Mark 7:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: Mark 7:8

“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” – Mark 7:8 

Some Pharisees and scribes gathered around Jesus when He and the disciples left Jerusalem.  Both groups were very legalistic and demanded that the Law be followed completely.  As they were watching, they noticed the disciples did not wash their hands prior to eating, thus not following the traditions of the elders.  “For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.”  Mark 7:3-4.  They required a lot of work to remain pure when eating.

So, the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Jesus regarding these rules, because they were not walking according to tradition.  However, Jesus does not apologize to them on behalf of the disciples.  Instead, He rebukes the Pharisees and scribes.  We read later in the chapter, “And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.  But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”  Mark 6-7.  Jesus was speaking of Isaiah 29:13 where it says. “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

Jesus then continues by telling them, in our focus verse, that they are neglecting the commands of God and replacing them with the traditions of men.  He then gives the example of how the commandment ‘honor your father and mother, and He who speaks evil of them is to be put to death.  And how, due to their traditions, “but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),‘ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.’”  Mark 7:11-13.

We need to look at the things we see and hear from Christian and church leadership, test them by comparing them with what the scriptures say, and ignore them if they counter what the Word of God says.  Note, it is important to make sure it is a reliable translation.  Many times, these weird and heretical teachings are the “traditions’ within churches or denominations that need to be called out, renounced and ignored.  One very recent example was a Pastor in north Atlanta, I will leave the name off, who taught his church to ignore the Old Testament and focus solely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  While this sounds reasonable, it is not right.  The Old Testament lays the foundation of why we need salvation, and that Jesus’ coming was ordained from the beginning.  Both testaments together are a complete story of God’s love toward us.  Plus, if Jesus and the apostles quoted it many times, were they wrong, and did they not totally understand?  I doubt it seriously.

We need to be careful that we do not accept traditions that contradict the scriptures. Too many times, and I will say once is too many, church leaders try to make Christianity easier by teaching things that are accepted in the culture today but are radically different from the commands of God.  We need ensure that what we teach is real and does not counter His Word, for we will be held accountable.  “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”  James 3:1.  The Pharisees and the scribes were not given leniency, and neither will we. William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Isaiah 29:13

Verse of the Day Devotion Isaiah 29:13 

“Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.” –  Isaiah 29:13

In Isaiah 29, Isaiah is prophesying against Jerusalem and, by extension, the rest of Judah. He predicts judgment on the kingdom due to their sin, judgment that will come through invading armies.  “And I will camp against you encircling you, And I will set siegeworks against you, And I will raise up battle towers against you. Then you shall be brought low; From the earth you shall speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate, Your words shall come. Your voice shall also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech shall whisper from the dust.“ Isaiah 29:3-4. However, the prophet also affirms that God is incredibly graceful and will restore Judah after bringing justice upon their enemies. “But the multitude of your enemies shall become like fine dust, And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; And it shall happen instantly, suddenly.” Isaiah 29:5.

In the middle of Isaiah’s prophecy, he diagnoses Judah’s problem of hypocrisy, which is bringing about their judgment: “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,” Isaiah 29:13. In essence, while the Israelites were saying the right things, their hearts were far from God.

And unfortunately, they continued this during the time of Jesus.  “And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”  Mark 7:6-7.  Jesus, here, quotes this verse in an important confrontation with the Pharisees. They, too, had hearts far from God. The Pharisees pretended to care about God’s law by following outward acts like handwashing, but they did not care about God on the inside. When they met God in the person of Jesus, they tried to kill Him!  Then Jesus scathingly summarized their heart condition: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Mark 7:8. The Pharisees still did religious things but had forgotten the reasons behind their actions. They said the right things, but their hearts were far from God.

As Christians, we are tempted to do the same as the hypocritical Israelites. Sometimes, it is easy to maintain the outward appearance of obedience to God by following a set of rules yet lack any real relationship with God in our hearts. We can sing the worship and praise songs without focusing on who we are worshipping and praising. We end up going through the motions without growing in love for God or for others. We might faithfully go to church every Sunday but ignore God the rest of the week. Like the Pharisees and the ancient Israelites, faking it is not spiritually healthy, and it will eventually catch up with us.  The idea is that it is more important why we do something rather than what we do.  Two people can be singing at the same time with clapping and joy, but only one may be glorifying God while doing it.

Our focus verse is a stark reminder that rules and rituals, by themselves, cannot please God. God wants true righteousness and with that, true worship. God wants us to love Him and our fellow man with everything we are. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31.  And finally, God tells us what He desires from us.  “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6.  Therefore, we must examine why we obey God.  Is it because we want to follow the rules, or that we want to show are love to Him.  If it is the latter, then our heart is part of our time with God.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Colossians 2:8

Verse of the Day Devotion Colossians 2:8  

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” – Colossians 2:8 

Here Paul is warning the Church of Colossae that since they had received Christ as savior, they need now not just to believe it, but to live it as well. “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” Colossians 2:6-7. Too many people today rely simply on their declaration of belief to be the sole proof of their salvation.  However, a declaration of belief only allows people to see what you want them to see. To live it is to allow people to see who you truly are. And it is important to go beyond surface level living, but to be firmly rooted and built up in Christ, being strengthened in the faith. This idea is of a tree.  Our roots should grow deep and strong, spread throughout the entirety of our being. We must constantly study, thereby learning more and more about our new life in Christ.

However, in the next verse, which is our focus, we are to be careful what we study. “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8. The words ‘see to it’  has the idea of ‘watch out’. Paul wants those in Colossae to watch out lest they are taken captive by this belief. The verbiage translated in this way by is a rare one, used only here in biblical Greek and sparsely elsewhere. It vividly expresses the danger that the readers may be “carried off as plunder” by an alien and fundamentally anti-Christian form of teaching. These teachings are categorized as those philosophies and teachings that are empty of truth and are according to man’s traditions and not of Christ. The theological threat concern two major tenets of the Christian faith. These being ‘soteriology’, which applies to the person and work of Christ specifically related to His work on the cross, and ‘sanctification’ which is the application of the cross to the development of personal purity. Paul addresses both here in this chapter; the theology of salvation in verses 8-15 and sanctification in verses 16-19.

The enemy wants to lead Christians away from the truth of Christianity.  His desire is to pluck as many followers as he can away from Christ. Therefore, he has many teachers in this world who try to convince Christians they do not have it quite right.  A big deception today is Jesus+.  This idea is that it takes more than Christ’s work to save us. We need to do some works as well to solidify our salvation.  I unknowingly got involved in a cult that required their followers to read the Bible, but without understanding. They would provide all the understanding needed. They also wanted everyone to dress somewhat the same, very plain clothing and no jewelry. Most Christian cults follow the same path. Believe in Christ, but do not think what He did was all that was necessary.

That is why Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. We must take the time to study the scriptures so that we accurately know what it says. If you have any question as to what something means, do some research to see what the writer is saying.  And do not hesitate to ask someone you trust to help you understand the meaning.  God wants you to know exactly what He is saying in His Word. Pray if you run into questions you cannot answer, and then let Him lead you to the answer. The scriptures present the entire truth we need.

Sometimes some scriptures appear to say the opposite of each other.  I have a saying I use that goes like this.  “If two scriptures appear to contradict each other, it is because we either do not understand one of them or both of them.” This could be because of previous teachings that were confusing or it is something we have not studied before. If we run into this pray, and have God show us what it means.  And again, do not hesitate to ask someone else for assistance if needed.

God desires us to understand the Word He has given us. Take the time to read  it and study it. This is the best answer on how to avoid the deceptions that are prevalent in today’s culture. And lastly, never avoid asking someone you trust, questions that you cannot get answers to. Pray while studying, and if necessary, ask Him to guide you to someone who can help you. And do not just have them answer it, but thoroughly explain it as well. Doing these things will help each of us grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God’s Word and strengthen our relationship with Him.  And is this not our goal?

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.