Warnings to the Religious

In Luke 11:39-52 - Jesus gives some strong warnings to the religious leaders of his day.

Warning #1 - don't clean up the outward life and neglect the inward life.  When we focus too much on the religious activities of the Christian faith we have this same temptation to clean up the outward part of our lives.  We have to look good when we come to church.  We have to act right during the week so church people will still talk to us and think we are good people.  We have to put on a front that everything in our family and in our personal life is going great so people will think we have it all together.  It is easy to do all these things and neglect the reality that God's first priority in our heart.  There is nothing wrong with living a good and godly life on the outside as long as it flows from a heart that is being transformed by God on a regular basis.  But what often happens is we just get good at hiding our messy lives and so there is never true confession and transformation.

Warning #2 - it is easy to give to God out of your abundance and never know the heart of God in generosity.  The heart of God is to be generous to people in need and to use our financial blessings to fight the injustice of the world around us.  There is nothing wrong about giving to God's work in the church, but that can't be the only thing we do with our many blessings from God.  God has blessed us with time, energy, talents, spiritual gifts and money to help make a difference in the world.  Don't assume if you give a portion to the church that you have found the heart of God and that is all God desires you to do.

Warning #3 - watch out that religion does not become your platform for attention.  I had a conversation with a community member just yesterday and he was complimenting me and giving me credit for the work that God has done at Living Faith.  Man, did that feel good!  But I have to be careful, and heed the warning from Jesus that church is not my platform to become an important member of the community.  I have to give glory to God for all He has done, and not take personal pride in all God is doing!

Warning #4 - don't become an unmarked grave that people don't even notice is there.  Religious activity without the power of the Holy Spirit will lead us to a place of zero impact on the world and the culture.  Zero impact on our friends and neighbors.  Our lives won't have purpose and meaning if all we have is religious activity.  Life is found in the Holy Spirit alive and active in our religious activity.

May your connection with Jesus be more like falling in love and less like following a set of religious activities!