What
is the CHURCH?
Mat_23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation.
Mat_23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land
to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child
of hell than yourselves.
Mat_23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint
and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law,
judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
other undone.
Mat_23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the
outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion
and excess.
Mat_23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited
sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead
men's bones, and
of all uncleanness.
Mat_23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs
of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Please read all verses this morning before you read the
devotional because it will help you get the idea of what I’m talking about…..Not
that anyone would skip the verses. ;)
First off, let me say that I am in no way condemning going
to church…..I think it is very important to have a place to learn the Word of
God and Praise Him. Church, though, is
not a building or denomination. Church
is what the body of believers around the world are called. Church is not a location….Church is the body
of believers around the world. Church is
not a denomination. The church is simply
the body of believers from around the world.
I tell you all of this so you will understand that Jesus
doesn’t care what church you go to….As long as you Know Him. As you see in today’s verses, Jesus was
very quick to tell the Pharisees about their religious ideas. I kind of think about it like this……You could
replace the word Pharisee with the name of any religion on the planet. I think that is the point He was trying to
make here. Woe
to you scribes and _________________, hypocrites! For you make clean the outside of the cup and
platter, but in your walls you are full of extortion an excess.
Sorry to get longwinded with this, but it is of eternal
consequence that you understand the difference between going to Church, and
being a part of The Church. Read through
the verses again and you should kind of get a feel for what Jesus was trying to
say about Religion in general. Don’t
think that Pomp and Circumstance, position in a church, how many prayer groups
you are in, or even how much you give will get you 1 step closer to
Heaven.
The only step toward Heaven that you can make is to step
toward the CROSS! A relationship with
God is what the whole of life on earth is about, but just like the Pharisees and
other religions have done throughout history……….humans are always trying to
come up with their own “formula” for entering the pearly gates.
Please…..Go to church…..But….focus on actually knowing God
on a personal level before you focus on anything else. Church should ultimately make your
relationship with God closer and more understandable. Make sure your church believes in Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Make sure they
preach about all of these, not just the first 2. Make sure you and your church understand that
Jesus paid all of your fines on the Cross, and the moment that He died…..Satan
had lost.
God calls us to repent!
If that doesn’t make sense to you, just pray that God will revel Jesus
to you and that you will Understand what the cross meant for your
eternity. Tell God you are sorry for the
sinful life you have lived. Thanks him
for sending Jesus and raising Him after 3 days.
Now learn about Him and His ways from the Bible, Prayer, and Church.
Final thought……Remember the verse that says “when 2 or more
are gathered together….” It doesn’t say “when
2 or more Baptist, Pentecostal,
Catholic, Methodist, ect…. Does it?” Be
around believers no matter what….doesn’t matter if you hang out at a church, or
at a house bible study….just live your life around other believers so you can
be built up in order to do whatever God has planned for you!
God Bless!
