Let's begin this study in prayer...
Hosea 6:6-7"For I [God] desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Like Adam, they have broken the covenant-- they were unfaithful to Me there."
As it turns out this whole issue of our offering sacrifices rather than
doing God's will is not new. In fact we find it through out the whole
Old Testament. To see this, let us begin with some,
I. OLD TESTAMENT ADMONITIONS
A. JEREMIAH
Our first example comes to us through the prophet Jeremiah as
the Lord was explaining to Israel why His wrath was about to be
poured out upon them,
Jeremiah 7:21-26
Then He tells Jeremiah that they will not listen to him,
Jeremiah 7:27-28
B. AMOS
Our next example comes from the prophet Amos,
Amos 5:21-24
C. ISAIAH
Finally, our last example comes from,
Isaiah 1:10-20
Notice vs 10 He calls Israel Sodom & Gomorrah
11-15 Our Lord does not want the people
to even come to Him...no sacrifices,
no festivals and no prayers.
QUESTION: Why? Why is God so upset? Notice vs 16-17. Oh my! Oh my!
QUESTION: What is the point? What is God telling us?
That the Israelites, His chosen people, even though they were
strictly following the religious laws and ordinances of that time
(the temple services), they were not doing what God wanted
them to do for their every day life.
Now when Jesus came to this earth, He pointed out that our
problem is much greater than what meets the eye. In fact we
find that this evil is subtle and appears in two significant areas
of our Christian life. Namely through,
1. Our Religious Rules/Traditions
and,
2. Our Works of Service/Attitudes Towards Others
And so let us begin by exploring our first area of concern by
examining some religious rules/traditions that by strict or over
zealous adherence we can nullify God's desire or will. Our first
example is that of,
II. FINANCIAL GIVING
This whole issue of financial giving falls within two areas. The
first area is that of,
A. SUPPORT TO THE CHURCH AND ITS MINISTERS
Our Lord Jesus Christ clearly teaches us that we are to,
1. PROVIDE FOR HIS MINISTERS/SERVANTS
To see this let us read what our Lord Jesus Christ once
said to His disciples as He sent them out to minister to
the various towns of Israel,
Matthew 10:6-10
Notice vs 8(b) they were not to charge for these
blessings...however,
10 This did not relieve the people from
the obligation or decency to provide
for their needs.
In fact we find this same instruction given by the Holy
Spirit, through Paul, to the church in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 9:7-14
Again the point being made is that even though Paul and
Barnabas did not charge for the spiritual food and blessings
they were giving the people, this did not relieve the
people who received these blessings to reward them via
material blessings.
However, there are times when this giving to the spiritual
ministry of the church can take on the form of a sacrifice
(i.e. spiritual pride) and nullify the more weightier issue
in which our Lord Jesus Christ instructs us to,
2. PROVIDE FOR OUR FAMILIES
To illustrate this desire, let us read from,
Matthew 15:1-9
Notice vs 8-9
QUESTION: What is Jesus teaching us? What is He saying?
Well, He was telling them that because of the temple tax
(money set aside to God, i.e. the tithe...a sacrifice) some
people were not able to financially help their parents. Thus,
this sacrifice was nullifying God's commandment to love and
honor your father and mother.
In order to get an idea of how God feels about Christians that
deprive support to their families, let us read,
1 Timothy 5:8
Pretty sobering......huh?
The second concern is that of,
B. CHARITIES
As with the support to those who provide us spiritual food, our
Lord Jesus Christ, clearly instructs us to,
1. HELP THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED
In order to see this, let us read the parable of the sheep
and goats,
Matthew 25:31-46
However, as we saw with the providing of support to our
Lord's ministers, this area of giving can also take on the
form of sacrifice whereby our giving takes away from the
needs of our family. Hence we find that the Bible teaches
us that,
2. WE SHOULD NOT GIVE BEYOND OUR MEANS
In order to see that this is God's desire, i.e. for us to not
give beyond our means, let us read the instruction that the
Holy Spirit gave through Paul to the church in Corinth with
respect to a pledge that was made for the support of
Christian communities that were in need.
2 Corinthians 8:10-15
Notice vs 12-14
In other words God does not want us to give ( i. e.
sacrifice) so much that now we and our families become a
financial burden to the church.
Another example of where we nullify God's commands for the sake of
man's religious tradition or rules concerns itself with,
III. BEING OVER COMMITTED TO CHURCH ACTIVITIES & GROUPS
It is true that we are commanded to,
A. GATHER TOGETHER TO BUILD EACH OTHER UP
In fact in order to see this let us just read why the Holy Spirit
has given us spiritual gifts. To do this, let us turn to,
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Notice vs 7 for the common good,
i.e. to help each other in the church.
However, the concern here is that we can be so committed to
various religious groups and activities that we can nullify God's
command to,
B. LOVE HIM AND OUR FAMILIES
True, Jesus tells us that if we love Him we will do what He
commands, i.e. the implication being to love others.
John 14:15
However, this reaching out to the body of Christ must not take
away the time we need to be with Him and thereby nullify God's
command to,
1. LOVE OUR GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART, SOUL AND MIND
To see this, let us read what Jesus once said to Martha
about being too busy to spend time with the Him,
Luke 10:38-42
A similar admonition is given to the church in Ephesus,
Revelation 2:1-7
We also find that this principle applies to our families,
for the Bible also teaches us that,
2. WE MUST HAVE TIME TO LOVE OUR SPOUSES
To see this, let us just read how intimate of a relationship
we are to have with our spouses. As we read about it, we
must recognize that a relationship of this nature requires
time and devotion,
Ephesians 5:22-33
The Bible further teaches us that,
C. WE MUST HAVE TIME TO LOVE & TEACH OUR CHILDREN
To see this, let us read,
Deuteronomy 6:4-7
and,
Deuteronomy 32:45-46
and,
Ephesians 6:4
NOTICE: In all the above scriptures the task of teaching the
children is the parent. Now in order to do this one must have
the time.
QUESTION: So what is the point? What is our Lord Jesus Christ
teaching us? What is His desire? How do I balance all these things?
What do I do?
Well, we are to walk or live by,
IV. THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVE
In order to see this, let us read what Jesus said to the Pharisees
(i.e. sticklers of the law) when they asked Him which is the
greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:34-40
Let's end this study in prayer...
Mark 12:32-34(a)"Well said, teacher", the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
Read the book by John Sweet, Jr.
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