Post by Julia on Mar 19, 2009 19:19:59 GMT -5
Mark 7:1-8
1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4When 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.)
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men. 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
When we read this passage, we should begin to think, "Do my beliefs coincide with the Truths of God, or the traditions of men?" Many churches today have let traditions infiltrate their teachings and their beliefs. It is up to all Christians to be able to decide, based on Biblical information, whether or not something is truth.
The washing of hands by the pharisees was somewhat of an expected action. If you didn't do it, you weren't doing anything right. Things can be like that today, too. Things like drugs, gossip, even which church you go to. But we need to speak like Jesus. We need to tell the people who are telling us we're wrong that we know we're not wronging them. In order to do this, we need to be concrete in our beliefs and in our knowledge of the Bible. The more we know about the Bible, the better Christians we can be. The better Christians we are, the better we can influence others. The better we influence others, the better the world can be. And it all comes back to what is true.
If we're spreading things that aren't true, if we're acting in ways that aren't glorifying to God and aren't specified in His Word, how can we call ourselves Christian? We can't. So we need to distinguish between human traditions and God's Truths. That all starts in the Bible. That is our Shield, our knowledge, our strength. Without it, we can't change a thing.
1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4When 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.)
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men. 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
When we read this passage, we should begin to think, "Do my beliefs coincide with the Truths of God, or the traditions of men?" Many churches today have let traditions infiltrate their teachings and their beliefs. It is up to all Christians to be able to decide, based on Biblical information, whether or not something is truth.
The washing of hands by the pharisees was somewhat of an expected action. If you didn't do it, you weren't doing anything right. Things can be like that today, too. Things like drugs, gossip, even which church you go to. But we need to speak like Jesus. We need to tell the people who are telling us we're wrong that we know we're not wronging them. In order to do this, we need to be concrete in our beliefs and in our knowledge of the Bible. The more we know about the Bible, the better Christians we can be. The better Christians we are, the better we can influence others. The better we influence others, the better the world can be. And it all comes back to what is true.
If we're spreading things that aren't true, if we're acting in ways that aren't glorifying to God and aren't specified in His Word, how can we call ourselves Christian? We can't. So we need to distinguish between human traditions and God's Truths. That all starts in the Bible. That is our Shield, our knowledge, our strength. Without it, we can't change a thing.
