Читать книгу MYSTERIES OF GOD'S KINGDOM - Kenneth B. Alexander - Страница 21
ОглавлениеDIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPIRITUALLY, RELIGION
To understand the difference between religion and spirituality, one must go to the scriptures and examine Jesus’ discourses with the Pharisees. These “discussions” were about spirit verses religion. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day, as were the Sadducees, the scribes and the lawyers (the law givers). These adhered to the Law of Moses, given to Moses by God in the wilderness, including the 10 commandments. The nature of God’s Laws as they were given and applied to Israel demanded strict adherence to each. Those who the violated the law were often punished.
It became readily apparent, however, that no man could continually obey God’s Laws. So various provisions were enacted to cleanse the people of their violations. Provisions for sin were made by various types of offerings and sacrifices administered by the Levitical priests. Some of these offerings and sacrifices are set forth in the first seven chapters of Leviticus. There were also Feasts and convocations initiated whereby sin could be forgiven, at times for the entire nation. On the annual Day of Atonement (now called Yom Kipper) a sacrifice was made which removed the sin of the entire nation of Israel for the entire previous year. In that case the sin was transferred onto a goat by the High Priest and the goat was led away out of the camp, never to be seen again.
However, these sacrifices were never permanent and had to be performed continually in order to temporarily atone for the continuous problem of repeated sin. During times when Israel was apostate, worshiping gods other than the one God, there was not even temporary provision for sin in the land. When God’s nation would abandon Him completely, He would bring great judgments on the nation as a whole. Many times in its history Israel was conquered and or enslaved for their sin by other nations. They were eventually completely destroyed by the Roman Empire.
But even in their darkest times of apostasy God still promised a day would come when His people would live in the land without sin, in the blessing of the Lord. All that He required was that Israel turn their hearts back to Him and love and obey Him only. But He ultimately had to send part of Himself, His only Son Christ, to accomplish this.
After the coming of Christ many would look back and see that God had a purpose in bringing the Law and proving that man could not fulfill it in himself. The Law actually became a tutor or teacher to bring us to something better. That something better was initiated by Christ by His New Covenant. Galatians 3:23-25 explains: “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor”.
Realizing that man could never fulfill God’s Laws, however hard he tried, Jesus did for him when He came with a New Covenant of spirit and faith. After Christ, righteousness was not measured by obedience to a law but was determined by faith in Christ who fulfilled the Law for us in His flesh. Thereafter righteousness was reckoned by faith, not by works of the law. Christ came to “write the laws on people’s hearts”, tablets of flesh not of stone (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:8-12).
The entire New Covenant is worth duplicating here: “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,
“BEHOLD, days are coming, says the Lord,
When I will effect a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
“FOR this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws into their minds,
And I will write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
“AND they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,
And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For all will know Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
“FOR I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember their sins no more.”
When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. (Hebrews 8:7-13).
The Jews felt threatened by this for not only did they see the New Covenant as a false doctrine against the Law of Moses, but as a threat to their way of living, preaching and enforcing the law. Surprisingly many religions today still hold to codes of moral conduct as a way to measure righteousness and maintain control of a congregation. Most of the so-called “Christian church” preaches adherence to doctrines of good works and obedience to sets of rules of morality as the way to please God. God is not pleased with the righteousness that is born of good works designed to please Him and secure the doer a place in “heaven”. He is only interested in granting us grace, unmerited favor, by faith, that His Son won for us on the cross.
Church Fathers Augustine and Lactantius use the Greek word “religare” which means to "bind back" thus representing religion as a form of obligation (Unger's Bible Dictionary, p. 1072). This means religion has an element of control, “binding people back” to their way of interrupting Christ’s message. As many as the number of churches are the number of different doctrines of each church, preaching each its particular brand of Christianity. However these various doctrines or codes of morality are not based on the spiritual teaching of Christ. God is Spirit and the only way to receive the true “doctrine” is through spiritual communication with God. John said: “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24).
Jesus opposed the hypocrisy and legalism of the Pharisees, as we should oppose the legalism of today’s religions. In Matthew 23:13-36 Jesus says (in partial part): “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
“You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”. So in one sweeping accusation, Jesus accuses them of robbery, self indulgence, uncleanness, hypocrisy, lawlessness and full of dead men’s bones. He is describing religion.
At one point Jesus even accuses the Pharisees, the preeminent religious leaders of the time, that they were originated from their true Father the devil. The leaders clung to the fact that they were Abraham’s children by lineage and so justified in their religion. Jesus said:“If you were Abraham’s [the Father of faith] children, you would do the works of Abraham. Abraham was found to be righteous by faith, not works to earn salvation. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it: (John 8:39-44).
Satan’s Angelic name is Lucifer which means “light bearer” and he is referred to as "the bright star of the morning”. He is the father of religion according to Christ. Paul says: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Today we have many such “apostles of righteousness” who are no more than ministers of Satan. They do not preach Christ; they preach bondage under the law while Christ came to free us from the law.
Jesus said further of them: “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS people honors 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.’[Quoting Isaiah 29:13] “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition” (Mark 7:6-9; Matthew 15:9).
Religion is about having a good life by following certain religious tenants and thereby living a “righteous life”. For instance Jehovah's Witnesses teach that you must call God Jehovah or you are subject to judgment. In Catholicism you won’t go to heaven unless you believe the Pope is God on earth and follow the tenants of the Catholic church; Mormons must believe the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and the Mormon apostles or they will be denied entrance to “heaven”; Islam must follow Mohammed's strict disciplinary religious and secular laws; so called Christians must follow the tenants and doctrines of their particular religion of which there are thousands (Methodists, Calvinism, Presbyterians, Church of Christ, Lutherans etc.).
The Lord told a parable which is a perfect representation of the religious world: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14).
Religion wants to show you off as righteous by publicly enumerating the wonderful works you have done, thereby gaining the favor of men. Those who engage in such self- exaltation never realize that their perceived righteousness is not righteousness at all. "Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). God looks at man’s righteousness this way: "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; (Isaiah 64:6).
Christ showed the Pharisees that life was more than a set of rules. “A Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table. When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He [Jesus] had not first ceremonially washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness... For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others" Matthew 23:25-28).
Paul rebuked religion in a nutshell: “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!' (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)-in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of the wisdom of self-made (or would be) religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence" (Collisions 2:22-23).
In the Book of Galatians Paul goes into more detail while denouncing religion in favor of spiritually:
“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?..." So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?... Just as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:1-7).
Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE righteous MAN SHALL live by faith.” (Gal 3:11)… For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:5-6).
And he goes on to explain: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (Gal 5:16-18).
In Galatia, false prophets were attempting to put the church back under Mosaic Law by requiring circumcision and adherence to other laws of righteousness. Paul had to remind the members of the church at Galatia, sternly, not to give up the freedom in Christ given them, by returning to the old Judaic law of physical circumcision and following religious rites. Paul’s epistles indicate a constant struggle against those would abrogate Christ’s New Covenant in favor of an outdated law of do’s and don’ts.
It is in Romans Chapters 7 & 8 that Paul teaches us how to walk in the Spirit. The flesh nature he refers to is the natural man exhibiting a nature inherited from Adam and Eve after their fall from the Garden. In Chapter 7, Paul himself recognizes the struggle within himself between the two natures: flesh v. Spirit. “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me” (Romans 7:18-20). Finally in desperation of his dilemma he exclaims: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (v. 24). This is the conflict. Religion based on attempted obedience to the Law by the flesh can never be accomplished in the natural world. That is why God sent Christ, to do it for us.
Paul answers his own question: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin (v. 25).
In Romans 8 he shows us how to do it. Man who tries to be righteous by following the law, hoping that to whatever degree he is able to do the commandments that God will count that as righteousness. Some religious men feel that if they do their best to live a righteous life that God will make up the difference. That is not how God works—He makes no allowance whatsoever for the flesh of man. He is intent on destroying it completely. It the basis of religion to attempt to work yourself up to God’s standards, hoping He will be pleased with the effort. That is the basis of religion. God will never be pleased by anything you do unless you accept the fact that He has already become righteousness for you and accept it. A spiritual man realizes he/she can never follow the law in himself, so he knows he must turn to Christ who did follow the law and fulfilled it for him. He reaches to God and accepts the gift of grace.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:2-4).
Even the human mind, with its great intellect and understanding of all things worldly, can never know God in the Spirit. Religion is a mental ascent to the truth. Paul says: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:6-8). The answer is to know God in the spirit by connecting to Him with our own spirits and letting Him put within us His nature. Working to please God is simply a manifestation of the striving of the human flesh to gain His favor. God not only does not accept these feeble attempts to please Him, He despises them as “filthy rags”. (Isaiah 64:6).
A word about our spirits. Man is a triune nature (spirit, soul and body) like God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). God himself is a spirit. “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). The only way we have to connect with God is through our spirits. For most of us we are not aware on a daily basis that we have a spirit. This is because our spirits are buried beneath our souls and bodies. The spirit is to have predominance over all we do but in this world it largely does not. Our spirits have to be awakened through salvation and walking on with God. It is not something you automatically obtain when you “die and go to heaven”. It is real and it is here and now.
Paul goes on to explain why it is important to have this walk in the spirit, instead of living our lives religiously. “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (v.12-14). Religion would have you live in the world of regulations-don’t eat, don’t smoke, don’t touch, do this and do that. These are all dead works and if that is all Christ is to you will die never having received His free gift of life he has offered. However, those who are in constant contact with the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. We like to think that we are all children of God. But it only those who are led by Him that are the real Sons/Daughters of God.
Jesus made it very clear that not everyone who approaches or does works in His name will enter into His Kingdom. “ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21-23; Psalm 6:8). The Lord will say “I never knew you”. The only way to know God is by the spirit, your spirit in contact with His. It’s not works; it’s not miracles; it’s not going to church every Sunday and giving in the offering; it’s having a personal relationship with Him through the Spirit. Once you have that you will automatically do the other things. Religion is death; the Spirit is life.
Many very religious people will never know the Lord. Many intelligent scholars who have studied the Bible will never know Him. The Pharisees, those who even memorized long passages of scriptures, and presided over religious ceremonies week after week didn’t know the Messiah when He appeared in front of their faces. Jesus said: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes” (Luke 10:21; Matthew 11:25). God deliberately hides His truths from the wise of this world because their intellect blocks them from receiving true knowledge.
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man [literally unspiritual] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. (2 Corinthians 2:12-15). Religion, according to Paul, is the abode of the foolish, who don’t know or understand the Spirit of God and never can if left on their present course.
What is the purpose of the Sons of God? It is not to evangelize the whole world and to do many good works on a large scale nor to preach on television? “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. “(Rom 8:19-22). God subjected the entire creation to futility due to the original sin. We live today in futility. Everything we see is temporal, passing away. Religion with its factions and disagreements is passing away. Only the spiritual, unseen by human eyes kingdom, will remain.
God subjected the creation to futility not permanently but in hope the Sons of God would be manifest to release it. This is not missionary work or revivals. It is those who are “led by the Spirit”. It is the spiritual Sons of God who will do more than feed the starving children in Africa. They will deliver entire nations into the Kingdom of God where there s no longer any want or need. And it is not only the human people who will be released; it is the entire creation—plants, animals, cosmos, all of creation. This can only be done spiritually. Imagine the power of God working through clay vessels who will release all creation from the clutches of the evil one and return it to God!
There is no power in religion. Religion is severely criticized by Paul who wrote: "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. [for men will be] holding to a form of godliness (literal Greek is "religion"), although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these" and "[they will be] always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth" 1 Timothy 3:1, 5, 7).
Thus we can safely say that anything religious, as opposed to things Spiritual, is one of the greatest deceptions that Satan has imposed on man. Man is actually kept in bondage due to his fear of death, which religion plays upon."Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives" (Hebrews 2:14-15). Let's beware of the leaven of the religious Pharisees and believe for the eradication of all things religious into the freedom of the glory of the Children of God. .
