We'll begin with the handout
and then we'll just read that first paragraph. Now before we
go down to chapter 15, I want to take a moment to consider
two points of grace that are made in these last verses of
chapter 14. So if you would, join me in Matthew
chapter 14, reading verses 34 through 36. Let's start at verse
34. And when they were gone over,
they came unto the land of Genesaret. And when the men of that place
had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round
about, and brought unto him all their disease. And it besought
him that they might only touch the hem of his garment, and as
many as touched were made perfectly whole. Now, we'll pick up chapter
15 in just a moment, but I want to turn to our handout, if you
would. Brother Don Fortner wrote this.
He said, what a merciful statement this is of our Savior. Truly,
this is He of whom the prophet spoke. And then he refers to
these verses that I've got printed out in the handout for us. It
says, say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear
not. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with recompense. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as in heart and the tongue of the dumb
seen. For in the wilderness shall waters
break out and streams in the desert." That's in Isaiah 35,
4 through 6. Or Don refers to this verse as
well from Luke chapter 14, chapter 4, verse 17 through 19. And there
was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when
he had opened the book, he found a place where it was written,
the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captive. and recovering of sight to the
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the
acceptable year of the Lord." Folks, the Lord delights. He
delights in mercy. Listen to Psalms 8615. Thou,
O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering
and plenteous in mercy and truth. Remember a couple weeks back,
we were looking at where the Lord fed 5,000 people, plus the
wives and the children. That was just men. And the Lord
looked out and He had compassion. And we stopped there for a moment
and considered how God has looked out over all time over all the
world, everyone who would ever come into the world, all of that
He had created, and He saw what He saw and had compassion. He
had compassion on some, the God's elect, His chosen people, those
whose names were written in the land book of life. This is what
we're talking about right here. Thou, O Lord, art a God full,
full to the brim. a fullness that never dwindles
away, it never recedes, full of compassion and graciousness,
long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. That's the
God we serve. Oh, the world hates it, though.
They say, no, no, no, no, no. Who is this God you preach that
gives nobody else a chance, that doesn't give every single human
being a chance? This is the God of creation that
we talk about right here. He's full of compassion, but
it's to a people. It's to those that he loved from
before the world was. Last paragraph of page one. He
who bore our sins and carried our sorrows, he soothes our needy
souls. Though now on his throne on high,
he is yet touched with the feeling of infirmity and moved with compassion
toward his needy people. Listen to these words from Hebrews
2.18. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he
knoweth how to secure them that are tempted. And it's still true,
as many as touch him, are made perfectly whole. What a gracious
statement. Page 2. A verse that screams
out at me. When I considered that very first
point, as many as, remember I said there were a couple of points
of grace that I wanted to consider before we move on to chapter
15. One of those points is right there in that last verse where
it says, as many as. And a verse that jumps out at
me at that is this one here. It says, and when the Gentiles
heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord,
and as many as, were ordained, in other words,
to arrange. And this is the King James Dictionary
version of this, of what that word ordained means. It means
to arrange in an orderly manner, that is, to assign or to dispose
to a certain position or lot, to appoint, to determine, to
ordain, to set. So it says, As many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. As many as. That means that the
whole world It's not the whole world. There's a limited number
put on that, as many as. And the Word of the Lord was
published throughout all that region. That's in Acts 13, verse
48-49. Folks, the atonement Christ made
when He was made a curse was a limited atonement for a particular
people. Not all of mankind were saved.
Not all in this world are brought to believe and love the true
and living God. What Christ did in becoming flesh
fulfilling the law, establishing an acceptable righteousness,
perfect, as I put in parentheses, to God the Father, providing
himself an acceptable sacrifice, perfect, as I also put in parentheses,
for the people of God, was an acceptable atonement. That atonement
was acceptable by God because it was by his perfect obedience,
by his perfect blood. And atonement means a payment
for sin. whom he died, the blood of the Son of God shed on that
cruel cross was sufficient. It accomplished its purpose. No ifs, no buts. That brings me to the second
point of this final verse in chapter 14, and it says, are
made perfectly whole. Listen to these words from Hebrews
10, verse 14, and tell me if this doesn't say the same thing.
For by one offering, He, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
the living God, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Those who are called out, those
who are set apart to be made holy. Those who are set apart
to be used as holy things for the Lord God Almighty. That's
what the word sanctified means. Those, as many as were chosen
in Christ whom God set apart, sanctified, are perfected forever
is what that just says. It says they were perfected forever
by His one offering of Himself. No ifs, no buts. And I can say
amen to Brother Don's statement. What a merciful statement this
is of our Savior. Truly, this is He of whom the
prophets spoke. Robert Hawker wrote this, if
I may quote one more person from this section of Scripture. He says, I beg the reader more
particularly to observe in this account of Christ is how fully
it manifests his character as the God-man, Messiah. Think, reader, I beseech you,
what an endearing representation this is of Jesus, that by his
living so many years in this world as we do, and combating
with the same exercises as we combat with, how blessedly suited
he was, having borne our sins and carried our sorrows, to soothe
the sorrows in others, which he bore himself, oh, how suited
also now in glory, to recollect in his own trials what he felt
and to feel it for others. The apostle makes this the very
basis of all comfort, for in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, he knoweth how to secure them that are tempted. And I close this section of the
text with these words, Hebrews 2 verse 18, for in that he himself
has suffered being tempted, he is able to secure them that are
tempted. Page 3. So let's move on now
to chapter 15, and read with me if you would. Matthew 15,
beginning at verse 1. Then came to Jesus scribes and
Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their
hands when they eat. But he answered and said unto
them, why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your
tradition? Did you notice that? Back up
to verse two for me, if you would there. What did the Pharisees
say? They said, why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? Did you notice that?
Did you catch that? Sometimes we can read through
things and just jump right over it. That's a pretty big deal,
folks. They're clear about what their
tradition is. It's not a tradition of God.
It's a tradition of men. Why do they transgress the tradition
of men? And then the Lord says down there
in verse 3, why do ye also transgress the commandment of God? by your
tradition. For God commanded, saying, Honor
thy father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother,
let him die the death. But ye say, whosoever shall say
to his father or his mother, it is a gift by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me, and honor not his father or his mother,
he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment
of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well
did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto
me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." And I want to talk to
you tonight about this two different types of worshiping, vain worship
and true worship. And we'll see that as we go through
tonight's study. Again, I want to begin with a
quote from Don's commentary. This is the top half, page three. In this passage, the Lord Jesus
confronts the religious system of his day head on. He confronts
the scribes and the Pharisees publicly, giving a scathing denunciation
of their religion, its customs, traditions, and hypocrisy, drawing
a clear line of distinction between false and true religion. This is a matter that God's servants
must deal with, and we must deal with it plainly in every age. Now, empty religious rituals
and ceremonies, even when the outward form conforms to the
Word of God, is but the taking of God's name in vain. And what
I mean by that, and we get a warning of that when we come to the Lord's
table, we get a warning of that. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, it
says this, for as often as ye eat this bread and drink this
cup, ye shall show the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore,
Whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord
unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the
Lord. I've talked about that before,
and what that's saying to us, you know, we have to consider
this. Well, who is worthy of it? Who is worthy of it? And
it's talking about those who participate without, you know,
I'm going to the Lord's table, therefore I am saved. See this?
And they're using it as a show instead of what it really means,
is to consider and remember the Lord. Take, eat, this is my body
which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
So we see that anybody who just participates in religion, even
in things that are according to scriptures, it can be using
the God's name in vain if it's not from the heart. That's what
I'm talking about here. Listen to these words from Isaiah
1, verse 13-18. It's quite a section here, but
it's in the middle of page 3 in your handout. It says, Bring
no more vain oblation. The word vain means false. if you're doing it under a false
pretense. Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto
me. The new moons and the Sabbaths,
the calling of the assemblies, I cannot away with it. It is
iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed
feast, my soul hateth. They are a trouble unto me. I
am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your
hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. Yea, when ye make many
prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
Wash you. Make you clean. Put away the
evil of your doings from before mine eyes. Cease to do evil.
Learn to do well. Seek judgment. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for
the widow. Come now and let us reason together.
Sayeth the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. Malachi declares that the offering
of blemished, unworthy sacrifices is taking God's name in vain
as well. Listen to this from Malachi 1, verse 6 through 8,
bottom paragraph, page 3. A son honoreth his father, and
a servant his master. If then I be a father, where
is mine honor? And if I be a master, where is
my fear? Sayeth the Lord of hosts unto
you priests. Unto you, O priest, that despise
my name. And ye say, wherein have we despised
thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon
my altar. And ye say, wherein hath we polluted
thee? In that ye say, the table of
the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for
sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and
sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto the governor,
will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? Sayeth
the Lord of Hosts, page 4. The Lord God will not accept,
He will not accept any pretended worship of Him. He only receives
worship from a redeemed, regenerate, now listen folks, believing heart. The very sacrifices of the wicked
are an abomination before him. Listen to these words in Isaiah
66, 2-3. For all those things have mine
hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But
to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an
ox is as if he slew a man. He that sacrifices a lamb as
if he cut off a dog's neck. He that offereth an oblation
as if he offered swine's blood. He that burneth incense as if
he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own
ways, and their soul delighteth in their abomination. Isn't that
what the churches of today do? You've heard me describe that
church up there in Pollock Pines more than once. Every time I
heard anything said about that church, it was all about what
they did. We fed 30 people today after
church and 15 of them dedicated themselves to the Lord. We set
up a table for 50 people today that were homeless. That was
just a wonderful service today. It was all about that, not one
bit about what Christ had done for them. That's exactly what
this is. They delight in their abominations.
Listen to this. It says in Amos 5, 21 through
23, I hate This is the Lord speaking. This
is the Lord's Word. I hate, I despise your feast
days, and I will not smell your solemn assemblies. This is the
religious world, folks. These are those who are without
Christ. I despise your feast days, and
I will not smell your solemn assailant. Though ye offer me
burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept
them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not
hear the melody of thy vials. Or listen to these words from
Proverbs 21, verse 27. The sacrifice of the wicked is
an abomination. See how that goes right along
with those verses in this fifth psalm that we read? Formal, ritualistic,
ceremonial, outward religion without heart phase is empty,
useless religion. The complaint of the scribes
and the Pharisees, the complaint that they had against the disciples
was not that they were evil. It was not that they were corrupt
or covetous men, but that they did not, in keeping the Jewish
traditions, wash their hands before they ate. Now, folks,
washing your hands is a great thing. It's a good thing to do.
Do it as often as you can. It helps. But they didn't know
that back then. The whole idea of washing your
hands was to cleanse your body before you took in food into
your body. Cleanse it spiritually, is what
they washed their hands for. And they would do it openly in
public. Bring me the golden... And the Catholics still do it
today. They've got their holy water
where you walk by and dip your fingers in it and you dip the
holy water on your head. It's the same thing. It's all
for show. It means nothing. They weren't
doing it to be clean. They were doing it to show their
religion. To show themselves off. They did it in keeping the Jewish
traditions, washing their hands before they... Now obviously,
it's always good to wash your hands. The more often, the better. And as a matter of personal hygiene,
but the practice of always washing one's hands before eating is
a show of religion devotion in those days. It had become a religious
tradition to them, a tradition they would never dare to break.
It'd be like praying courtyard marketplaces. They would go out
and they would just do it. I agree with those who don't
pray at restaurants. The Lord knows what's in my heart.
I don't need to pray in a restaurant so that everybody can see me.
I can speak to the Lord just as well without ever moving a
part of my body. It's speaking from the heart.
Lord, thank you. Lord, I praise you for giving
me this ability to feed myself today. This thing of washing
your hands had become a religious tradition with them, a tradition
they would never dare to break, at least not in public. They
washed their hands whether they needed to or not, washing or
not, because they vainly imagined that in doing so, they showed
spirituality and devotion to God. Our Lord's disciples, following
His example and instruction, felt no compulsion to obey man's
religions or traditions. They washed not their hands when
they ate bread. Why should they wash them if
they were clean? Look over at Matthew chapter
6. Turn in your Bibles. Mark your place. We're going
to go over to Matthew chapter 6 for just a moment. I want to
read a few verses over there. Matthew chapter 6. And look with
me beginning at verse 3. But when thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. Now, why do
you suppose God would say that to us? Why do you suppose God
would give us instructions not to let our right hand know what
the left hand doing? You know, I'll tell you what,
folks. It's because of this. It's because if I find out my
right hand is doing something, my left hand is going to go see
how good I am. See the good that I'm doing with
my right? Let not thy left hand know what
thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. And thy father, which seeth in
secret himself, shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest,
same thing with prayers. We were talking about praying
in a restaurant a moment ago. And when thou prayest, thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are, For they love to pray, standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet. And when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy father which is in secret, and thy father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray,
use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that
they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore
like unto them, for your father knoweth what things you have
need of before you ask of him. After this manner, therefore,
pray ye, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead
us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses. Moreover, Moreover, even moreover
than that, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance,
for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men
to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto
men to fast, but unto thy father. which is in secret, and thy Father
which seeth thee in secret shall reward thee openly." What a statement! What a statement our Lord has
made here. Page 5. Let us take care that
we live as men and women, and here's the key, who trust and
worship the Lord Jesus Christ in honesty, in labor, in conversation,
in modesty, in love, and in patience, adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior. Titus chapter 2 verse 10. But do nothing to be seen of
men. You may say, but I want people to see Jesus in me. Lost,
unbelieving people did not see Jesus in Jesus. They certainly are not going
to see Him in you or I. That which our Savior said to
the Pharisees on this day is still true. He said, Ye are they
which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. That's in Luke
16, 15. You can't get no more clear than
that, can you? That doesn't even need somebody
to say, well, this means. You can see where that means
or exactly where it says. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Consider with
me, if you will, what true worship is. We've seen a little bit now
of what vain worshiping is. Let's consider for a moment what
true worship is. And nothing is more important
in the activities of life than the worship of our God. It says
in Hebrews 10, verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together. I'm going to stop there for just
a moment. I've got to say this. The devastation that went through
our dear brothers and sisters in San Diego, it amazed me that
when I went down there the first time, the size of the group that
was still there. You talk about seeing the power
of God in people. Those of us who have a pastor
that we can go to on a weekly basis and hear the gospel. That's what pastors do. They
preach the gospel. Those of us who have pastors
can't understand the depth of sorrow that would go through
a person's mind and heart when their pastor steps away. Yet
these folks were held together by God Almighty. They continue
the assembling of themselves together by the power of God
and by the power of God alone. As a matter of some is, it says,
but exhorting one another. That's exactly what they're doing.
They're exhorting one another. And so much more as you see the
day approaching. God's saints may vary in the
way that they conduct their assemblies of public worship. Some are more
formal, maybe, less formal than others. Some have instrumental
music, and some do not. But with regard to the ordinances
of public worship, if we fail to keep God's ordinances in God's
way, we do but take the name of God in vain and pretend to
worship. One of the things I keep hearing,
we don't want to just be playing church down here. We don't want
to just be playing church. What a thoughtful thing for one
of God's people to say. I don't want to just be playing
church here. There's too many examples in scripture that show
us where vain worship is nothing but the path to destruction.
By God's mercy and grace, He has put us on the path to Him.
He has turned us towards Him. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall
be turned. Going on in the handout there,
bottom paragraph of page 5. Even when the outward form of
worship is right, that is not the principal thing. Heart worship
is the principal part of true worship. This people draweth
nigh unto me with their mouth, our Lord says in Matthew 15 verse
8, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart, did you
catch that? Their heart is far from me. The heart is the principal thing
in the relationship of a husband and wife, parents, children,
friends and friends. In our relationship with service
to and worship of our God, the matter of chief concern is our
hearts. Isaiah 29, verse 13, Wherefore
the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh to me, draw
near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me,
but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward
me is taught by the precept of men. We're talking about those
who are religious, who have no grace, who know not. what the grace of God is in saving
His people from what we would be if He left us to ourselves. Listen to these words of Ezekiel
33, verse 31, page 6. And they come unto thee as the
people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear
thy words, but they will not do them. For with their mouth
they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And then in Romans 4, verse 17,
we read these words, for the kingdom of God is not meat and
drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. What must we have to be saved? A new heart. You must be born
again, is what the Lord said to Nicodemus. What sacrifice
does God require from us a broken and contrite heart, a heart that
has been broken of its pride, a heart that has been brought
down to see that it has no place to go. What is true circumcision? It's circumcision of the heart.
It's cutting away the stone and revealing and putting a heart
of flesh in its place. What does God call? For from
his sons, he says, my son, give me thine heart. Well, where does Jesus Christ
dwell? He dwells in the hearts of his
people. J.C. Ryle wrote this. The bended
knee, the bowed head, the loud amen, the daily chapter, the
regular retentance at the Lord's table, are all useless and unprofitable
so long as our affections are nailed to sin, or pleasure, or
money, or the world. Our only rule of faith and practice,
last paragraph, page six, our only rule of faith and practice
is and must be the Word of God alone. That religion which either
adds to or diminishes from the Word of God is empty, useless
religion. It's worthless. It does not matter
how sincere, how zealous, or how well received a religious
practice is, if it is something that adds or diminishes the Word
of God, it is useless. Deuteronomy 4.2 says this, Ye
shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall
ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of
the Lord your God, which I command you. And then in Deuteronomy
12, it says these words, in verse 32, what things soever I command
you, observe to do it, thou shalt not add thereunto, nor diminish
from it. Folks, our only way to observe. Now listen. There may be some troubled hearts
among you this very moment thinking, My heart's just not with it.
There's no love for God in my heart right now. I'm lost. I know there may be somebody
that thinks that very thing. Folks, our only way to observe
His commandments is to observe them as done in Christ. His commandments are all done
in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's our only way. to observe
His commandments. But we can certainly not add
any of our own foolishness to them. Page 7. Our text states
this in verses 2 and 3. Why do thy disciples transgress
the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands
when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto
them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your
tradition? All who treat the word of God
with such contempt make the word of God of none effect by their
traditions. Our only authority is the Word
of God. Listen to 2 Timothy 3, verses
16-17. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished, and do all good works. Our doctrine
is false doctrine if it's not the doctrine of Holy Scripture.
Our ordinance of worship are an abomination to God if they
are not the ordinances established by our Savior. prescribed religion
duties in what people call practical godliness are but acts of ungodliness
if they are not prescribed in the New Testament. Listen to
Isaiah 8 verse 20. To the law and to the testimony
if they speak not according to this word, it is because there
is no light in them. What did our Lord say about the
Bereans? He called them noble. Why did
the Lord call them noble? Because they went to the Word
of God. They trusted in the Word of God
as their authority. They looked to the Word of God
to make sure the man standing in front of them, or sitting
in front of them, or whatever, whoever is speaking, is speaking
from the Word of God. We would do well to be as the
noble Bereans. We must never allow ourselves
to be put in subjection to the commandments of men. Colossians
2 verse 16 through 23, let no man therefore judge you in meat
or in drink. That's what this is talking about
here, allowing yourself to be in subjection to men. men's ways,
men's doings, men's interpretations. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new
moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things
to come. But the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your
reward in the voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding
into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by
his fleshly mind, and not holding the head from which all the body
by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together.
increases with the increase of God. Wherefore, if ye be dead
with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though
living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, touch not, taste
not, handle not, which are to perish with the using, after
the commandments and the doctrines of men." Stop there for a moment.
Every time you look up, you look it up yourself, every time you
see the word doctrines in scripture, teachings, it's always talking
about men. Every time you read the word
doctrine, as in singular teaching, it's talking about the teaching
of Christ, the teaching of God. Going on now, which things have
indeed a show of wisdom in all worship and humility and neglecting
of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. Page 8. In 1 Timothy 1, verses
1-6, Paul says this, he says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope, unto Timothy, my own son in the faith, grace,
mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia,
that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister
questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith. So do now
the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure heart
and of a good conscience and of faith, unfeigned, from which
some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling. And then in Titus 1, verse 14,
we read this, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments
of men that turn from the truth. or 1 Thessalonians 5, 21-24,
prove all things, hold fast that which is good, abstain from all
appearance of evil, and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly,
and I pray your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful
is He that calleth you who will also do it. True religion. True Christianity, true worship
is a spiritual matter, a matter of the heart. A new heart will
I also give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will
take away the old stony heart of your flesh and I will give
you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and
cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments
and do them. Ezekiel 36, 26-27. Or how about this, John 4, 24,
God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him
in spirit and in truth. or Philippians 3, 3, for we are
the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice
in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. One more, if you
would, and for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, Romans 4,
verse 17, page 9. It begins with circumcision of
the heart. It involves knowledge of and
obedience to the truth. Christianity is a spiritual thing. It is, in its essence, rejoicing
in Christ, believing Him, loving Him, and exalting Him. It is
a renunciation or a repentance of all confidence in anything
performed by or experienced in this flesh. And that includes
our feeling. The Lord looketh on the heart. All acts of worship, whether
in public or in private, are utterly vain if our hearts are
far from Him. Think about that, my heart, far
from Him. Everything about this body, everything
about this flesh that sits before you is far from Him. But thankfully, He is close to
me. I'm not far from Him. He's far from me. Does that make
sense what I'm saying about that? I don't follow Him as close as
I would like to. But thankfully, it's not me. It's Him. He's the one who reaches
out when I'm sinking in water and grabbing me by the arm and
says, O thou of little faith. How often our Lord says to you
and I, O thou of little faith.