In Matthew 15 a few Pharisees and teachers of the religious law came to ask Jesus why His disciples disobey their “…tradtion of ceremonial hand washing before they eat (NLT)”. With this Jesus said

“‘And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God (Matt 15:3-9).”

There are several religions that most people may be able to identify as religions that practice their faith out of traditional and habitual teachings. As we see here the Pharisees and teachers are more concerned about the disciples following the traditional rules that are actually easy to abide by out of habit, however these Pharisees and teachers have neglected God’s direct commandments of respecting ones parent to the point they even teach it. Yes it’s good to do things for God, however, God does command us to respect our parents and or guardians. This is a serious command as it was even seen fit for one to be put to death for violating God’s command.

Can you hear the anger from Jesus when He said that Isaiah was right? That Isaiah prophesied about such disrespect?

“And so the Lord says, ‘These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote (Isaiah 29:13 NLT).”

The greek translation of the word ‘rote,’ is custom, habit and/or practice. Isaiah foretold this to happen, which I believe is happening even a lot more nowadays than the world has ever seen. God doesn’t want traditional and habitual words coming from your lips if there’s no love in your heart and no application of His commands to the way you live. If you read and meditate on God’s Word, as we should, we will see truth. We will understand the truth about the world around us and experience a life with a deeper relationship with Christ. You will know the Holy Spirits presence.

We cannot afford to sit back and trust every word the leaders behind the pulpit or on stage say. We are called to draw closer to God. Once you treat your relationship with Christ as a rote religion you have stepped into the realm of honoring God with no more than your lips and have withdrawn your heart further from Him and your purpose.

In John 14 it says, “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you (VS 17 NLT).”

I share this scripture, because we must always be seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit that hovered over the face of the earth since the beginning of creations, raised Jesus from the dead s the same Spirit with us today. In verse 21 it says “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Every follower of Christ needs to evaluate their hearts and also ask the Spirit to reveal to them their hearts. Where are you with your relationship with Christ? Is it a relationship? Do you acknowledge God with your lips because that’s what’s always been done in your family or church? Do you notice the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you distracted by things of this world or even the traditional and habitual practices?

Has your relationship with Christ resulted as a rote religion instead?

Let me add one more verse here found in Ecclesiastes where Solomon writes how it’s important to obey the king as they said they would. If it’s important enough to be obedient to an earthly king, how much important is it that we obey the King of Kings? As a believer in Christ we have agreed to obey the lifestyle commands Jesus has set in place for us.

“Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble (vs 5-6 NLT).”

This world is full of excuses and negative thoughts. But we have no excuse for doing what is right. Often when believers become stagnant in their relationship with Christ is because they have lost interest and the intimacy with Christ. They live like most Christians around them. Same routine. If you read scripture more. You’ll begin to see the blinders Christians are often stuck in, and in most cases don’t even realize it.

Okay one more verse. Revelation 1:3 says “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near (NLT).”

I don’t know about you, but I have witnessed a lot of Christians always asking for blessings in their lives but never receiving. I have been guilty of this for a time as well. But when I read scripture, the blinders begin to fall off. If you want to be blessed, read scripture and be obedient to our true King, Jesus Christ. Seek His peace that surpasses all understanding, seek out God’s wisdom and always know there’s a time to do what’s right and show God’s love.

Living for Christ is a lifestyle not something we do in moderation. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Read His Word. It will set you free.

Rev Gary L Woods