If you will, take your Bibles
and turn with me to Mark chapter 7. I'm not going to read these
verses. You can read them yourselves
either now or later on in the day, but it would do you well.
We're going through the book of Mark to stay ahead of me and
read these verses. For time's sake, I'm able to
add more to the study if I don't have to go back and read these
things. So just familiarize yourself
with the study material and keep those things read ahead
and fresh in your mind. In the first 13 verses of Mark
chapter 7 is an account of one of the many confrontations of
the Pharisees with our Lord. In these verses, our Lord gives
us a clear definition of the religion of the Pharisees, which
he calls the religion of hypocrites, which is, in fact, the religion
of all men. And so I titled the lesson this
morning, The Religion of Man. Now the word hypocrite was used
commonly in the days when our Bible was translated. In the days of King James and
when this translation was made, this word hypocrite was commonly
used to describe an actor. One who will play the part on
a stage. He pretends to be something that
he's not. This is the hypocrite. And the
religion of man, you may wonder why would we even pause to study
the religion of man? Because the religion of man is
a dangerous religion. It's dangerous. It's not harmless. We're told over and over by different
ones, it's just harmless, it's harmless. What we're doing is
harmless. No, no it's not. No it's not. The religion of man is a dangerous
business. Why? Because the religion of
man uses himself as his own teacher. He's self-taught. He looks within
for his revelation. He's his own teacher. He uses himself as his judge. He makes judgments. concerning
his righteousness and his standing with God. He doesn't look to
the judgment of God. He doesn't look at the scriptures
to see how the scriptures judge him, but he judges himself. He
examines himself in the light of his own concept of God and
makes a judgment. He's his own judge, and then
he himself, This is a dangerous business because man looks within
for these things, and he looks to himself as his own reconciler. They used to ask me this question
in places where I'd play my guitar and sing in these various churches.
Have you made your peace with God? Well, it's telling, ain't it? That
man is his own reconciler, and that's how he looks at it. He uses himself because he's
rejected the things of the Spirit of God, counted them foolishness. He's rejected these things. He
has nothing of God in him. He has no knowledge of God. No knowledge of God whatsoever.
None that understandeth. None that seeketh after God.
They're all gone astray. The way of peace they've not
known. He has nothing of God in him, and yet he looks within
to try to see God. And he looks within because there's
nothing without. There's a warning in 1 Corinthians
chapter 11, and I remember preaching from that chapter years ago,
and Brother Luke telling me, he said, you scared me to death
brought that message. But there's a warning here in
1 Corinthians 11 about partaking of the ordinance of the Lord's
table saying, he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth
and drinketh damnation to himself. That's a pretty stiff warning. We ought to be afraid. We ought
to be afraid. In fact, that's the mark of this
man's religion. There's no fear of God before
his eyes. He's not afraid. But what he's talking about here,
this worthiness, he's saying that he has no faith in Christ. He's got no interest in his body
and blood. He sees no glory in his person.
He sees no necessity in his coming. He understands nothing about
the redemption that Christ has accomplished. He just takes the
elements. He just takes them and eats them
and drinks them as a religious tradition or a ceremony that
he feels compelled to keep. He takes these things because
people are watching to see if he'll take them or not. Boy,
I remember in the religion I grew up in how they'd all look around
to see who was going to take the bread and the wine. And then when he does eat and
drink, he drinks damnation to himself. Now why bring this up? What Paul here warns about the
Lord's table, it's true concerning every aspect of true religion. It's true concerning any and
all religious practices. He tells us in Hebrews 11 6,
he tells us as plainly as words can be made, without faith it
is impossible to please God. Absolutely impossible. And then he tells us clearly
this, he that believeth not shall be damned. Everything that he
does he's eating and drinking damnation to himself. Baptism, giving, singing, preaching,
praying, witnessing, worship, Everything he does without faith,
he's eating and drinking damnation to himself. He's a hypocrite.
He's not seeking God. He has no interest in God. He's
got no interest in Christ. He sees no glory. He's just religious. And he's religious because another
religious man has told him at one time or another, to do these
things is to be saved. Over and over in the scriptures,
we're told to beware of the living of the Pharisees. And the living
of the Pharisees is his doctrine and his religious beliefs. And these verses here before
us in my text paint a picture of the apostate human religion. It's the religion of deceived
men and women who have been led to believe a perversion of the
truth while outwardly clinging to the name of God. Over in John chapter eight, the
Pharisees, that's who we're talking about primarily here. The Pharisees
told our Lord, we be not born of fornication. Now they weren't
talking about the literal act of fornication. They were talking
about being born under false doctrine, under idolatry. We'd be not born of fornication.
We have one father, even God. Isn't that what they said? And Jesus said unto them, if
God were your father, you'd love me. where I proceeded forth and
came from God. You're of your father the devil,
and the lust of your father you will do. So these brilliant,
this wasn't, don't get it in your head. We used to get it
told to us all the time. They didn't really say the words,
but they left you assuming that when you're talking about Pharisees,
you're talking about a very small minority of people. You're talking about something
like a cult. You're talking about a little
group who set themselves aside from other men, and that little
tiny group over here, some odd group, and there's something
wrong with them anyway. Something wrong with them. Well,
no. No, these were brilliant men. These were brilliant men. They were well-read, well-studied. They could quote the scriptures.
They were highly educated men. But these brilliant, well-read,
and highly educated men believed that God was impressed and moved
with delight as he saw them washing their hands, and washing their
pots, and washing their vessels, and washing these tables. I went to and belonged to an
organization one time that believed in foot washing. And they would
practice that the same as we would the Lord's Table or baptism.
And they had little pans and we'd get down and wash each other's
feet. And we thought what we were doing, God would be, he'd
be moved seeing us do that. All of these things, their own
design, and incorporated into their religion over time and
then passed down for the next generation. What I hope to do
this morning is to show you something about this religion of the Pharisees
and scribes and to show you that it's no more than a picture of
the religion of every carnal man who's deceived by anti-Christ
religion. Like I said, I was taught that
this was these little tiny groups here and there like cults, but
I've since come to see that the religion of the Pharisees is
a religion of this world, and it's the vast majority of men
who practice these things, and they encompass the whole globe.
Now I've got six or seven things that I want to give you that
describe, and you can go through these verses and you can see
them. You can find them right here in these verses that describe
and characterize the religion of man. First of all, the religion
of the Pharisees leaves its people self-righteous, critical, and
judgmental. They really believed that by
outward observance, they could tell who was saved and who wasn't. Do you think that? You think
you can look around in here this morning and pick out who's saved
and who's not? That's the tendency of the natural
heart, isn't it? And that's the tendency of this
pharisaical religion. They believed that by outward
observance, They could discern who really knew God and who didn't. The Lord said man looks on the
outward countenance. That's as far as these eyes can
go. I see when you smile and I see
when you frown. I see when you smile and I see
when you just sit there angry. I can see that. I can see your
outward countenance. But God looks on the heart. And he can see that heart behind
that smile. Might be a deceptive smile, it
might be a deceptive tear, but God sees your heart. He looks
on the heart. We used to use a term in the
religion that I grew up in. We're not to judge people, but
we're fruit inspectors. You ever heard the term fruit
inspectors? That's what the Pharisees believe
they are. They feel as though they hold some lofty place in
God's kingdom, and they're looking down on the ungodly. The true
Jew, the true circumcision, that one who'd been born of God and
reconciled by the accomplished redemption of Christ, he worships
God in the Spirit. He doesn't worship God waving
his hands and stomping his feet and all of these shenanigans
that people do. He worships God in spirit. He worships God with a broken
and contrite heart and then he rejoices in Christ Jesus. You're
never going to make him mad preaching Christ crucified. He loves to
hear it. He can hear it today, and hear
it this afternoon, and hear it tomorrow, and hear it every day
the rest of his life, and he never gets tired of it. He rejoices
in Christ Jesus. Not in his own works, and not
in his own will, and not in his own practices. And then the third
mark of this true believer is this, he has no confidence in
the flesh. No confidence to judge and no
confidence to be judged. That's just so. Our religion is a religion of
mercy and grace, not of judgment and legalistic condemnation.
That Pharisee stood in the temple and he saw that publican And the publican had his head
down like this. And he was knelt down, but the
Pharisee was standing. He saw no need to kneel. And
he saw no need to bow his head. But he lifted his head toward
heaven and he said, Oh God, he said, I thank you I'm not like
other men. Huh? That's what they believe. They really do believe that.
Words are telling, but the old publican, he said, God have mercy
on me, the sinner. Secondly, the religion of the
Pharisee is a religion which has traded the word of God for
religious traditions. I shouldn't be surprised to see
a person who's not subject to the word of God washing his hands
in pots and vessels and tables. I shouldn't be shocked at that.
He got no interest in the Word of God. He didn't consult the
book to see if that's what he needed to do. He has his traditions. What need is he of a book? I
have the Church Covenant. I have my traditions. I shouldn't be shocked to see
folks dipping their fingers in a birdbath and calling it holy
water. Doing all this stuff. Kneeling
down before a bird bath? Come on! I shouldn't be surprised to see
men and women reciting some ritualistic chant and calling it penance
to God. I shouldn't be amazed to see
a person not subject to the word of God bowing down to statues
or rubbing brass pendants or kissing some man's ring. Why
am I shocked to see that? I shouldn't be taken back when
I see preachers dressed like the Pharisees after whom they
formed their religion and with these big draping gowns and loud
purple colored gowns and broad phylacteries All of these scriptures
and things, you know, incorporated on it and big crosses and all. Why am I shocked at that? They're
not subject to the Word of God. They didn't consult the Word
of God. They've traded the Word of God for their traditions. I was talking to a lady I grew
up with. And I was talking to her about
my brother who requested to be cremated. And she said, you sound
like that's bothering you. I said, it does bother me. I
said, it's a denial of the resurrection. And she said, well, I think each
individual is gonna have to make that choice. There is no choice. Where's the choice? But rather
than consult the Word of God, we just see other people do it
and say, well, it'd be all right. It'd be all right. Besides, it's
cheaper. Huh? That's true. I'm telling you
the truth. People, they've traded the Word
of God for religious traditions. And they use those traditions
as though they were commandments of God. The religion of the Pharisee
is big on tradition and slow concerning the word of God. But
my friend, God's church is built on the foundation of the prophets
and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
The Pharisee said to Christ, why do thy disciples transgress
the tradition of the elders? Now listen to what Christ said.
He said unto them, why do you also transgress the commandment
of God by your tradition? Oh, you mean our traditions run
contrary to the word of God. That's exactly what I mean. A huge majority of religion in
our day is based on a traditional concept of God, traditional practices
and all unfounded in the word of God. And most of the time,
when they hear the truth, they reject it, and here's what they
say. Our church doesn't believe that
way. They've traded the word of God
for religious tradition, and then thirdly, the religion of
the Pharisee is all mouth. It's all mouth, and no heart. All mouth. Our Lord looked at these Pharisees
and he said, well, hath Isaiah the prophet prophesied of you
hypocrites? As it is written, this people
honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. You honor me with your lips.
That's what I get. I get lip service. You know what
I did as a foreman on the job to a man who gave me lip service? I fired him on the spot. Get
out of here. I don't need you. I need somebody
who came here to work. I need somebody who came here
to do what he agreed to do. Lip service. That's the Pharisee. That's his whole religion. He
likes to talk about all of these things and he's all talk. I used
to listen to them and they'd gather and they'd sing. And they'd
sing a lot of the same hymns that we sing. Amazing Grace,
The Solid Rock, all these things. And they'd sing. And then he'd
get up and preach for about 30 minutes and then they'd have
an offering. You ever seen any of them old vinyl change purses?
You squeeze them and they open up. The offering plate would
come around and you'd squeeze that thing, piece of red in there,
find a quarter or something, put it in the offering plate. Lip service. That's all it is. lip service, to all mouth and no heart. This
is the covenant, God said, that I'll make with them after those
days, saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their hearts,
and upon their minds I'll write them, and their sins and iniquities
I will remember no more. And then in Romans 10, he said,
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. True religion
is a heart religion, and false religion is all show and no go. Fourthly, the religion of the
Pharisee is a religion which was a pretense of piety as an
excuse for irresponsibility. Our Lord singles out this commandment
to honor your father and mother. all the days of your life, honor
your father and mother. No matter what else they've done,
they're still your father and they're still your mother. They
cared for you, they took care of you, they clothed you, they
did all these things for you, and you're to honor them. If a man purposefully disobeyed
that commandment under Moses' law, they took him out and stoned
him to death. Child who wouldn't honor their
parents. They took him out and stoned him to death. Pretty serious,
isn't it? Here's what our Lord told these
Pharisees. He said, according to your tradition, you're teaching
these young Pharisees, you're teaching these young men who
are studying to be Pharisees, that they're exempt from honoring
their father and mother, and in fact, I'm a gift. They're
to look at me as a gift. Really? That's what he told them. That's what he told them. They
used their tradition as an excuse for irresponsibility. Old Roland
Hill, you've heard me tell that Roland Hill's dream that he had.
Well, old Roland Hill said, when a man comes to know and submit
himself to the Lord, even his dogs and cats and farm animals
will be better for it. That's how much it changes a
man. Even his dogs will be better
for it. Old William Gay said, the man who truly knows the Lord
will be better in every relationship. When he comes to know the Lord,
he'll be a better husband. He'll be a better father. He'll
be a better employer. He'll be a better servant. He'll be better if he serves
in some office. He'll be better at it. There's no excuse for irresponsibility
except our own unbelief, rebellion, and sin. And then fifthly, the
religion of the Pharisee is a religion of legalism, works, and separatism. He lives to be seen and acknowledged
by men as a holy man. That's why he prays in public
out loud. He'll get in a restaurant and
everybody's in there talking, you know, and bitching and going
back and forth. He'll stand up and in a loud
voice, he'll pray. And everybody in the room gets
quiet, starts looking around, see what's going on. He does
what he does to be seen of men. He wants to be acknowledged by
men as a holy man. He likes to be called reverend.
A fellow asked me one time at a hospital, he said, how do you
like to be addressed? And I said, my name would be
good. Just use that. He wants to be acknowledged as
a holy man, but not by the holiness of God. He doesn't drink. He doesn't smoke. He doesn't
gamble, he doesn't curse. He lives a life as clean as a
hound's tooth. Is that godliness? Is that holiness?
No, that's self-righteousness. He wears clothes that call attention
to himself. He loves to sit in the seat of
honor. and insists on all his names
and recognitions, doctor, and so on. He's a self-righteous
man, a man who believes his austere self-discipline has gained him
favor with God. He glories in his works, calls
it worship. Paul said to the Galatians, if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead and vain. Sixthly, the religion of the
Pharisees is a religion that denies the need of grace, of
substitution, of representation, and of union with Christ. I don't understand what you're
saying there. Any religion that believes that man can reconcile
himself produce a righteousness acceptable to God and win God's
favor by something he does or gains, and that he can gain access
into heaven by his own worthiness, he denies his need of grace. He doesn't need grace. What's
he need grace for? But everything concerning the
salvation of chosen sinners is owing to the grace of God. Their
election, their union with Christ, the giving of faith, his perseverance,
everything, it's all owing to the grace of God. Where would the sinner be without
Christ? Where would he be but for the
grace of God? We are what we are by the grace
of God, that's what Paul said. Now knowing what these things
are, will you go out and meet God glorying in yourself and
glorying in your deeds? The Pharisee's denial is that
of his own depravity and his own sin. And nowhere does that
sin expose itself like it does in false religion. Religion of
man, religion of the Pharisees.