Sep9
Matthew 15:1-2…Working
15:1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem (This was no short walk, but a 75 mile journey taking several days. Show just how bent they were in destroying Jesus, that they were willing to travel for days just to pick a fight and give Jesu a hard time-(New) and asked 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” (Marks Gospel explains in further detail of this practice saying “(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.-(Mark 7:3-4) Accusation may have been based on the earlier feeding of the 5000.-(New) [For additional Expository Notes See Book.]
Extended Sermon Notes
“Warns against judging another’s religious traditions and practices just because they don’t do it as we do it.” ⇒ Sometimes we think people who worship differently can’t be real Christians or as spiritual as we are. How that looks like today is things like; “You can’t be a Christian if you don’t attend church regularly.” “You can’t be a Christian if you don’t obey the Sabbath”. “You can’t be a Christian if you drink alcohol”. “You can’t be a Christian and wear all that makeup and jewelry.” “You can’t be a Christian if you don’t take communion.” “You can’t be a Christian and still send your kids to public school”. “You can’t be a Christian and still vote for Trump.” You can’t be a Christian and……………)
Warns against trying to win God’s favor and acceptance by how religiously devout and holy we are. ⇒ This is not saying wanting to obey God or living a life that is striving to peruse holiness is wrong. Putting forth effort in the Christian life and striving to live a life of self-discipline in accordance with the scriptures is not wrong. The bible’s teachings and instructions is to be believed and obeyed by God’s people. In fact every true Christian is devout; you cannot halfheartedly serve or live for Jesus while living for something else. But when we try to gain God’s favor or earn Salvation and justification before God, then it is wrong.-(Gal. 2:16-20) Outward demonstrations of piety prompted by pride or selfishness, or adding rules to the Bible and claiming they are what God requires, are not a result of being devout to God. Rather, such things result from devotedness to self and self-righteousness. God wants devout followers—those who truly seek Him and follow Him—not religious followers who trust in their own strength, rules, or traditions in an attempt to earn God’s pleasure. Being religiously devout and holy is not all bad, it signifies a deep commitment to one’s faith and ethical principles, often associated with positive qualities like compassion, kindness, and a strong moral compass. However, the potential negative aspects could arise if this devotion leads to extreme behaviors like intolerance, judgment of others, or neglecting other important areas of life.
“Even today, were not all that different. We think if I go to church, if I read my bible, if I say the right words, if I tithe regularly, if I help the poor when I can, etc. Then everything’s good with God, He’ll have to accept me, He’ll have to forgive me.”⇒ All these things have merit, but what is wrong is when we those things are used to gain merit or status with God. Or those things alone are going to clean up the heart. The question is do we engage in those things because they make us feel good. I must be doing well because I’m at church Sunday mornings and Sunday nights. I go to bible study class on Wednesday, I’m engaged a daily devotion time in the word. I pray regularly before meals and before bed. So we go along checking all the boxes, these are the things that make for spiritual health. Yet, where is your heart. If you don’t check the condition of your heart, you can find yourself having wondered far away to the point that’s almost imperceptible to you! Because you’ve been measuring spiritual health by the wrong standards of outward conformity and religious observances in the name of God. We can be doctrinally straight and fully active in the things of church, God, and community. Yet no inward reality of the heart. You need to beware of offering to God what is external in the place of your heart.
“Church Traditions are not inherently a bad thing, some can be very healthy in creating stability, unity, and purpose. But it’s when those traditions become rigid to God’s leading, or undermines God’s Word then they become evil” ⇒ We should follow customs and traditions, so far as they are helpful. But they should not be a litmus test of faithfulness. When traditions begin to dictate your actions above the commands of scripture, then you have become a Pharisee. When we let our new carpet keep us from having a real children’s ministry, lest they spill something on it, then we have become Pharisees. When we cannot budge on our location of a bible study, because it is not church unless it is at the building, then we have become Pharisees. When we shun people who visit our fellowship, because they are not dressed appropriately (or are the wrong color), we have become Pharisees. And those are the easy ones to see.
More Notes & Applications
Warns against measuring our faithfulness to God by how well we follow church rules and traditions.
Warns if not careful we can see uncleanness in others, while refusing to see it in ourselves.
Warns how Jesus doesn’t answer to us, we answer to Him.
Warns how not living the truth can be a poor reflection on Jesus.
Calls for seeing that were not prohibiting what God has not prohibited. Or demanding what God has not demanded. (Never ask someone to give up something that God has not asked them to give up. Or expect some to do something that God has not asked them to do)
The reason why the Jews put some much emphasis on ceremonial defilement was because the more pure and holy you were, the more God would bless you and Save you. Their Traditions and rules were like a fence meant to protect them from sinning accidentally. Their list of do and don’t laws were to make them more righteous before God.
Many Church’s today have their own Traditions. Some churches observe communion on the first Sunday of the month. Others on every Sunday. Some churches sing old time gospel hymns. Others sing contemporary praise music. Some churches have casual dress. While others have formal attire; suits, ties, dresses, etc. Some churches use only the King James bible. Some churches have coffee & refreshments between services. Some churches pass around offering plates during service. Some have alter calls after service. There is nothing wrong with us doing any of these things, but it would be wrong if we judged other people because they did things differently. There are some traditions or practices that are causing a lot of stir in churches today. Some of the hot-button issues include worship style, dress, the use of media, and the number and format of services during the week. We need to be careful how we approach both old and new practices in the church. Younger people need to respect some of the older traditions, while older people need to open up and trust some of the newer practices. Just because we did it one way in the past, doesn’t mean that’s the best way to do it today. If we’re going to reach other people and other cultures, we need expand our viewpoint beyond traditions. If we’re locked in our tradition of only wearing Hawaiian shirts, we’re not going to reach people if they’re not wearing an Hawaiian shirt. Or if they’re not wearing a suit like us, we’re not going to listen.
It would be easy to pass over this story as Jesus dealing with some overly zealous religious nuts in His time. We don’t live in a culture that is overly concerned about ceremonial defilement. You probably didn’t wake up this morning thinking about the proper way to wash your hands before you sat down to eat breakfast, less to be defiled before going to Church later that morning. Therefore it would be easy to write off this text and just skip over it. But that we would be a big mistake. Because what this is teaching is that life and worship is lived from the heart. All that we do flows from the heart. It’s the thoughts in our hearts that drive our actions, responses, and behaviors.
POSITIVE ASPECTS OF RELIGOUS TRADITIONS:
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Can provide a sense of identity, purpose, and belonging
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Can foster church bonds, connections, and support networks
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Can Improve Spiritual-Health and Well-Being
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Can promote ethical behavior and positive values
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Can offer comfort during times of change or uncertainty
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Can help connect with our past and those who came before us
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Can help us teach our children about our values and heritage
NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS:
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Can lead to intolerance towards other beliefs or lifestyles
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Can fosters an attitude of contempt towards people who are less religious
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Can create excessive guilt or self-criticism
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Can result in neglecting personal relationships or responsibilities due to overzealous religious practice
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Can be used in religion to justify harmful actions
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Can cause people not to question things
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Can hinder and block making necessary changes
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Can cause conflict, disunity, and division
- Posted by David Costa/
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