A few weeks ago, on my way back from work, I was listening to BBC 4 on the radio. The topic of the program was the emergence of spiritual groups that weren't associated with any mainline religious organisation. A representative of the Baptist Church and a Bishop from the Anglican Church were defending the value of long and established traditions, being the best guard against these 'cults'.
Interestingly, the presenter pointed out to the Baptist minister that their organisation started as a much persecuted group. They were refered to as a cult simply because they did not fit into the Anglican structure of their day. It took decades before they were accepted. (And the reason that they were eventually accepted is because they compromised enough to become just as lifeless as the structure they originally came out off.)
I immediately started thinking about what Jesus said about tradition. Before we look at His words, let me give you the summary of the argument put forward by the Anglican Bishop and the Baptist Pastor:
Basically people are evil and deceptive and therefore you should never be too trusting, and maintain a healthy level of suspision. No one person can therefore have an accurate interpretation of the scriptures. We need many people over many years improving the interpretations of the previous generations. The long esthablished christian traditions were refined and build up over decades and so we can have great trust that they are sound and those who deviate from them are deceived.
The Angican representative ended off by saying he places no value on any spiritual experience. Only religious traditions are worth any attention.
The presenter ended off by remarking that although they were convinced that they had the exclusive rights to the truth, millions were voting with their feet and leaving these religious organisations.
I always find it astonishing that religions that claim to be based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, would ignore what He had to say. Jesus was confronted on a number of occasions about his apparent lack of respect for tradition. He made no secret of His attitude toward tradition but boldly declared that tradition was the very reason that they ignored God. Let's look at one of these occasions:
"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 bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" Mat 15:1-3
Instead of praising the value of tradition, like the people on the BBC interview, He said that tradition can often be the cause of transgressing the Word of God!
I'm so glad that we don't have to rely on our own interpretation of the scriptures to know God. My confidence is not in my own ability to accurately interpret scriptures, or in anyones else's ability to hear Him. My confidence is in His ability to reveal Himself. God's self disclosure was far, far too important to entrust it to human organisations, or leave it at the mercy of our own interpretations. God took this responsibility upon Himself – to make sure that He reveals Himself to all.
It is such a precious experience when God opens ours eyes to a specific truth. Such an experience will often lead to a transformation in our lives – our conduct changes as a result of revealed truth. This is the way God transforms our lives – the transformation is the natural result of beholding Him. Religion is so deceptive because it pretends to do the same thing, but instead of transforming lives throught the revelation of truth, it tries to adjust behaviour. Even what started as a revelation of truth can easily end up as a religious tradition ... if we forget the original truth, and replace it with behaviour management.
Tradition is like an empty tortuise shell – it has the same form as the actual aminal, but there is no life. Never allow the life-giving revelations from the Father to become dull memories. Always return to the ultimate authority and live-giver – your Father, creator of all things.
By Andre Rabe
Http://eclesia.blogspot.com/
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Jesus versus religious leaders
When I think of how Jesus related to people, the foremost impressions are compassion, acceptance and understanding. Yet we forget that there were some relationships that we can't describe in any other way, but hostile. There were a group of people, or let's rather say the attitudes and values that were held by these people, for which Jesus had no time whatsoever.
If Jesus was manifested in the flesh today, He would still have the same conflict with these same attitudes, that still resides in the same people. Who were (and are) these people who constantly clashed with Christ? They are called religious leaders.
But instead of me explaining this subject, I'll let Jesus speak for Himself.
Matthew 23 : 5-7: "Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroided prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary decrees, and getting called "Doctor" and "Reverent""
Not much has changed since Jesus said this. We still have religious leaders like this, and Jesus is still as disgusted with them now as He was then.
"Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God, let Him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of Father, you have only one Father, and He's in heaven. And don't let people manuever you into taking charge of them. There is only one life-leader for you and them – Christ.
Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty"
Matthew 23:8-12 The Message
A person might protest and say: "I can't help it, people esteem me because of my position" Jesus makes it clear that it is up to you, to allow or disallow others to put you on a pedestal. This is one of the underlying values of these religious leaders that so grieved Jesus: their desire to be elevated above others; their pre-occupation with position. He comes right to the heart of the matter when He says: " You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates". With this statement He boldly declares the equality of all men, and shatters the very foundation upon which their religious leadership was built, namely: "We are Not all equal ... we (religious leaders) are obviously elevated by God. We are the teachers and you are the students. We are the 'Fathers' and you are the spiritual children. We are the experts, so let us run your lives for you ... let us tell you what to do".
You might think: "That's not me! I'm not a religious leader!" But Jesus does not only warn about being like this, He also warns against allowing such people to have any influence in your life.
"Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God, let Him tell you what to do."
This is very plain and simple. Do you get your instruction from God, or from religious leaders? Are you allowing others to act as experts in your life? Often, when we get dull of hearing, it's easier to simply convince ourselves that God is speaking through this expert, than what it is to give Him the attention we should.
The authority to tell you what to do, belongs to God exclusively, and it is your responsibility not to compromise that. Whoever desires relationship with God, will sooner or later face the situation where they are pressurised to give up the simplicity and purity of such a relationship for a man-made counterfeit.
Jesus not only warns us about the influence of religious leaders, but in the very next sentence shows us how we could fall into that very position and be the very influence that we are trying to avoid! "And don't let people manuever you into taking charge of them ..."
Any person who enjoys the simplicity of direct contact with the Father; who successfully resisted the temptation to give up that authority to humans, will be easily recognized by others. Those who seek a deeper relationship with the Lord will naturally be drawn to such a person, and naively start to manuever that person to take charge of them! Not only should we avoid giving that place of authority to anyone else, we should avoid taking such a position. Our testimony should always point beyond ourselves.
Obviously, the Lord encourages and speaks to us through other people, but that's exactly what we should recognise – it's the Lord! It's not their unique position that enables certain people to speak for God. Anyone feeling proud of the fact that God has spoken encouraging words through them, would do well to remember that God also spoke through a donkey at one stage.
Recognise Him, not position, not title, but Him. This is why Jesus compared the most authoritive position in the kingdom of God with a child. It is not the official title or office of a child that carries the authority, but the childlike attitude. “They started arguing over which of them would be the most famous. When Jesus realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his side. “whoever accepts this child as if the child was me, accepts me” he said “And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your Spirit, not your size, makes the difference” Luke 9:46-48
Here we have such contrasts: On one hand we have the religious leaders assuming that they are authorized to reveal God and take charge of other people's lives ... Jesus reserves His harshest words for them. On the other hand we have simple children without any assumptions of authority. Jesus says that these children reveal so much of Him, that we should receive them as if they are Him.
To conclude: “Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness ... I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies” Luke 12:2,4
By Andre Rabe
http://ecclesia.blogspot.com
If Jesus was manifested in the flesh today, He would still have the same conflict with these same attitudes, that still resides in the same people. Who were (and are) these people who constantly clashed with Christ? They are called religious leaders.
But instead of me explaining this subject, I'll let Jesus speak for Himself.
Matthew 23 : 5-7: "Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroided prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary decrees, and getting called "Doctor" and "Reverent""
Not much has changed since Jesus said this. We still have religious leaders like this, and Jesus is still as disgusted with them now as He was then.
"Don't let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God, let Him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of Father, you have only one Father, and He's in heaven. And don't let people manuever you into taking charge of them. There is only one life-leader for you and them – Christ.
Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty"
Matthew 23:8-12 The Message
A person might protest and say: "I can't help it, people esteem me because of my position" Jesus makes it clear that it is up to you, to allow or disallow others to put you on a pedestal. This is one of the underlying values of these religious leaders that so grieved Jesus: their desire to be elevated above others; their pre-occupation with position. He comes right to the heart of the matter when He says: " You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates". With this statement He boldly declares the equality of all men, and shatters the very foundation upon which their religious leadership was built, namely: "We are Not all equal ... we (religious leaders) are obviously elevated by God. We are the teachers and you are the students. We are the 'Fathers' and you are the spiritual children. We are the experts, so let us run your lives for you ... let us tell you what to do".
You might think: "That's not me! I'm not a religious leader!" But Jesus does not only warn about being like this, He also warns against allowing such people to have any influence in your life.
"Don't set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God, let Him tell you what to do."
This is very plain and simple. Do you get your instruction from God, or from religious leaders? Are you allowing others to act as experts in your life? Often, when we get dull of hearing, it's easier to simply convince ourselves that God is speaking through this expert, than what it is to give Him the attention we should.
The authority to tell you what to do, belongs to God exclusively, and it is your responsibility not to compromise that. Whoever desires relationship with God, will sooner or later face the situation where they are pressurised to give up the simplicity and purity of such a relationship for a man-made counterfeit.
Jesus not only warns us about the influence of religious leaders, but in the very next sentence shows us how we could fall into that very position and be the very influence that we are trying to avoid! "And don't let people manuever you into taking charge of them ..."
Any person who enjoys the simplicity of direct contact with the Father; who successfully resisted the temptation to give up that authority to humans, will be easily recognized by others. Those who seek a deeper relationship with the Lord will naturally be drawn to such a person, and naively start to manuever that person to take charge of them! Not only should we avoid giving that place of authority to anyone else, we should avoid taking such a position. Our testimony should always point beyond ourselves.
Obviously, the Lord encourages and speaks to us through other people, but that's exactly what we should recognise – it's the Lord! It's not their unique position that enables certain people to speak for God. Anyone feeling proud of the fact that God has spoken encouraging words through them, would do well to remember that God also spoke through a donkey at one stage.
Recognise Him, not position, not title, but Him. This is why Jesus compared the most authoritive position in the kingdom of God with a child. It is not the official title or office of a child that carries the authority, but the childlike attitude. “They started arguing over which of them would be the most famous. When Jesus realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his side. “whoever accepts this child as if the child was me, accepts me” he said “And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your Spirit, not your size, makes the difference” Luke 9:46-48
Here we have such contrasts: On one hand we have the religious leaders assuming that they are authorized to reveal God and take charge of other people's lives ... Jesus reserves His harshest words for them. On the other hand we have simple children without any assumptions of authority. Jesus says that these children reveal so much of Him, that we should receive them as if they are Him.
To conclude: “Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness ... I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies” Luke 12:2,4
By Andre Rabe
http://ecclesia.blogspot.com
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