  How would it hurt if we committed adultery just a little?  And how would it hurt if we influenced the people to do the same things just a little?

And so it is today.  We are entertained.  But through our entertainment we are influenced.  We see, through our entertainment, stories of lies, deceit, lust, adultery, murder, false witness, and all manner of evil.  And it is accepted as entertainment, entertainment that influences the mind and the heart.  For what we see, we practice.  For what will it hurt to lie a little?  What will it hurt to steal a little?  What will it hurt to commit adultery a little, to deceive a little, disrespect our parents a little, to worship idols a little?  And the world draws us into its web, we fall asleep, and we become the lost sheep not knowing or wanting to know that we are children of light and children of love. 

God is our father and he gives to us things that will keep us away from the evil that is in the world.  His love is our protection and our provision.  To know him is to love him.  To love him is to want to do the things that he has given us that will protect us.  Be not conformed to the world but be transformed out of the world.  Though we live in the world we do not belong to the world.  Our treasure is in heaven,  Your peace is in heaven. our eternal joy awaits us in heaven.  Do not fall asleep with the temporary fixes of this world.  Satan wants you to loose your treasure.  He wants you to forget about your eternal joy.  He wants to steal your everlasting peace.  Awake!  And know the true love of Christ.  Open your heart to his spirit and you will know the truth of who you are.  Experience the abundant life of Christ , here and now and awaken from the sleep of death offered by the world.         

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 1-2, The Traditions of the World.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees) Part1. 

Christ was in the land of Genesar and the word spread of his presence.  People came from far and near to hear him, to be near him, to see him and to just touch the tassel of his cloak that they may be saved.  And the Pharisees of Jerusalem heard of the whereabouts of Christ and they came also to see him, to hear him and to know of his teachings.  But the Pharisees were the rulers of the people.  They were the keepers of the law.  They told the people what to do, what to think, what to wear, how to speak, how to pray, how to give thanks to God and all things religious.  For they knew the law.  They knew the teachings of the Old Testament handed down through the ages from Moses.  And they came to hear what Christ was doing since his popularity was widespread.

The Pharisees came.  They wanted to know what or who the people were talking about.  Christwas the talk of the villages, of the towns, of the beggars, paupers, farmers, the lame.  Everyone was talking about Christ.  And the Pharisees wanted to know, needed to know, who was this Christ themselves.  So they came to Genesar to see Christ.  And when they saw, they were amazed.  They were amazed at the disciples of Christ.  They were amazed at those he had chosen to be close to him.  They were amazed that he had simple commoners as his close followers, as his disciples. 

They were amazed that he had chosen the uneducated, the lowly, the unprincipled, the men of no influence, the nobodies.  For these disciples of Christ were not educated in the traditions set down by the law.  They did not follow the principles and precepts that the Pharisees instructed the people that they should follow.  And this was an affront to their authority.  So they questioned Christ.    THEN scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem came to him, saying, "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients?  For they do not wash their hands when they take food."  

Christ broke away from tradition.  Christ called those who did not follow the ways of the world, the traditions of men.  He called those that were lowly.  He called those that were uneducated.  He called those who were without hope.  He called those who wanted to believe in something greater than what they were experiencing in the world that they lived in.  But the world objected.  The world did not want them to change.  The world wanted to keep them without hope.  The world wanted them to continue to follow the traditions set down by men.  Do not pray.  Do not believe.  Do not know the presence of the Lord.  These are the things the the world wanted men to do.  The world wants men to continue to live in the traditions of the time.  The world wants to capture the hearts of men and to keep them.

Christ calls men to step outside of the world.  Christ calls men to give up the traditions of the world and to accept the traditions of the kingdom of heaven.  Christ calls men to open their hearts to the presence of the Holy Spirit that he may come and reside with them.  For the Holy Spirit is the counselor.  The Holy Spirit is the provider.  The Holy Spirit is the protector.  The Holy Spirit is the presence of God and Christ here on earth. 

Step out of the world.  Give up the ways of the world, for the world wants to have and keep your heart.  What are the desires of the heart?  What are the things that hold and keep the heart in the world?  There are many lusts and desires and spirits that hold the heart.  But the heart can not hold both the ways of the world and the the ways of the kingdom of heaven.  One must awaken and stand at the crossroads to choose.  Open the heart to the ways of Christ and welcome the spirit within!  Christ will send the advocate to come and reside with you and you will know the truth of abundant life.