They Honor God with Their Lips

[Sue J Love]

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matthew 15:1-9 ESV)

There are many people in this world who go through the motions of religious practice and tradition but whose hearts are far from God. And many of them, for the sake of tradition, have indeed made void the word of God. For their loyalty to their traditions is far greater than their loyalty to God and to the teachings of his Word. Their religious practices, thus, supersede God’s commandments and his requirements of those who profess him as Lord and as Savior of their lives. In vain do they worship God, for their faith is of man.

They may appear religious on the outside, but it is in form only. They religiously attend weekly gatherings in something called “churches,” which may or may not be the biblical body of Christ ministering to one another according to the teachings of the Scriptures. For when we gather together, it is to be with those of genuine walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. And the purpose is to be mutual edification. It is a time when we are to be using our spiritual gifts in our assigned (by God) body parts to encourage each other.

It is a time when we are to be speaking the truth in love to one another so that not one of us is led astray by the teachings of humans in their cunning, craftiness, and deceitful scheming. So we should be testing what is being taught against the Scriptures to make certain that what is being taught is of God and is biblical in its correct context. And then we should be helping one another to discern truth from lies so that we are all following the truth. And we should be helping one another to maturity of faith in Jesus Christ, too.

And we are to be addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and exhorting one another daily so that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to be stirring up one another to love – which is of God, and which prefers all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord – and to GOOD WORKS which God prepared in advance that we should now walk (in conduct) in them.

And our gatherings are to be led of the Holy Spirit, and for one another’s mutual spiritual edification, and for the purpose to help one another to not walk in sin but to now live godly and holy lives for the glory of God. And we should be holding one another accountable for our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. Our gatherings are not to be for the purpose to entertain the people of the world so that the world will feel comfortable among us. Our gatherings are not to be marketed to the people of the world.

We are to gather together for the purposes mentioned above so that we can all grow together in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord so that we can then go out into the world with the message of the gospel. And then the people of the world can hear the truth, and can surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives in dying with Christ to sin and in being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:27-28; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; Ac 2:14-18; Ac 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]

And this is how we all are to be living our lives, dead to sin, but alive to God and to his righteousness, our lives surrendered to Christ to doing his will, not just for a couple of hours a week, but all the time, every day of the week. And we are to be ministering the truth of the Scriptures to one another for our mutual edification every day so that none of us will be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. But the way most “churches” are operating today is not biblical, and is not being led by the Spirit, but by marketing books, instead.

And so we have “churches” full of people who are going through the motions of religious performance, who are honoring Christ/God with their lips via the singing of “praise and worship” music, but whose lives are given over to the flesh and who live to please the flesh and not God. They are “religious” for a couple of hours on a Saturday or a Sunday morning or night, but once the “church service” is over, their lives go back to normal. And they may have daily devotions they follow, but their lives are still being led by their flesh.

And this is not describing everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, and it is not describing every gathering of the biblical body of Christ, but it is describing probably the majority of those professing the name of the Lord and their weekly religious gatherings, at least here in America. For Christianity has become so secularized here in America and “Church” has largely been turned into a social gathering of people of all walks for an institutionalized time of singing and then listening to a sermon.

So the true biblical meaning of “church” and the true biblical purpose of our gatherings has gotten swallowed up in human traditions and in secularism and in marketing “the church” to the people of the world. And, thus, the gospel message has also been diluted (altered) to be more acceptable to human flesh and to the ungodly of this world. And the character of God and of his church have also taken a big hit. And so many are going through the motions of religious practice, but their hearts are far from God.

And many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are being taught a false gospel message which is promising them freedom from the punishment of sin and the assurance of heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. But their worship of God is empty because it is based in the teachings of humans and not on the foundation of the truth of the Scriptures, if taught in their correct biblical context. And since they have not died to their sins, they will die in their sins even though they profess faith in Christ Jesus.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

From Les Misérables
Songwriters: L. David Lewis / Kim Williams / Edward Monroe Hill

There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone

Here they talked of revolution
Here it was they lit the flame
Here they sang about tomorrow
And tomorrow never came

From the table in the corner
They could see a world reborn
And they rose with voices ringing
And I can hear them now!

Phantom faces at the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more

Oh my friends, my friends
Don't ask me what your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will sing no more

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