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Religion vs. True Spirituality

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 23:1-39

Jesus takes one final shot at the Pharisees, and their legalistic mentality associated with religion. The Pharisees practiced false spirituality by living in hypocrisy, bossing and putting others under legalistic standards and being egotistical. Jesus' life emphasizes what real spirituality looks like: a humble, others-centered lifestyle of love that emphasizes Biblical truth and where what is on the outside reflects the internal change of the heart through loving and trusting God. Jesus came to offer eternal life, while the Pharisees merely wanted to look righteous on the outside, but inwardly were far from God. This religious mentality is a big barrier for people to come to faith in Jesus Christ.

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Jesus vs. the Religious

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 22:1-46

Jesus continues to speak in parables, comparing the Kingdom of God to an incredible wedding banquet that the host is ecstatic to invite everyone to. Those who don't want to partake in the banquet because of "busyness" or trivial matters hits at the self-righteous Pharisees Jesus was totally opposed to. The Pharisees, threatened by Jesus, try and trap him through different lines of questioning, but Jesus refuses to submit and continues to distinguish God's servant love versus their man-made self-righteous religion. God's real heart is to get as many people into His great banquet as possible, made possible through Jesus Christ.

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Counterattack

Scott Risley

Matthew 22:1-46

On the Tuesday before Jesus went to the cross, the religious leaders attempted to discredit Jesus. They thought by challenging Him on His authority to teach and do miracles they would find evidence to arrest Him. With each attack brought against Him, Jesus silenced the hypocritical leaders. He demonstrated their contempt for their Maker. When they asked, "Who do you think you are?" He answered, "I am the Son!"\r\n

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God's Sovereignty, Man's Revolt

Dennis McCallum

Luke 20:1-7

Jesus enters the temple and drives out those who are insulting the name of God. He then discusses parables with his disciples, which show the attitude and hearts of the Pharisees and religious people that were trying to kill him. The Pharisees were pseudo-spiritual, but were met with silence from Jesus because he understood their hearts were far from God. God's forbearance towards evil people is incredible, but not infinite, and eventually there will be judgment for those who are evil. All people are ultimately accountable to God for their lives, possessions, and use of their gifts; and yet God is willing to allow people to get involved in His work.

Keywords

{"passage": "Matthew 21:12-43","passageabreviated": "Matt 21:12-43","passagetiny": "Matt 21:12-43","teacher": "Dennis McCallum","teaching...

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What Must I Do?

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 19:9-30

A man asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life. This reflects the typical religious attitude Jesus had been teaching against. The man ended up walking away saddened, because he wanted to earn righteous standing instead of simply asking for mercy from Jesus. Jesus' conversation with the man highlights the deceitfulness of the human heart and exposes what the man truly wanted, which wasn't forgiveness. Often, people are deceived into thinking they can do enough to be good with God, but in reality all people need to simply ask for God to have mercy on them through Jesus.

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Playing Games with God

Dennis McCallum

Mark 7:1-23

The Pharisees dispute with Jesus about why the disciples don't partake in the ceremonial hand washing before eating. The heart of this argument revolves around going through the outward motions without a change of the heart. By partaking in ceremonial washing, the Pharisees were cleaning the outside while not acknowledging their own sin. This issue makes people think they're okay before God when they really are not. The true need is in the heart, which needs a spiritual cleansing through Jesus Christ.

Keywords

{"passage": "Matthew 15:1-20","passageabreviated": "Matt 15:1-20","passagetiny": "Matt 15:1-20","teacher": "Dennis McCallum","teachingDat...

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Going Through the Motions

Scott Risley

Matthew 15:1-20

When the Pharisees confronted Jesus about His disciples not washing their hands before eating as their traditions demanded, Jesus turned the tables on the accusers. He instead accused them of putting their outward religious observances over and above God's moral commands. Their external posturing was just going through the motions rather than having a true spirituality based on having been cleansed by a faith-based relationship with God.

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{"passage": "Matthew 14:34-36","passageabreviated": "Matt 14:34-36","passagetiny": "Matt 14:34-36","teacher": "Scott Risley","teachingDat...

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Jesus Versus Religion

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 11:16-12:21

Jesus and his disciples break grain during the Sabbath, infuriating the Pharisees. Jesus goes to discuss the difference between the "religious" mentality of the Pharisees versus what God actually cares about. Jesus argues directly with the Pharisees about their hypocritical religious mentality. For the religious, the focus is following all sorts of external regulations to be seen as righteous before people and seeing this as the way to please God. Jesus came to point out that real righteousness comes from humbly recognizing our inability to meet all the regulations of God's law, but instead to admit our brokenness and ask for forgiveness in faith. God desires to show people compassion rather than needing sacrifices from them.

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The Two Ways

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 7:13-29

Jesus allows his audience to choose their path: through the narrow gate or the wide path. The narrow path is through asking for forgiveness through Jesus. The broad road is the religious lifestyle that Jesus has been combating through all of his teachings. A major reason for people choosing the broad road is because of listening to false teachers. The second focus of Jesus' teaching is in regards to distinguishing true and false prophets. True prophets have an authentic relationship with God, while false prophets claim to know God only by association, not in reality. Perhaps the biggest difference between true and false followers of Jesus are those who choose to hear his words and put them into practice.

Keywords

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