Good morning Steemits, trust you all are doing just fine!!!!!.
Continuation of Break free lessons.....
Before Jesus faced the cross, he poured himself into teaching the people and disputing the corruption he saw in the church of his day. Matthew 23 gives us seven of Jesus’ most important warnings to the church. In our break free lesson, part 1, we discussed the first three.
https://steemit.com/hive-170181/@bleesyn/break-free-part-1
Today, we will look at the final four.
Woe #4: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23) Our faith must be more than a cross that hangs around our neck. It must be our motivation, our consolation, and our hope. We follow the laws that God’s Word reveals because we love our Creator. We long to be closer to Him and to honor Him with our lives. But, we must never think that we can ever honor God when our lives neglect the love by which He is defined. God is love. Without love, none of our sacrifices matter. However, when we give as an act of faith and love for others, God honors that sacrifice and souls are won.
Woe #5 and #6: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” (Matthew 23:25-27) We can look the ‘right way’. We can speak with the right words, and yet harbor corrosive sin in our heart. To truly be the person that Christ died to make us, we must allow Him to clean the inside of our hearts. What we appear to be only impresses the world. Who we are in silence, who we are in the quiet isolation of our mind, that is who will one day stand before God. He already knows every ‘secret’ we cover over and protect from sight. Let go. Bare it through confession and be washed clean on the inside. Afterall, it is our soul that matters, not our reputation.
Woe #7: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’” (Matthew 23:29-30) We may not have held the hammer that pounded the nails into Jesus’ flesh, but it was our sin that held him to that cross. Our voices may not have joined with the mob who shouted for Jesus’ crucifixion, but our rebellion necessitated the need for his sacrifice. We must make no mistake: The cross stands for each one of us.
May this and other to come Easter season bring you more than chocolate eggs and colorful baskets. May it remind you of the warnings that Jesus felt so passionate about he refused to go to the cross without giving them. Your life matters. Your faith makes a difference. Will you live out your Christianity with the humble heart of the faithful, or are you bound in the legality of the Pharisees? Break free from the crowd and run to the cross.
Remain blessed.