Text:  Ephesians 6:12-13; Colossians 2:15

Today, I would like for us to take the next step in the Seven W’s of Spiritual Warfare.

THE WARRIORS…

The antagonists in the War are Jesus and the devil.  Paul refers to the devil as, “The god of this world.”  Jesus’ purpose, as expressed by our LORD, is to “destroy the works of the devil.”  That suggests conflict.

One writer described it powerfully saying, “Our adversary is a supernatural person occupying a superior position and exercising a supernatural power.  He is the supreme dictator of the kingdom of darkness; a past master in every phase of diabolical deception and deviltry to be used in the seduction and rebellion toward God and His Son.  In the light of such a revelation what utter folly for anyone to underestimate or ignore the power of the powers of darkness.”  That is not to say he is Omnipotent, but he is a supernatural being and therefore, we need the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to defeat our defeated foe.  We must never forget that he is a defeated foe, he just hasn’t given up.

Jesus Possesses ALL Authority in Heaven and Earth.  In the Gospel of Luke Chapter 11, we discover the power of the strongman and the stronger man, Jesus.  Jesus has defeated the devil and given us authority over him.  Jesus is our Captain or Commander in Chief. 

1 Peter 3:21-22 – “…Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.” 

Colossians 1:13-14 – “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

The Battle is the Lord’s and we are His Warriors.  He is “in” us and “on” us.  We battle in His Name, in His Stead, and we Impose the Victory He Won over the devil.  We do warfare in the Might Name and Power of God.  We are His heirs by birth.  His Blood gives us position and His Resurrection gives us hope.  Christ in us is our Hope of Glory.  We are more than conquerors through Him, and we overcome by the Word of our Testimony and the Blood of the Lamb.  It is In His Name!

THE WILES…

The apostle Paul declared that we are not ignorant of the devices of the devil (2 Corinthians 2:11).  The reason he emphasized knowledge of the devil’s devices was, “lest Satan should get an advantage over us.”  The word “Wiles” is the Greek word from which we get our English word “Methods.”  The devil has been using the same methods with great success for centuries and we must recognize what he is doing and learn how to negate his efforts.

One of the methods the devil uses is “Deceit” or “Deception.”  The apostle John identified him as the old serpent, the deceiver of the whole world. (Rev. 12:9).  He uses “Lies”, “False Teachings”, and “Accusations.”  In Revelation 12:10 we are informed that the devil is the ‘accuser’ of the brethren and accuses believers day and night before God.  He accused Eve and accuses us to God.  He accuses us to ourselves, to others, and others to us.  He is a divider.  He uses “Doubt” and does not always tell an outright lie but uses shaded truth to deceive us and cause questions to arise.  He uses “Contention” and is a sower of “Discord.”

I must remind everyone that He works with limitations.  He is not Omnipresent, although he maneuvers around quite speedily and easily.  He is not Omniscient, although he is well informed.  He is not Omnipotent but is a supernatural being.  It is vital that we recognize who he is, who we are, and to whom we belong.  We stand against the wiles of the devil in the Name, Blood, Authority, and Power of the Holy Spirit

I want to deal with the next aspect in the next devotional but will pause here and encourage you to do some deep introspection as to your position and allow the Holy Spirit to convict and convince you of Who You Are! 

God bless you and have a great day in Him

Text:  Ephesians 6:12-13; Colossians 2:15

Let’s take the next step in our discovery of Spiritual Warfare and how it affects the believer in today’s world. 

THE WAR…

I cannot stress enough that this is no ordinary war.  It is a battle of invisible antagonist not a battle between flesh and blood.  Therefore, man’s methods will not work.  The devil never gets excited about human methods because he knows they are not a threat to his kingdom.

The War is real.  It may be invisible, but it is very real.  Until we step into the spiritual realm, we cannot see nor sense the immensity of this war and the powers involved.  I have discovered that in what are deemed ‘Cultured Lands’ few people recognize the existence of the devil and his hordes.  They never truly realize that a War is raging in the spiritual realm.  However, in those lands deemed ‘Heathen’, they are very aware of the existence of the devil and his demons. They are very cognizant of the War.  They may be terribly wrong in their interpretation and understanding but they know it is transpiring.

One of the first requirements for us to be effective in this warfare is to acknowledge that there is a War and then seek to discover our weapons, position, condition, and authority. I hesitate to bring this into the discussion but believe it is germane and will refer to an article published years ago about an event that transpired in 1986.  It was concerning “The New Age Movement.”  I realize that for many, that is ancient history, but bear with me, please.

I am convinced that a very large segment of the Body of Christ is totally ignorant of what is happening in the realm of darkness.  I place much of the blame for that at the feet of pastors (I was one for decades).  Pastors are charged with teaching, equipping, training, and warning their flocks of dangers.  Too much emphasis as been on feeling good about ourselves and not enough focus has been on the destructiveness of the powers of darkness.  We have sought to ‘grow our churches’ numerically rather than ‘empower’ them spiritually.

On December 21, 1986, the “New Agers” organized a group of 50,000,000 in a major effort to effect, a shift in the way humanity views reality.  They announced this would usher in the “New Age” or the “Age of Aquarius” and free the world from the influence of Christianity.  Their effort was not done in the shadows but openly and well-publicized.  John Randolph Price, Barbara Marx, and a host of other New Age leaders openly publicized the World of Instant Cooperation and few took note.

What is the World of Instant Cooperation?  This was designed to create a unified field of consciousness toward world unity or synergy.  It was hailed by its sponsors as a “planetary Pentecost”.  Interesting wording because of the biblical Pentecost it is countering.  They claimed this would restore man to ‘godhood.’  They chanted that this would result in the healing of the goddess earth.  This is the belief of those who practice Wicca (witchcraft).  The result, they claimed would be a new One World, New Age Religion born.

According to numerous New Age authors and proponents, the view and objective was that anyone who failed to cooperate would need to be eliminated.  One of their authors expressed the belief that would result in the elimination of about one-half of the world’s population. 

I ask you to get the picture in your mind of 50 million occultists, new agers, and mystics entering a state of hypnotic meditative prayer simultaneously.  But as bazaar and unthinkable as that might seem, we have information that there were likely as many as 150 million who joined in.  The ensuring difficulties and turmoil since the end of 1986 can be directly attributed to this event and subsequent events by the followers of darkness.  There is a War going on and it is imperative that we realize it and learn how to fight the good fight of faith. 

One of the organizers of the 1986 event declared that the only thing they feared was a counter-force from Christians who were empowered with the Word and Spirit of God. They followed that December event with an August one with the declared objective to achieve “Harmonic Convergence” and “Planetary Surrender.”

The War is real, and this is not the only prong of the devil’s attack but is one that transpired over 30 years ago and cannot be ignored.  The devil is serious, and the Body of Christ must be as well.  We have authority over all the powers of darkness, and it is time that we enforce the Victory of Jesus.  I caution you to remember that earthly battles fought in the energy of the flesh have no hope of victory, no victors and no spoils of war.  But, if we fight this War with God’s spiritual weapons, WE WIN!

God bless you as you enjoy this day in Him!

Ephesians 6:12-13 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” NASB

Colossians 2:15 – “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”  NASB

We must never lose sight of the reality that a War is going on in the heavenlies.  It is disturbing that some Christians never truly become aware of that reality.  Others suspect a War is going on but cannot decide with the side, they are on.  What I mean is they seek to get by without committing to God and seek to enjoy the best of both worlds.  Others have discovered that a War is going on, know whose side they are on, but are not confident of the outcome.  They live in fear, often dejected, discouraged, and defeated.  Finally, some know a War is going on, are certain of the outcome, because they know – “Christ has already won the victory!”

I feel compelled to remind everyone that no sooner did the Holy Spirit come upon Jesus that He led our LORD into the wilderness for a personal encounter with the devil.  Jesus did all He did as an example for us.  The devil never came out better than second-best in his encounters with Jesus and should not with us. 

The Casual or Carnal Christian (if there is such a creature) has been so invested in the world that he/she has no eyes for another world only this one.  But, when the quickening of the Holy Spirit comes, the spiritual eyes begin to open, and we see the battle lines drawn in the heavenly places and recognizes the desire of the devil.  God wants His people to awaken from their slumber and awaken to the reality of this War.  I am convinced that until we realize the realness of the devil and the power, he possesses we will not grasp the importance or urgency for us in this struggle.  We open ourselves to deception and defeat.

In Ephesians 1:18-21 we see a powerful truth. 

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

I want us to begin looking at the War but do not want to venture too far and have to leave the matter dangling too much.  Therefore, I will pause here and pick this up in the next devotional as we begin looking at the First W of Spiritual Warfare – The War.

 God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Jesus!

2 Corinthians 8

In contrasting the attitudes and involvement in Giving to the poor Paul was pointing out to the Corinthian believers that the Macedonian’s were following the example of Jesus.  That meant, that the Corinthians were not.  That brought to the table the confession and declaration of Love for God and Paul asked them to demonstrate that love tangibly in Giving and fulfilling their commitment and promise.  Grace Giving is an Evidence of Love.  It shows our love for, the Lord, His servants, and those in need.  It is an expression of the heart and character of Jesus! 

The giving of the Macedonian believers was sacrificial.  (v.9).  In that way, they were ‘rich’, but Rich in Jesus not in the natural.  Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the Savior is rich in His person, possessions because He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He owns it all.  However, the Bible reveals that in spite of that position and condition, He “became” poor that we might be made rich!

I want to call your attention to the tense of the verb because it indicates that it is in His Incarnation, His birth at Bethlehem is what is being referred to. Jesus united Himself to mankind and took upon Himself a human body.  He left the Throne to become a servant.  He laid aside all His possessions so that He did not even have a place to lay His head.  His ultimate experience of poverty was when He was made sin for us on the Cross.  Hell is Eternal Spiritual Poverty, and on the Cross, Jesus became the poorest of the poor. 

Why did Jesus do that?  He did it so that we could become rich.  That suggests that before we came to Him, we were bankrupt.  But now, we share in all His riches.  We are now the Children of God and Heirs of God, Joint heirs with Jesus. (Romans 8:17).  With that in mind, how can we refuse to give to others?  He became poor to make us rich.  Can we not follow His example, as did the Macedonian churches, who out of their deep poverty abounded in liberality? 

• Grace Giving Occurs When We Give Willingly.  (vv.10-22).

There is a difference between Promise and Performance.  The Corinthians boasted to Titus a year earlier, that they would share in the offering.  (v.6).  But they had not kept their promise.  In verses 10-12 we see the word “willingness” and that is the emphasis.  Grace Giving must come from the heart.

In my personal experience in Christian ministry, I have encountered many offering appeals.  I have listened to some of the most pathetic tales about unbelievable needs.  I have forced myself to laugh at old jokes which were supposed to make it easier for me to part with my money.  I have been scolded, shamed, and almost threatened if I did not give.  I have to confess that none of those approaches stirred me to give more than I had planned.  In fact, more than once, I gave less because I became disgusted with the worldly approaches employed.

It is needful that we be careful not to confuse ‘willing’ with ‘doing,’ because the two must go together.  If the ‘willing’ is sincere in doing the Will of God, there will be a corresponding ‘doing.’  Paul did not say that being ‘willing’ was a substitute for ‘doing.’  Quite the contrary. If our Giving is motivated by Grace, we will give willingly and not because we are forced to or expected to.

I want us to consider something that is often missed.  God see the ‘Heart Gift’ and not just the ‘Hand Gift.’  If the heart wanted to give more but was truly unable, God sees it and records it accordingly.  Whereas, if the hand gives more than the heart wants to give, God sees it and records it accordingly. Therefore, no matter how large the ‘Hand Gift’ is God records only what was in our hearts. 

Let me give this illustration and hopefully, it will resonate.  I heard of a man who was leaving on a business trip and his wife reminded him, before Church, that they needed some ‘extra money’ for household expenses.  Just before the offering, he slipped some money into her hand and she, thinking it was their weekly offering for the church, put it all in the offering plate.  It was the expense money for the week.

The man said, “Oh, well, we gave it all to the LORD and He keeps records.”  The pastor asked, “How much did you intend to give?”  The man gave him a number and the pastor said, “then that’s what God recorded because He saw the intent of the heart.”  God sees not just the portion but the proportion.  If we could have given more but did not, God sees it.  If we wanted to give more but could not, God sees it.  When we give “willingly”, according to what we have we are practicing Grace Giving.

• Grace Giving Occurs When We Give by Faith.  (vv.13-24).

Grace Giving is an incredibly exciting adventure.  When we learn to give by Grace through Faith, we will experience some incredible blessings from the LORD.  We experience a liberation that can come in no other manner.  It frees us from being under the control of our possessions to controlling them.  We develop a new set of values and priorities.

We no longer measure our lives or other people based on money or possessions.  If money is the best test of success, then Jesus was an abject failure, because He gave all His away.  Grace Giving enriches us as we enrich others.  Grace giving enables us to be more like Jesus. 

The ultimate question becomes, “Have We Discovered the Thrill of Grace Giving?

God bless you on your new journey in Jesus and Grace.

2 Corinthians 8

In considering the Grace of Giving or Grace Giving there is a key worthy of consideration.  When one experiences the Grace of God in their lives, they will not use difficult circumstances as an excuse for not giving.  The question is, “Are circumstances ever an encouragement to give?”  Maybe, but probably not as much as we would contend.

We need to keep in focus that God is God no matter what we face, and His program is not dependent upon the economy of the world or circumstances.  He is still in control and He still owns it all.

• Grace Giving Occurs When We Give Enthusiastically.  (vv.3-4).

Let me pose an interesting question for you to consider.  “Is It Possible to Give Generously and Not Give Enthusiastically?”

I remember the story of a miserly member of a congregation who said, “The preacher tells us to give until it hurts, but for me, it hurts to think of giving.”  Another said in response to the pastor’s urging that it was better to give than receive, “If giving is better than getting, I don’t think I could stand it.  I enjoy getting so much.”  Attitude is a key factor.

The Macedonian Church needed no prompting or reminding, they were ‘more than willing’ to share in the offering.  Paul makes an astounding statement in verse 4 that they literally ‘begged’ to be allowed to participate.  That is incredible!  Their giving was voluntary and spontaneous.  It was of Grace not Pressure that they gave.  They gave because they wanted to and because they had experienced the Grace of God in their lives. 

Grace not only frees us from sin but frees us from ourselves.  The Grace of God will open the heart and then the hand.  Giving from a perspective of Grace is never cold and calculated but out of warmhearted jubilation. 

• Grace Giving Occurs When We Give as Jesus Gave.  (vv.5-9).

The Bible makes it incredibly clear that Jesus is ‘always’ our preeminent example to follow in all things.  That includes service, suffering, and sacrifice. 

The Macedonians gave themselves to others as Jesus did. (v.5).  If we give ourselves to God, we will have no problem giving our substance to Him as well.  Likewise, if we give ourselves to God, we will also find joy in giving ourselves to others.  It is impossible to Love God and ignore the needs of our neighbor. 

The Macedonians gave through the motivation of Love.  (vv. 7-8).  That was a rebuke to the Church at Corinth.  The Church at Corinth was incredibly enriched with spiritual blessings and gifts. (1 Corinthians 1:4-5).  They had become so wrapped up in the Gifts of the Spirit they neglected the Grace of the Spirit.  Balance is vital and must be sought and maintained if we are to be healthy Christians.

The Macedonian Churches had an “abundance of deep poverty” (v.2), and yet they abounded in their liberality.  The Corinthian Church had an “abundance of spiritual gifts,” yet were lax in keeping their promise and sharing in the offering for the needy.  That is incredible!

I insist that we must never adopt the view or argument that our spiritual gifts are a substitute for generous giving.  Our gifts are just that, Gifts.  If we remember that truth it will help us and motivate us to give to others and not hide behind our ministry.  Paul made it incredibly clear to the Corinthian believers that he was not ordering them to give but appealing to them.  His contrasting of the attitude of the Macedonians to the Corinthians was to motivate, not coerce. 

We will look a little deeper in another devotional but will pause here.

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful Day of Grace in Jesus!

2 Corinthians 8

When we consider the 8^th chapter of 2 Corinthians it is well to remember that one of the major efforts of Paul’s third missionary journey was to receive a Special Relief Offering for the poor Christians in Judea.  He had done that before as we see in Acts 11 and now the Holy Spirit is tugging at his heart to do so again.  I find it interesting that Paul would remember the forgotten beatitude, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” (Acts 20:35).

I believe that this extended far beyond materially assisting the poor in Judea and there were at least three additional desires in his heart.  He wanted this offering to strengthen the unity of the Church encouraging the Gentile congregations to participate along with the Jewish congregations.  He wanted this to provide evidence to the Jewish Christians that neither he nor the Gentile Christians were their enemies.  He hoped that the generosity of the Gentile believers would silence the jealousy of the Jewish believers.

That brings us to a problem and not a small one.  The Corinthians were not doing their part.  They had made promises but had failed to keep them.  In verse 10 we realize that an entire year had passed, and the offering was not complete.  What caused the delay?  It was the spiritual condition of the Church in Corinth.  Their spiritual temperature was at a dangerously low level.

I have observed in my fifty plus years of ministry that when a Church is not spiritual it is not generous.  I have also observed the same is true with individual believers.  But another cause was the Church in Corinth had been invaded by Judaizers, who typically siphoned off as much money as they could. 

Paul faced a problem.  He knew it was going to be difficult to convince the Corinthian Church to participate because of their spiritual condition.  Therefore, he elevates his appeal to the highest possible spiritual level.  He teaches a truth that is too frequently forgotten, ignored, or not understood that Giving is an Act of Grace!

A careful examination of the teachings of Paul was that he used nine different words to refer to this offering, but one was used most frequently and that was Grace.  I believe that the Bible teaches that Giving is a ministry of grace and fellowship. (v.4).  It is a ministry that benefits others.  However, the motivation must come from the Grace of God in the heart.  I have experienced Grace Giving personally and congregational and it is a wonderful experience.  When believers truly embrace the reality that it is better to give than receive something powerful transpires.

That brings me to a question that is germane for our discussion.  “How Can We Know When We Are Practicing Grace Giving?”  The apostle Paul gives several pieces of evidence that occur when our giving is motivated by Grace.  I ask that you join me in considering them.

• Grace Giving Occurs When We Give in Spite of Our Circumstances. (vv.1-2).

The churches that Paul used as examples were in Macedonia and they had experienced incredibly dire and severe difficulties but had given generously.

Consider the situation.  Paul says that the plight of those believers was more than facing affliction or difficulty.  He says that they had experienced a “great trial of affliction”.  They were in deep poverty, which means rock bottom destitution.  It is a term used to describe a beggar who has absolutely nothing and no hope of getting anything. 

Their situation may have been brought about by their Christian faith.  They may have lost their jobs, been excluded from trade guilds, and ostracized because of their faith.  The fact that they would have nothing to do with idols and idol-making could have and often was economically as well as socially, politically, and psychologically difficult.  Yet, they gave and gave according to their means and above their means.  They gave joyfully and liberally.  Imagine that, great affliction and deep poverty plus Grace equaled abundant joy and astounding liberality. 

There is a level of condition of Grace that enables a believer to fully trust God for everything and embrace His word and promises completely.  I want to delve a little deeper into this in the next devotional.

God bless you as you enjoy His wonderful Grace in all you do.

Matthew 23:1-4 – “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them. 4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”  NASB

What was it about the Pharisees and their religion that induced the anger of our LORD?   That would demand that we consider what made the nation of Israel the ‘people of God’.  We know that God revealed Himself to them and His Presence was what made them special.  God gave them Himself.  Initially, God was the central focus, but the Pharisees elevated the Law to the center and God was no longer the center.  The Torah became more important than God.  That is revealed in their attitude and actions.

In the progression of this thought, they forgot that they were the People of God because of His presence and adopted the view that they were the People of God because they kept the rules.  In that process, they lost God in His Word.  That still happens today. 

They sank into a form of idolatry worshipping the Book, the Law, rather than the God of the Book.  The idea was, “if I can somehow keep the Law, I can get to God.”  That is a form of bondage that is incredibly destructive.  It demands an external show and is a rigid legalistic view.  When Jesus declared that He came to ‘fulfill’ the Law He did not mean what the Pharisees meant.  He got to the heart of the matter.

Let’s look at the Law and see if we can unearth the contrast of Jesus’ teaching and that of the Pharisees!    The Law says, “Thou shalt not kill.”  I contend that is not the Law but the wrapper that the Law comes in.  I believe that we must see what is behind the command.  The Law says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, etc.”  I believe those are all wrappers and ask, “What is underneath those commands?”

It is Love!  If I love you, I won’t seek to kill you, steal from you, cheat you, or covet what you have.  Love is the fulfillment of the Law!  Therefore, all the negatives “thou shalt not” are only the wrapping paper, not the law.  The Pharisees had taken the wrapper off the candy, discarded the candy, and were arguing about the wrapper.  It is incredible.  Love is the piece of chocolate in the middle, but they missed it and keep the wrapper.

For example, the Pharisee said, “Thou shalt not kill, but it is okay to hate those not of the Association.”  Jesus said, “No, boys you got it all wrong!”  He even identified that anger is the beginning of murder.  If you follow the Spirit of Religion embodied in the Pharisee’s brand of legalism you only have the command.  But if you have Love, you experience the transformation of your life. 

The Law says, “Don’t Kill.”  You may get within an inch of it and want to, but so long as you don’t do it, you are okay.  You have kept the commandment.  Love, on the other hand, says, “If I lose my temper, I must ask your forgiveness.”  Jesus came to get to the heart of the matter and the root of the problem.  He came to allow us to Live the Law of God not by following rigid rules and regulations but by having the Love of God in our hearts. 

Tragically, there are Christians living with a mindset that is incredibly near that of the Pharisees.  Some have lost God in the Word of God and that is sad.  The reality is if we are going to keep the Law, we need help and lots of it.

The Pharisee never asked, “How can I keep the Law?”  Rather he asked, “How shall I not break it?”  There is a difference.  To keep the Law, I Love my neighbor.  To not break it, I erect fences.  Their idea was, here is the command and it must be obeyed, and God help the person if they ever get close to it, because if you do you will break it for sure.  Therefore, we must put up enough fences to keep everyone from getting close enough to break the law. 

The Commandment to “Keep the Sabbath Day Holy” is a point we need to consider.  God gave it for rest and to enjoy.  He said, “Stay home today, have family time, rest, and enjoy the day.”  The Pharisee’s view was, “How shall I not break the law?”  I can’t work on the Sabbath.  What does that involve?  Well, plowing would be work, right?  But what is plowing?  If I drag a chair across the dirt floor and the legs divide the dust am I now technically, plowing?  That is a Fence they erected.  If I look in the mirror and notice a gray hair and pluck it out that equates to work and is taboo.  When the disciples took the ear of corn on the Sabbath the Pharisees wanted to crucify Jesus and them.  They Broke the Rules and were harvesting and grinding corn.  It was rules, rules, rules, and love was a million miles away.

The heart of the matter is the Spirit of Religion is all about the Rules and the Gospel is about Love!  If I love you and have the love of God in my heart, I will keep God’s commandments but not necessarily man’s rules and regulations.  Religious spirits are mean and drive away whereas love draws to us.  Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw to Me.” 

Reject the Spirit of Religion and allow the Holy Spirit to strip away your Fences and seek to be filled with the Love of God and in that, you will discover the Life that Jesus came to bring, and it will be Abundant!

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!

Matthew 23:1-4 – “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them. 4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”  NASB

The rise of the Spirit of Religion and the Pharisees was developed through their adopting a Religious Method to Keep the Law.  They produced Fences.  What I mean by that is they developed rules and regulations that were designed to keep a person from getting near enough to the Law to break it.  They produced fences upon fences religiously. 

In that, there is a clear problem.  Over time, they ‘forgot’ what the command was and became enamored with the fence.  They ‘forgot’ that the fences were man-made and began to call them the Word of God or The Law.  It became incredibly complicated and they erected massive structures of man-made traditions.  They moved from being persecuted to highly respected and many held them in awe. 

It was impossible to not realize they were present.  That was the whole idea.  At the time of Jesus’ ministry, there were only about 6,000 of them but they seemed Omnipresent.  You could not miss them.  They were their blue robes and had their box on their forehead (phylactery).  They placed a verse inside the box. They had a box tied around their waist and wore long prayer shawls.  You could not miss them!  Their outward visibility was for show and they sought to be noticed and sought to impose their religious views on everyone.

By the time of Jesus, they had become national heroes.  It is commendable to believe that the Word of God “IS” the Word of God.  They were fanatical students of the Scriptures and sought to observe and obey every Law of the Old Testament Mosaic Law.  They loved to obey!  They would even take the commands meant for the priests and seek to keep them.  They demanded that everyone be educated in the scriptures and tithed on ‘everything’.  They also were eagerly awaiting the Coming Messiah. 

Therefore, there is much to commend them for.  Yet, Jesus said, “You are a bunch of snakes!  You are clean outwardly but inside; you are yesterday’s food rotting in the pot. You are dirty corrupt pots.”  Now, the LORD has my attention.  He is challenging the accepted religion of His day and questioning their motives and actions. 

I suggest that when we understand ‘why’ the Pharisees are there it has the potential of blowing the lid off our religious theology.  It has the potential to change our lives completely and bring us to a new freedom we never dreamed existed.

The Love that Jesus lived and that flowed out through Him can only be understood when contrasted to the brittle, rigid, formalism, and legalism of the religion of the Pharisees.  It is only when we see what man has polluted that we can see what Jesus came to do.  It is shocking to a religious legalist.  It is in Jesus that Incarnate Love is dropped into the midst of the religion of the Pharisees. They are polar opposites and in direct conflict.  The two cannot live harmoniously.  One must be destroyed.

If Jesus had come and said, “I am come that you might have abundant life” without having the religion of the Pharisees to contrast that to, we would miss the power of the freedom He brings.  He came and said, “I am the polar opposite of that!”  If He had not had the Pharisees to contrast what He was bringing, we might think that He was simply bringing another religious system.  We still try to relegate the Abundant Life of Jesus and His Incredible Grace to a religious system.  We keep trying to live, in many ways, as Pharisees.

Some may have read what I have written and ask, “What is wrong with the Pharisees?”  They seem like good people who wanted to live for God.  What was it about them that induced the anger of God?  I leave you with a thought that we will touch on in the next devotional, Jesus said, “I am not come to destroy the Law (Torah), but to fulfill it.”  The Pharisee said the same thing but meant, “I am going to obey every detail by rigid observance.”  He sought to earn favor with God and be worthy of God’s favor and that is the heart of Legalism!

Until next time, may the LORD be with you and guide you to Truth and Freedom!

Matthew 23:1-4 – “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them. 4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”  NASB

In considering the development of the Spirit of Religion and the Pharisees we see that in their pursuit of spiritual perfection and rightness they produced what is called the ‘Great Separation.’  That is important because they sought to ‘separate’ themselves from the heathen nations surrounding them.  They identified themselves as ‘God’s Separated People.’  That was commendable but, over time, they grew lax and their enthusiasm for the scriptures and truth waned.

That brought about the rise of a group within the nation, the Hassidons (pious ones).  It was loosely translated ‘saints’.  They separated themselves and declared, “We will return to the devotion of God with a whole heart.”  They were a group within the group and that progression is important to note.

Psalms 119 was written by a member of that sect and in it, you find key words such as, ‘Law, Testimony, and Statute.”  The Torah was their focus.  They loved the Word of God.  They were so committed that when Greek thought and philosophy tried to invade Jerusalem saying, “All this Torah stuff is old fashioned, let’s get with modern thinking,” they resisted.  They said, “No, we stand firm in our commitment to the Law of God.”  They were persecuted, laughed at, despised, ridiculed, called old fashioned, and were the brunt of jokes.  It was not easy being a Hassidic Jew.

Then, time marched on and we saw the first Hitler, Antiochus come on the scene.  In the year 135 BC there was a split within the group.  Some of them gravitated to politics and others to rededication to the Word of God.  That group was given the moniker, “Separatists” and thus we have the Pharisees, (a separated one) coming into view.

This is where the Spirit of Religion that Jesus was so totally other than was birthed and began its ascent to prominence and power.  This group became fanatical and sought to keep every jot and tittle of the law down to the most minute of details.  They called themselves “The Association”.  In that they were saying, we have associated ourselves with the Word of God.  We have associated ourselves with those who Love God’s Word.  We have separated ourselves from all who are not like us.  That is dangerous!  They were moving from being a group of devoted followers of God’s Word into fanaticism, being narrow and totally exclusionary.  Does that sound remotely familiar in today’s’ world?

One of the significant problems in this mindset is they not only separated themselves from the world but from brother and sister Jews as well.  They were saying to those Jews, “You are not good (holy) enough for us.  We are the Association!”  To become a member of that sect you had to be initiated and it took from 30 days to a year of intense examination, evaluation, and training. 

They saw themselves as ‘the godly’ among ‘the ungodly.’  They believed that because of their Law Keeping that they and only they were the ‘True People of God.’  They believed that everyone else was phony.  They would greet each other, “Shalom Neighbor.”  Remember the scriptural directive “love your neighbor as yourself?”  To the members of the Association, they believed that what God really meant was, “Love all the members of the Association.”  They evolved to believe that it was okay to hate everyone else and that only those in their sect were True Neighbors.

That is a dangerous and deadly condition.  It is serious.  They were focused on Law, Law, Law, Law, and more Law.  However, they realized in their hearts and lives that keeping the Law as difficult, if not impossible.  So, they began to seek how they could keep the Law.  That’s where they produced their Religious Methods and the Spirit of Religion rose to prominence.  That is what we will talk about in the next devotional.

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!

Matthew 23:1-4 – “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them. 4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”  NASB

I hope the title is not too problematic for anyone.  It is simply a vehicle to allow us to discuss the Pharisees and the bondage of religious legalism.  The more I study the New Testament and the ministry of our LORD, the more I become convinced that if you took the Pharisees out of the gospels you would create an incredible void.  Much of the valuable teaching of Jesus came through His interactions with that group of religious legalists. 

Much of what Jesus said and did, He said and did in contrast to what the Pharisees said and did.  Much of the truth that He brought to us comes through His confrontations with them.  I have observed that our LORD would, at times, bait them in order to expose their false views and teach much-needed truths to bring liberty.  He, unashamedly, went out of His way to upset them seeking to bring them and the hearers to Freedom.  It was not mean spirited, but for the purpose of redemption but bait them He did.

In Galatians 4:4 we are informed that when Jesus was born it was in the ‘fullness of time.’  That is incredibly important.  Jesus could not be born at just any time.  It was in the exact moment of nations coming together.  It was exactly at the right time.  It was when languages had developed, and all dovetailed together.  It was in the Fullness of Time!

However, one thing had to wait and that was the development of World Religion.  What I mean by that is a religion born of the world, the devil, and self.  That religion used the Inspired Word of God as its foundation.  It used it wrong, but it used it.  This religion was not Islam, Buddhism, or any of the myriad of other religions.  No, it had the Word of God as its foundation and yet it was spawned from hell.

At the coming of Jesus, it had risen to its fullness.  There was never a time when religion was as strong as then.  Jesus came and ‘confronted’ that religion.  He had to so that we could know what the Gospel IS NOT.  Thus, I contend that Jesus could not be born until the Pharisees had risen to their zenith.  It was in that ‘fullness of time’ that He came on the scene and ripped away the mask of religion and said, “I have not come to give you this (the religion of the Pharisees), but this (the Gospel and Grace).”  That is an incredible contrast and a problem we still face today in many circles.

In order to grasp what Jesus did, we must define the Pharisees.   Who were they?  I want to be fair in my discussion.  The word Pharisee has come to mean hypocrite and that is unfortunate.  Originally it identified a person of great sincerity and faith.

I ask that you take a walk through history with me and consider the progression of the religion of the Pharisees.  Let’s go back 600 years before the birth of Jesus and we see Israel in captivity.  They were in bondage because they had turned to idols and forsaken God and His directives.  Their disobedience and rejection of Him had brought about the severe judgment of God and they lived in slavery to Babylon.

It was in that time of captivity they picked up their copy of the Law, the Torah (Pentateuch).  That was their Bible.  They began reading and discovered they were cursed because of Idolatry.  In that revelation and realization, they repented and turned back to God and devoted themselves to studying the scriptures.  It is at this time that we discover the scribe Ezra and his incredible guidance for Israel.

At the time of their return to the land under Cyrus the Persian, they devoted themselves to the Scrolls of the Law and realized that in God’s Words was their hope of life and liberty.  They understood that every command must be obeyed and there could be no more idolatry.  They were incredibly sincere and dedicated to truth.  In that intense desire for Truth, they began to insert the Laws of Man to enable them to keep the Laws of God. 

I have only scratched the surface and hopefully not been too focused, on the minute but we will take this another step in the next devotional but until then, set your heart to seeking first the LORD and pray for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  We will consider the benefits of their devotion and the dangers that evolved.

God bless you as you enjoy this day in Jesus!