“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” Matthew 23:27
The Lord was teaching this morning about what man considers good and what God considers good. And more so how man tries to make man’s things good in the sight of God. So to start with he reminded me of this verse above. But substitute any man teacher for the word Pharisees. Because it is the same today as it was back then.
Men do many things to make themselves look good in the eyes of other men of the world, and the other men agree with them and like it. As long as what a man is doing does not rock the boat and make the other person feel unclean or unrighteous and bad. Then it is good with them. In the world men like education, good jobs, money, success, power and control. OR the opposite, some just like to be left alone and do what those in charge tell them is right to do without questioning it. Neither is correct in God’s eyes. God hates the lazy wicked servant (although should not use the word servant because they are not serving anyone). But he also does not like the man who is successful and has it all on a worldly basis, seeking wealth, power, success…
What God wants is a middle ground of sorts, but built on him because he is the only one who can show you the righteous path to walk on. As always, if you do not hear and obey Yeshua, you have nothing with God. We seem to think our religious ways are right with God, and ignore most of the bible which disagrees with us. For example, so many people throw at me the verse about not forsaking the gathering of the church. And they relate that to their religious church they go to. It is one verse, and they ignore the couple hundred others which tell you to stay away from false doctrine, and religious people. So in their mind they think it is right to go to a church they feel good or comfortable in, and hang with the people they are thinking it is of God.
This morning my 6 year old said we are going to church today, and I said no, I do not want to go and hear lies. And he said church is of God, to which I said no it is not, it is of the devil spreading lies. The true church is not a building or place. The true church is a belief system in the Almighty God. Which requires you to hear him and obey him and let him lead you into all righteousness. I can pick on any and every church system for their beliefs and why they are wrong, but to give a simple example with most, then the overview why all are wrong.
First on the level of my wife’s church. When you get a preacher who pushes the bible as the word, and then makes it OK to continue in sin, telling people that is why this man Jesus died on the cross, so just try to be the best you can be, but do not worry about sin, Jesus has you covered. This is a lie, it blasphemes the Holy Spirit. It gives no need to the truth the Holy Spirit will show you and makes him of no use to you. It gives you the right to ignore the light which is the condemnation as taught by Yeshua in John 3. This theology or doctrine makes it about the gathering and all supporting each other in our troubles and trials.
At least this religion is better than the catholic religion I grew up in, which goes up and beyond with making God of no use and promoting Mary above him as being his mother whom he must obey above all. And to pray to the saints for our salvation. This is straight out against the very first commandment of God. And no man will ever hear God nor be a part of his Kingdom listening and practicing this doctrine.
But the real point here is about how all of it looks good on the outside, but inside it is full of dead man’s bones, in other words, because the Lord looks at the heart and soul. The inside of a man who practices doctrine other than the doctrine of God looks bad inside and will never inherit the Kingdom of God. It is impossible to explain this to you, but when you listen and allow people around you who do not follow the doctrine of God and have their own agenda. It will and does affect you. This is why God told King Solomon to kill the men women and children of the other country. And when he did not and allowed the false gods of their people to enter into his Kingdom because he saw the women beautiful and took some as wives. Their beliefs made Solomon to fall and worship them also.
Now keep in mind Solomon had wisdom above anyone, except God. So if he stumbled by letting bad doctrine in, how much more will you?
We also must remember Revelations 2 y 3 about the churches, because this is after the Holy Spirit was given, and John writes about how the people were already following false doctrine, except a few. And even before this Paul was always writing to the churches and telling them often about getting certain men out of the church, or telling them how they were wrong and to change. Very few of the letters were telling them how good they were doing. Also keep in mind what Yeshua told John in Revelations about being poor. He told one group that was wealthy, that they were naked, poor and miserable. And another group who was poor and no money, how he saw them as rich and glorious.
It is not about money, or power or success or any other man thing. It is about who you are in God, and did you do the good work he expects. The worldly success may or may not come after you practice righteousness in Yeshua and his Holy Spirit.