Read at beginning of service:
Matthew 7:12 (NIV)
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
INTRODUCTION
Today I?m continuing the series that I began last week entitled, “Revolt against Religion”. You may remember the warning I began with last week that I believe some of the things I say may cause some people to raise their eyebrows and wonder where I?m going with this. I hope if there is anything I say that raises questions in your mind that at the very least you?ll investigate it for yourself. Like I said last week, I don?t want you to be passive listeners.
Last week some of you may remember the challenge I gave you to ask a few people you know the simple question, “What?s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, ?Religion?”. Bobbi-Jo took me up on this challenge and posted the question on her website. At the time of writing this message there were 23 comments posted in reply ? here?s a sampling of some of the responses,
- “conforming or stifling”
- “The first word I thought of is ?bondage?”
- “organized belief”
- “Formalities, rituals”
- “The word religion holds many negative conotations for me. I much prefer the word Christianity. Religion, speaks to me of organized religion, and a lot of death, judgement, and condemnation. There are a lot of different religions, Satanism is a religion. This word isn’t one of my favs.”
- “To me religion is a set of beliefs and ideas that shape persons, and groups of persons with common ideals, goals, and traditions.”
- “Government. That’s the word that came to my mind. For me, religion, like government, has this wonderful concept that can exist behind it, this guiding force that aids us in living together, working towards common goals, etc. Unfortunately, like government, it mostly gets caught up in worrying about its cogs and doings and internal organization and loses that esoteric grant quality that make it a word with good connotations and not a bad one.”
(quotes taken from “bobbi?s world” ? (http://spaces.msn.com/newbeginnings1976/))
A couple of the responses I received from people that I asked the question to were:
- “Personally i feel religion is too much pomp and ceremony obstructing our true connection with our creator”
- “Well when the word “religion” is said, I think Catholic, Christian, and all the other different types of beliefs”
For most people the word religion has a negative meaning and is something people would rather not get involved in. Is it no wonder then, when you take a close look at the original teachings of the historical Jesus in the Bible, you discover a person who sets in motion the end to religion? In scripture, we see Jesus offering people a non-institutional, deeply relational approach to spirituality ? a way of living that God originally intended for us to know.
Today, we?re going to take a look at the first characteristic of Religion that Jesus revolted against. Jesus had much to say too the Jewish religious people and the religion in his day that revolved around rules, regulations, and routine providing the way to connect with God. What Jesus came against was the idea that being righteous is more important than being right.
Does that mean that righteousness is not important to God? Of course not! But for religion and religious people ? righteousness is about what you do ? with God, righteousness is about who you are. For religion and religious people you are righteous when you do righteous things (follow rules and regulations) ? with God you do righteous or right things when you are righteous. I?m going to talk more about this important distinction in the process of sharing this message.
When you read about Jesus ? you discover that in order to make a point He broke a few rules! Jesus set out to deconstruct the rule-based system of the religion of His day so that He could reintroduce people to what was really important. Before he could build a new understanding, he first needed to tear down the old-law based construction. So Jesus lived in such a way as to offend anyone who put their faith in religious rules. Here?s some examples:
- Even though the Old Testament contains many dietary rules about what constitutes kosher food and what does not (see Leviticus 11), Jesus declared all foods clean!
Mark 7:18-19 (NIV)
18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? 19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)
- Even though Moses had commanded very clear procedures concerning divorce and remarriage (Deuteronomy 24:1-4), Jesus said God meant those to be temporary guidelines and that he came to offer a better way.
Matthew 5:31-32 (NIV)
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.Matthew 19:8-9 (NIV)
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
- Even though carrying personal belongings around on the Sabbath was clearly forbidden by the Old Testament Scriptures (Exodus 20:9-11; Jeremiah 17:21-22,27), when Jesus healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath, he specifically commanded him to pick up his mat and walk (John 5:8-9). To add insult to injury, Jesus later referred to his healing as “working” on the Sabbath, apparently for no other reason than to shock the interrogating religious leaders into deeper thought.
John 5:16-17 (NIV)
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
- Even though the Old Testament contains many rules about how to avoid people with skin diseases (see Leviticus 13-14), Jesus healed lepers ? with a touch (Matthew 8:3)
(see page 47-48 in The End of Religion, by Bruxy Cavey for these observations)
In his ministry, Jesus called people to a rule-free spirituality, which is very difficult for religious people to fathom. Now that I?ve made that statement, some might quickly jump to the conclusion that Jesus is teaching that we need to “do-away” with rules, and regulations all together. However, something that Jesus said contradicts that line of thinking?
Matthew 5:17-20 (NLT)
Don?t misunderstand why I have come, I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God?s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So, if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God?s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I warn you ? unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
There are a couple important statements that Jesus makes in this short passage that I think are crucial to understand when we consider Jesus? revolution against the “Laws of Religion”.
1. Jesus fulfills the purpose of the Old Testament.
In Jesus? day, using the phrase, “Law of Moses and writings of the prophets” was a simple reference to the scriptures that we now know as much of the Old Testament. In this particular instance, Jesus? is drawing attention to the rules, regulations, routines, customs otherwise known as “God?s Law” that we can read about throughout the Old Testament. Jesus was clear that his mission didn?t involve tossing away any of the Laws that God gave Moses or the inspired writings of the prophets but instead accomplishes their purpose.
The Greek word that is translated in the NLT using the phrase, “accomplish their purpose” is also translated as “to fulfill”, or “to realize”. What Jesus is saying, then, is that there is something in His life and mission that somehow fulfills or completes the planned purpose behind the giving of Law. So there is some purpose to the rules and regulations God gave Moses ? the question then is, what is that purpose? And how did Jesus accomplish that purpose or fulfill it? Notice he goes on further to say that not even the smallest detail of God?s law will disappear until that purpose is achieved or accomplished.
So what is the purpose of the Rules and Regulations God gave the Israelite people through Moses?
The Apostle Paul acknowledged this same question in Galatians 3:19,
Galatians 3:19 (NIV)
19 What, then, was the purpose of the law?Galatians 3:19 (NIV)
19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
He continues with the answer,
Galatians 3:19 (NLT)
?It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised.
So God gave the law as a means of showing people the markers, or boundary posts of what was right and what was wrong. It showed people how they sin in their relationship with God and in their relationships with others. It?s singular purpose is to show how sinful people really are. It?s like coming across a bench with a sign on it that says, “Wet Paint ? Do not touch”. What?s the first instinct you have when you see that sign? “Ah, let?s just see if it?s really wet?!” Rules and regulations provide a means of showing what?s right and what?s wrong ? but they also reveal the need to have them in the first place. Because of sin.
It?s important to note that God?s giving of the Law in history was but a part of His wonderful plan to bring people to the place of a intimate relationship with him as friends ? the kind of relationship that Adam and Eve enjoyed with God before the fall.
When you look at the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, the absence of religious rituals and routines in their story is key to understanding the rest of the Bible. We are told that in the beginning God created us for intimate relationship with himself and with each other (Genesis 2:18-25). Together, people and God lived in deep connection, co-creating new life (Genesis 1:26-27) and tending creation (Genesis 2:15). It was a normal and regular natural occurrence for God to manifest his presence in non-threatening, human-like ways, since humankind reflected his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26, 3:8). God and people, Creator and creation, walking and talking together throughout creation, living life in intimate partnership and friendship! This was the life that God intended for humankind.
If it?s true that a world without religion was God?s original design, then it is also true that a world without religion is God?s final goal for us. The biblical perspective teaches us that salvation is not ultimately about going to heaven as a disembodied spirit, but about the renewal of all creation to what it should have been in the first place (see Isaiah 11:1-9; 55:1-13; Romans 8:18-25; 2 Peter 3:13). The Bible teaches that it?s God?s desire for us to return to experiencing a face-to-face intimacy with himself,
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
The Law that God gave Israel for a period of time (as recorded in the Old Testament) was necessary because people had become too self-centred, too ego driven, too relationally stunted to live in healthy relationships with God and each other apart from the explicit direction of rules, rituals, and routines. So rule-based living had a role to play for a time in the history of the human race. God chose the Israelite people to be the models, or the examples, through which the rest of the world could understand the nature of sin and how distant it makes us from God.
But, as Paul writes, “the Law was only designed until the coming of the child who was promised” (Gal 3:19 NLT). Who is this child? Jesus. What?s so important about this child? He?s the one who was promised way back before the Law was given as the one through whom all the peoples of the world could be blessed. And the blessing? The doing away of sin.
So how does Jesus fulfill, or complete the Law then? And the answer is simply, the law exposes sin ? Jesus deals the death blow to sin. How does Jesus do this? By bringing back into focus the whole plan of God right from the beginning ? through relationship. Why did Jesus die on the cross? Well there have been plenty of legal arguments and wonderful theological treatises and even whole books written on the necessity of Jesus paying a ransom for our sins because sin results in death and so Jesus takes our place and upon Him all the sin of the world was placed so that we could be set free from the penalty of sin. Now all that is true, and is important to understand ? but folks, that isn?t why Jesus died on the cross! Jesus died because of love! Love led him to the cross ? God?s plan for relationship with His creation is a plan rooted in love and carried out in love.
In His ministry Jesus addressed the sad progression in Israel?s relationship with God from one based in love to one based on religion (i.e. Laws, rules regulations). In other words the way in which the people related to God and even to each other became an external form.
In the last statement in Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus draws attention to this supposed righteousness the religious people thought they had by following God?s laws and rules and regulations to the letter and takes it one step further. He says,
Matthew 5:20 (NIV)
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
2. The righteousness that God is looking for is outward actions motivated by inward change.
To Jesus hearers, what he has just presented them creates quite a predicament! The Pharisees and religious teacher of the law were strict adherents to every little tit and tat that the law required. They were the “holy” people ? if anyone was righteous ? it was them. And yet, Jesus is saying that unless you have a greater righteousness then them you?ll never see the inside of the kingdom of heaven. Ouch!
At first it seems Jesus is presenting an impossible proposition. Certainly if He left it there and walked away ? then there?s no hope. But here?s the key ? Jesus is emphasizing the fallacy of thinking that it is impossible for one to completely obey every single rule and regulation in the law of God. Certainly, God requires obedience BUT the purpose of the law remember, is to show we can?t obey because of sin.
Then in the next few lessons that Matthew records for us, Jesus shares with the people the kind of righteousness he?s talking about. It is a righteousness marked by something in our inner character.
When he talks about hurting people ? the law says you must not murder. Jesus takes this one step further and says if you are even angry with someone you are subject to judgment.
When he talks about adultery ? the law says, you must not sleep with someone other than your spouse. Jesus takes this one step further and says if you even look at another person with lust then you?ve already committed adultery!
The examples Jesus gives illustrate that our outward actions are important – but if they are not motivated by inward good character ? then the outward actions are meaningless. In other words, it is in our heart that our real allegiance lies.
The problem with religion in it?s focus on rules, regulations and routines is not the laws, but the dependence on outward acts of righteousness absent of inward character. This is what was Jesus was against!
In the middle of His Sermon on the Mount, portions of which we?ve already heard from. Jesus says these important words,
Matthew 7:12 (NIV)
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Whoa! This emphasis on other-focused action has been called “The Golden Rule,” and it sits as the epicenter of Jesus? teaching on faith, religion, and ethics. It however, is more than a rule ? it is more of a transcendent principle, a guiding orientation, a directing ethic that is transferable to all situations.
Jesus, as demonstrated in the Bible, lived by a simple philosophy: if love guides our hearts, rules become redundant. Love, embraced as a principle of other-centredness, will always lead us to do the right thing. It is love then, that is the inward agent of change affecting what we do outwardly.
This is why, when Jesus was asked by a religious leader what the greatest commandment in God?s law was, Jesus replied,
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In other words, if you love God and you love your neighbour ? then the resulting inward change will take care of everything else in your relationship with God and your relationship with others!
Simply remove rules and you are left with anarchy. Transcend rules with love, and you are beginning to live like Jesus.
Bruxy Cavey shared a personal experience of trying to explain this concept to his daughters while reading a bedtime Bible story. They were quite puzzled by the fact that Jesus, the “hero” of the story, was the one breaking all the rules and getting into so much trouble. He found a way to explain to them that love must always overcome law. He says, the lights came on when He gave them this example. In his words, he said to them,
“Suppose you got a wonderful new dress for an upcoming wedding,” I started. “Because you liked it so much, you asked if you could wear it to school the next day, rather than waiting until the weekend wedding. What if I told you that you could wear your new dress to school if you wanted to, but only if you obeyed this simple rule: you must not get the dress dirty. This would mean that you would have to sit out from playing any sports at recess and would have to be extra careful in class. Would that be a fair rule?” They agreed it would be. “Then what if you set out for school the next day with your new dress on, only to come across a friend who had fallen off her bike and landed in a muddy ditch. What if your friend was hurt and needed help. What should you do?” It didn?t take my daughters long to express the right answer, the loving answer. “We should help her,” they said. I told them I was happy to hear that answer and completely agreed, but reminded them that in all likelihood, they would get their new dress completely dirty. “That doesn?t matter as much,” they said. “Helping our friend is more important.”
“Are you sure?” I pushed. “What about the rule? What do you think my reaction would be if you came home all dirty from head to toe?”
“You would be proud of us for doing the right thing,” they answered. And they were right. They got it. It was one of those moments parents lived for. (The End of Religion, p. 49 by Bruxy Cavey)
The point is this: religion and religious people focus so much on obeying the rules that they forget to put love first. Jesus called his followers to live by a higher standard, the way of love instead of the way of law.
CONCLUSION
So what are the implications of this?
1. If life has any meaning, it won?t be found through religion but through relationship.
We were not made to live religious lives. We were made for intimate friendship with God and for relating in community with others. Friends, healthy friendships don?t need contracts and rule lists to govern the relationship. Mutual respect and love govern well enough. As long as both people are oriented toward one another in other-centered love, the relationship will develop naturally without either person having to become a systems manager.
For example, when I married Kerryanne, we made promises to each other to love, honour and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. Because we were oriented towards each other, we did not have to craft a contract with detailed rules about what that loving relationship would look like. Rules such as, “If one party of the marriage is going to be later getting home from their place of work or other persons house then he or she must phone the other party within a reasonable amount of time.” And yet, if I?m going to be later getting home from work, I would know to call Kerryanne, simply because it is the other-centred thing to do. Our relational connection is toward one another.
This is different from something like a business contract in which each party is essentially oriented away from the other, since personal gain is usually the main motivation in such agreements. In business, you need the fine print. In marriage the fine print will kill the relationship. Understanding the difference is crucial.
Folks, when there is love, it transcends the need for law because,
Romans 13:10 (NIV)
10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
2. Rule-based relationships encourage minimum morality.
A classic example of this kind of thinking is experienced every time you drive a vehicle on a highway. I drive a little bit over 80km/h on the highway connecting Hanover and Owen Sound when I travel to visit my family because 80km/h is the speed limit. Funny, even though it is the speed limit, I still exceed it! However, I only exceed it by what I believe I can get away with. In the back of my mind is always the question, “How fast can I really go and still be ignored by the police?” or if Kerryanne is in the passenger seat, “How fast can I really go and not be yelled at!” But do you catch what I?m saying? Rather than loving other drivers (or my wife) by travelling at a safe and courteous speed, the rule of the law becomes the focus of my attention.
Also notice that the focus of my interaction with the law is how far over the speed limit I can reasonably get away with, not how far under. The fascinating truth is that humans tend to react to law by questioning how far beyond it they can safely get. Law can, ironically, become a form of increased temptation (Paul points this out in Romans 7). It?s almost like the law is acting like a childhood dare.
3. In truly loving relationships, law is always second best.
We need law to govern our societies because people do not automatically love as they should. Through God?s law we learn that sin cripples us and keeps us from loving God as we should.
4. In this loving relationship with Christ we learn righteousness?
- Comes from what God does in us, not what we can do by ourselves
- Results in us being God and other centered, not self-centered
- Is based on reverence for God, not approval from people.
- Goes beyond keeping the law to living by the principles behind the law.
Why? Because our inner being is transformed by the love of God for us in Jesus Christ, and the love we have for Him.
On one occasion, some spiritual seekers came to Jesus to ask him what “work” God would require them to do. No doubt, their religious background prepared them to receive a response that included a variety of detailed duties: pray this much, read that much, give this much, take that pilgrimage, avoid those things, do these things, and so on. His advice, however, was almost to simple for them to grasp:
John 6:28-29 (NIV)
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Jesus is essentially saying, “Trust me, get to know me!” They expected rules. He offered relationship. And that?s what Jesus offers every single one of us.