Churchianity

Matthew 23

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. 4They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.

5"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. 6And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! 7They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called Teacher.' 8Don't ever let anyone call you `Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. 9And don't address anyone here on earth as `Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10And don't let anyone call you `Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you must be a servant. 12But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

13"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won't go in yourselves. 15Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are.

Membership in a church does not equal being a Christian. Leadership on a committee or a council does not constitute piety. Love for your church does not equal a relationship with Jesus Christ. Adherence to ritual doesn't equal devotion to Christ. Dedication to the building is just a way to dodge opening yourself up to Christ. So many people run from life change by hiding behind a brick wall of laws. They throw away what Jesus told us to do in exchange for what the Old Testament tells us not to do. They worship the law in their form of legalism and leave grace outside their shiny temple, their well-groomed country club that they call a church.

Jesus spent a great deal of his ministry fighting the status quo in the Jewish religious body of the day. In the above reading we find Jesus fed up with legalistic church leaders, those worshipping the rules more than the Almighty Living Lord.

Who does the modern church look like? Are they following the model of Jesus, spreading the Word and love and healing through the streets to the common man, the lost and the needy? Or are they locked in their temples, conducting meetings about maintaining the facilities, raising money for a new roof and such instead of reaching out to the less fortunate? When they preach do they preach grace and forgiveness or are they bundling up laws like the Pharisees?

Jesus looks at these religious traffic cops with utter distaste, calling them "the sons of hell".

I continually think about my recent experiences with the organized church and it makes me wonder, if Jesus were to walk into today's church, how would he be received? Would he we received as a Savior or shunned for not following the right rituals?

If you are a member of leadership in a church pause for a moment and ask yourself this important question, "Does my work reflect the efforts of Christ, or the hypocrisy of the Pharisees?"