Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 6.
Christ gave the Pharisees a wake up call. He called them hypocrites. They had changed the Commandments of God and preached and practiced the precepts of their own making in place of the just Commandments of God. Arrogance guided them. Evil was their companion. Power was their love and rule of the people was their passion. For they were the Pharisees. They knew the Law. They studied the Law; they were the keepers of the Law. Everyone had to obey their words and their commands or suffer punishment as metered out according to the wisdom of the Pharisees and suffer the wrath of God as they professed it. They knew not mercy. They knew not compassion. They knew not love. They only knew the law according to their own interpretations. And the Law was for the people. The Law was not for the Pharisees. For behind closed doors the Law was interpreted differently for them.
And Christ called them hypocrites for what was in their hearts was not of God. The evil of arrogance had taken them. The evil of self deception had guided them. The evil of the world was with them and they were with the world. For they believed that they worshipped the one true God. They believed that they followed the commandments. They believed that the love in their hearts was that for the love of God. And they believed that their actions demonstrated that love. But arrogance had blinded them. Evil had deceived them. And deceit had filled them with hypocrisy that they might maintain their belief in themselves. Christ repeated to them the prophesy of Isaias saying, "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men."
Hypocrisy had led them to believe that the worship that they garnered was for God when in actuality they brought worship to themselves. They loved to receive honor and praise. They loved to have influence. They filled themselves with pride for their positions over the people. For the people honored them. The people respected them and their positions. The people praised them as they were taught that it was praise given to God. But hypocrisy had deceived the Pharisees and the Pharisees deceived the people by leading them to vain worship. For praise was not given to God but to the Pharisees. Honor and glory was expressed to the Pharisees and not to God. The heart was filled not with the love of God but was filled with love of the Pharisees in exchange for the power and privilege that they held.
And so, worship became vain and empty and the people followed the traditions and precepts as handed down by the Pharisees. We worship today out of tradition. For it has been handed down from parent to child that we should go to church and worship God. It is the right thing to do, we have been told. We know not the purpose of our worship. We have not a reason for our worship. We believe not the love that is missing from our worship for we have missed the truth of worship.
God our father has given us life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ, a precious gift that we value not. For one does not value a gift until it is taken away. One does not value life eternal until one experiences death eternal. Yet, in that utter despair and loss of hope, does one realize the true value of the gift that was given. We try, today, to grasp the value of that gift, without experiencing the despair and loss of hope, by expressing praise and worship to the giver of that gift of eternal life. But in our attempts, our expressions are in vain. Why?? Because our expressions of praise and worship do not come from the heart.
How does one express love if there is no understanding of spiritual love? We know physical love because that is what we are and what we know through our experiences. And that is the basis of our expression of love. But spiritual love is beyond the physical and requires the input of the spirit to understand. Spiritual love comes from and through and with the human heart and the heart of man is in the world. It is only through the input of the spirit of eternal love that one realizes that spiritual love comes from and through the Holy Spirit. Then one begins to understand and know and experience the eternal spiritual love of God our Heavenly Father.
Christ came that we may have life. Christ came that we may have the spirit. Christ came that we may know the love of God our father. Yet today, we know not the spiritual love of God. We worship the father weekly, daily, hourly but without the fruit of the spirit. For over time the fruit dies on the vine. Over time, the worship that we express to the father, dies and does not produce. Over time, the world takes hold and entraps us, deceives us, and turns us into hypocrites and we become like Pharisees, clean on the outside and dead on the inside.
Seek the love that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You can know Him! You can see Him! You can be with Him, everyday, every minute, every hour. A transformation will take place. The ways of the world will leave you. The passions of the world will seek to capture you again but you will only know the passion of the kingdom of heaven. Christ came, a light into the world. He gave us instructions how we might find our light. Seek it! Find it! Know it! For it is within you that you may know the truth of who you are, children of our creator, God.
Part 6.
Christ gave the Pharisees a wake up call. He called them hypocrites. They had changed the Commandments of God and preached and practiced the precepts of their own making in place of the just Commandments of God. Arrogance guided them. Evil was their companion. Power was their love and rule of the people was their passion. For they were the Pharisees. They knew the Law. They studied the Law; they were the keepers of the Law. Everyone had to obey their words and their commands or suffer punishment as metered out according to the wisdom of the Pharisees and suffer the wrath of God as they professed it. They knew not mercy. They knew not compassion. They knew not love. They only knew the law according to their own interpretations. And the Law was for the people. The Law was not for the Pharisees. For behind closed doors the Law was interpreted differently for them.
And Christ called them hypocrites for what was in their hearts was not of God. The evil of arrogance had taken them. The evil of self deception had guided them. The evil of the world was with them and they were with the world. For they believed that they worshipped the one true God. They believed that they followed the commandments. They believed that the love in their hearts was that for the love of God. And they believed that their actions demonstrated that love. But arrogance had blinded them. Evil had deceived them. And deceit had filled them with hypocrisy that they might maintain their belief in themselves. Christ repeated to them the prophesy of Isaias saying, "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men."
Hypocrisy had led them to believe that the worship that they garnered was for God when in actuality they brought worship to themselves. They loved to receive honor and praise. They loved to have influence. They filled themselves with pride for their positions over the people. For the people honored them. The people respected them and their positions. The people praised them as they were taught that it was praise given to God. But hypocrisy had deceived the Pharisees and the Pharisees deceived the people by leading them to vain worship. For praise was not given to God but to the Pharisees. Honor and glory was expressed to the Pharisees and not to God. The heart was filled not with the love of God but was filled with love of the Pharisees in exchange for the power and privilege that they held.
And so, worship became vain and empty and the people followed the traditions and precepts as handed down by the Pharisees. We worship today out of tradition. For it has been handed down from parent to child that we should go to church and worship God. It is the right thing to do, we have been told. We know not the purpose of our worship. We have not a reason for our worship. We believe not the love that is missing from our worship for we have missed the truth of worship.
God our father has given us life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ, a precious gift that we value not. For one does not value a gift until it is taken away. One does not value life eternal until one experiences death eternal. Yet, in that utter despair and loss of hope, does one realize the true value of the gift that was given. We try, today, to grasp the value of that gift, without experiencing the despair and loss of hope, by expressing praise and worship to the giver of that gift of eternal life. But in our attempts, our expressions are in vain. Why?? Because our expressions of praise and worship do not come from the heart.
How does one express love if there is no understanding of spiritual love? We know physical love because that is what we are and what we know through our experiences. And that is the basis of our expression of love. But spiritual love is beyond the physical and requires the input of the spirit to understand. Spiritual love comes from and through and with the human heart and the heart of man is in the world. It is only through the input of the spirit of eternal love that one realizes that spiritual love comes from and through the Holy Spirit. Then one begins to understand and know and experience the eternal spiritual love of God our Heavenly Father.
Christ came that we may have life. Christ came that we may have the spirit. Christ came that we may know the love of God our father. Yet today, we know not the spiritual love of God. We worship the father weekly, daily, hourly but without the fruit of the spirit. For over time the fruit dies on the vine. Over time, the worship that we express to the father, dies and does not produce. Over time, the world takes hold and entraps us, deceives us, and turns us into hypocrites and we become like Pharisees, clean on the outside and dead on the inside.
Seek the love that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You can know Him! You can see Him! You can be with Him, everyday, every minute, every hour. A transformation will take place. The ways of the world will leave you. The passions of the world will seek to capture you again but you will only know the passion of the kingdom of heaven. Christ came, a light into the world. He gave us instructions how we might find our light. Seek it! Find it! Know it! For it is within you that you may know the truth of who you are, children of our creator, God.
