COMMANDMENTS OF MEN

Isa 29:11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate." 13 Therefore the LORD said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, 14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."

The people claimed to be close to God, but they were disobedient and merely went through the motions; Religion had become routine instead of real.

Jesus quoted Isaiah when he spoke to the Pharisees,

We are all capable of hypocrisy. We may slip into routine patterns of worship and neglect to give God our love and devotion.

Isa 29:15 Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?" 16 Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

How strange that so many people think they can hide from God.

LEFT FIRST LOVE

Rev 2:1 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 "and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. 4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.

They were a busy church--the members did much to benefit themselves and the community--but they were acting out of the wrong motives. Work for God must be motivated by love for God or it will not last.

In the first steps of your Christian life, you may have had enthusiasm without knowledge. Do you now have knowledge without enthusiasm?

Ephesus had become a large, proud church, and Jesus' message would remind them that he alone is the head of the body of believers.

GOD'S COMMANDS TURNED INTO COMMANDMENTS OF MEN

Mar 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" 6 He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' 8 "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." 9 He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

When we claim to honor God while our hearts are far from him, our worship means nothing. It is not enough to act religious. Our actions and our attitudes must be sincere.

The Pharisees knew a lot about God, but they didn't know God. It is not enough to study about religion or even to study the Bible. We must respond to God himself.

Exo 17:5-6, The LORD said to Moses, "Take your shepherd’s staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile. Then call some of the leaders of Israel and walk on ahead of the people. {6} I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come pouring out. Then the people will be able to drink." Moses did just as he was told; and as the leaders looked on, water gushed out.

Num 20:8-12, "You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, command the rock over there to pour out its water. You will get enough water from the rock to satisfy all the people and their livestock." {9} So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the LORD. {10} Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. "Listen, you rebels!" he shouted. "Must we bring you water from this rock?" {11} Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So all the people and their livestock drank their fill. {12} But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!"

At first when Moses did as God commanded, Moses struck the rock, water came out, and God was praised.

When God told Moses to speak to the rock instead of striking it, Moses continued to strike it. The act of striking the rock was once a commandment from God - then it was done as a commandment of men. When it was done as a commandment of man, all the praise went to man - God was left out. Moses was then walking on a "safe" path he was used to. It didn't require as much faith.

To follow the new commandment from God required more faith. Moses had never seen water come from the rock by speaking to it. When we leave faith, the praise that should go to God is directed toward men.

God doesn't change, He always wants us to walk by faith. When events are such that faith is no longer required, He will ask us to walk a different path - one that still requires faith.

In Hezekiah's time the people of Israel had turned the bronze serpent Moses had made at God's command into an object of worship.

2 Ki 18:1-4, Hezekiah … did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. {4} He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and knocked down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had begun to worship it by burning incense to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.

God does not want us to worship the things He gives us - He wants us to worship Him.

HYPOCRISY

Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not and have no intention of being. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they worshipped God for the wrong reasons.

Their worship was not motivated by love, but by a desire to attain profit, to appear holy, and to increase their status.

We become hypocrites when we:

• pay more attention to reputation than to character,
• carefully follow certain religious practices while allowing our hearts to remain distant from God, and
• emphasize our virtues but others' sins.

The Pharisees added hundreds of their own petty rules and regulations to God's holy laws,

These men claimed to know God's will in every detail of life. There are still religious leaders today who add rules and regulations to God's Word, causing much confusion among believers. It is idolatry to claim that your interpretation of God's Word is as important as God's Word itself.

It is especially dangerous to set up unbiblical standards for others to follow. Instead, look to Christ for guidance about your own behavior, and let him lead others in the details of their lives.

Col 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. 20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- 21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," 22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

"What you eat or drink" probably refers to the Jewish dietary laws. The festivals mentioned are Jewish holy days celebrated annually, monthly (New Moon), and weekly (the Sabbath).

We should not let ourselves be judged by the opinions of others, because Christ has set us free. Paul told the Colossian Christians not to let others criticize their diet or their religious ceremonies. Instead of outward observance, believers should focus on faith in Christ alone.

Our worship, traditions and ceremonies can help bring us close to God, but we should never criticize fellow Christians whose traditions and ceremonies differ from ours.

More important than how we worship is that we worship Christ. Don't let anyone judge you. You are responsible to Christ.

Old Testament laws, holidays, and feasts pointed toward Christ. Paul calls them a "shadow" of the reality that was to come--Christ himself.

When Christ came, he dispelled the shadow. If we have Christ, we have what we need to know and please God.

The fundamental problem with the false teachers was that they were not connected to Christ, the Head of the body of believers. If they had been joined to him, they could not have taught false doctrine or lived immorally.

We cannot reach up to God by following rules of self-denial, by observing rituals, or by practicing religion. Paul isn't saying all rules are bad. But no keeping of laws or rules will earn salvation. The Good News is that God reaches down to human beings, and he asks for our response.

Man-made religions focus on human effort;

Christianity focuses on Christ's work.

Believers must put aside sinful desires, but doing so is the by-product of our new life in Christ, not the reason for our new life. Our salvation does not depend on our own discipline and rule-keeping, but on the power of Christ's death and resurrection.

We can guard against man-made religions by asking these questions about any religious group:

• Does it stress man-made rules and taboos rather than God's grace?
• Does it foster a critical spirit toward others, or does it exercise discipline discreetly and lovingly?
• Does it stress formulas, secret knowledge, or special visions more than the Word of God?
• Does it elevate self-righteousness, honoring those who keep the rules, rather than elevating Christ?
• Does it neglect Christ's universal church, claiming to be an elite group?
• Does it teach humiliation of the body as a means to spiritual growth rather than focusing on the growth of the whole person?
• Does it disregard the family rather than holding it in high regard as the Bible does?

To the Colossians, the discipline demanded by the false teachers seemed good, and legalism still attracts many people today.

Following a long list of religious rules requires strong self-discipline and can make a person appear moral, but religious rules cannot change a person's heart. Only the Holy Spirit can do that.

We change our moral and ethical behavior by letting Christ live within us, so that he can shape us into what we should be.

Setting our hearts on things above means striving to put heaven's priorities into daily practice. "For you died" means that we should have as little desire for this world as a dead person would have. The Christian's real home is where Christ lives. This truth gives us a different perspective on our lives here on earth.

To "set your minds on things above" means to look at life from God's perspective and to seek what he desires. This is the antidote to materialism; we gain the right perspective on material goods when we take God's view of them.

The more we regard the world around us as God does, the more we will live in harmony with him. We must not become too attached to what is only temporary. Jesus and the apostles repeatedly warned against false teachers because their teachings attack the foundations of truth and integrity upon which the Christian faith is built. You can recognize false teachers because they will:

• focus more attention on themselves than on Christ;
• ask you to do something that will compromise or dilute your faith;
• de-emphasize the divine nature of Christ or the inspiration of the Bible; or
• urge believers to make decisions based more on human judgment than on prayer and Biblical guidelines.

Some people see good all around them, while others see nothing but evil. Why? Our souls become filters through which we perceive goodness or evil.

The pure (those who have Christ in control of their lives) learn to see goodness and purity even in this evil world. But corrupt and unbelieving people find evil in everything because their evil minds and hearts color even the good they see and hear.

Whatever you choose to fill your mind with will affect the way you think and act. Turn your thoughts to God and his Word, and you will discover more and more goodness, even in this evil world. A mind filled with good has little room for what is evil.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Ask God to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It takes practice, but it can be done.

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