Listen, but Do Not Follow (No. 2)

Jesus told his disciples one of the oddest thing I have ever read.

“Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” 
—Matthew 23:3 (The NET Bible)

That’s how I feel when I hear some of the voices of our day.

One of the banner cries of our current society is, “Tolerance.” Did you know that tolerance is taught in the Bible? It is an attribute of love. Let me explain:

The Apostle Paul instructed Christians:

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. 
—Romans 15:1-2 (NASB95)

The simple point is that Christians are at different levels of maturity in their faith. Each one should bear with (tolerate) those who are weaker. More specifically, the word ‘bear’ means to 'help carry the load.' Our task is to help, not just tolerate. (See also Galatians 6:12.)

What about our relationship to those who are not Christians?

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 
—Romans 12:18

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 
—Philippians 4:5

These two verses encourage Christians to treat ALL people, Christians and non-Christians with a spirit of gentleness and with the goal of peace. That certainly involves a tolerant attitude. More specifically, aggressive attitudes that promote anger and encourage verbal or physical combat are not a part of the Christian life.

However…

• Jesus condemned anger (and murder); lust (and adultery); mistreatment of wives; deceit; personal vengeance; and hate (Matthew 5). 
• Jesus condemned hypocrisy (Matthew 6 & 23). 
• Jesus told the woman who had been publicly humiliated for her adultery to stop sinning (John 8). 
• The Apostle Paul rebuked the Christians in Corinth for tolerating an immoral man (1 Corinthians 5). 

Jesus and the New Testament writers clearly stood for love of mankind by promoting: peace, help for the needy, justice for all people, etc. Yet, they also stood strongly for the love of God through lives devoted to God in holiness, godly (God-like) behavior, and moral purity as defined by God. Jesus and His disciples never taught the tolerance of sin, as if to say, ”Let’s just close our eyes to sin, and it will be alright.”

What is all this about???

There are many voices of our day crying, “Tolerance,” claiming that they are echoing the teaching of Jesus. Some who advocate today’s tolerance teaching misapply the love of Jesus to the point that wrong is right, moral impurity is good, and a stance against sin is considered bad or hateful. There are some who use ‘tolerance’ to defend their own personal moral choices and lifestyle which are condemned in Scripture. Then, when someone points out the simple teaching of the Bible, they spew the venom of intolerance and cry out, “You can’t judge me!”

Things can get really confusing, unless...

When people speak the truth I can listen, but I will only follow Jesus. How can I discern truth?

My Bible is completely open...is yours?

Mark Stinnett

Listen, But Do Not Follow

Jesus told his disciples one of the oddest things I have ever read.

“Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.”
—Matthew 23:3 (The NET Bible)

That’s how I feel when I hear some of the voices of our day.

One of the banner cries of our current society is, “Do not judge.” That happens to be a teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Unfortunately, the meaning of this simple teaching is often misunderstood. Let me illustrate:

I was a public school teacher for a number of years. Can you believe that one of my students had the audacity to call me ‘teacher’? I shot back, “You can’t judge me!”

OK. That was sarcastic. Why would a teacher object to being called a teacher?

My point is that my student actually ‘judged’ me. At its heart, 'to judge' is to distinguish between things. My student judged me correctly by calling me a teacher. She distinguished me from a carpenter, a banker or other career choices. She identified me as a teacher.

One aspect of judging is that of identification.

Another aspect of judging is that of evaluation. As an example, another student parroted his dad, “Those who can do; those who can’t teach.” His quip was an assessment of those who enter into the teaching profession as being lesser than those who produce things. He had devalued teachers for not producing tangible, quantifiable things.

When Jesus warned, “Judge not so that you be not judged,” he was targeting the kind of judgment that evaluates others. How do I know?

Answer: By reading the whole text.

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For by the standard you judge you will be judged and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. 
—Matthew 7:1-2 (The NET Bible)

Jesus’ instruction was about using standards to evaluate, not identification. So, what do we learn?

First, there is nothing wrong with identifying people according to obvious categories of distinction: Tall, Hispanic, rich, male, teacher, homosexual, murderer. It is perfectly fine to identify a teacher as a teacher; likewise, a juggler, gambler, athlete, or adulterer. In fact, it is not wrong to say that murder is morally wrong according to the Bible, because that is a factual biblical teaching. That does not assign less value to a murderer as a person, but it does identify the murderer as immoral (at least, according to the Bible).

Second, it IS wrong (according to Jesus) to evaluate people using an arbitrary personal standard. We should not look down on others for their choices, even if their choices are considered immoral by Jesus and the Bible. 

What is all this about???

There are many voices of our day crying out, “Do not judge me,” claiming that they are echoing the teaching of Jesus, yet they misuse His words. They identify themselves with Christianity while making obvious choices that conflict with the Bible. Then they defame anyone who points out their inconsistency by accusing them of being judgmental. Jesus called that hypocrisy.

So, when people speak the truth I will listen, but when they conflict with truth, I will not follow. How can I discern truth?

My Bible is completely open...is yours?

Mark Stinnett

Look! Look! Look!

Kids are so funny!

I'll bet you did it; I did too; and so did my kids.

"Look, daddy, watch this! Look!"

Children crave the attention of their parents.

They want the hugs and kisses. They want the treats and gifts. Without even a thought, they want a warm bed, good meals, and adequate clothing...and they desperately want attention.

Children want their parents to see their achievements whether it is balancing on one foot, coasting on their bike with no hands, jumping off the 'third' step, or flying (laying belly-down in a swing). "Look, mommy, I'm flying!"

Kids figure out how to make us turn and look. If we are uninterested in their balancing act, jumping, and flying, they might even try an assortment of misbehaviors. (Subconsciously: "That'll make him look up from his phone!") The fact remains, they want our attention and they will find a way.

Have you ever thought of yourself as a little child desiring God's attention? Have you ever felt a craving for God to turn and look your way, just wanting to know that he has noticed you? I think we intuitively understand that securing God's attention is good and beneficial. We know in that moment that we are accepted.

There was a famous 'governor' of Jerusalem who craved God's attention. It was a difficult time for the Jews. The people had returned to Jerusalem after being captive in the land of Babylon for 70 years. They had rebuilt the city, but her walls were still unfinished making the people vulnerable to their enemies.

Nehemiah, the city's governor, took charge and led the people in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He was an unusual leader in that he did not demand the governor's food allowance but shared with the people. He was not arrogant when he prayed:

     Remember me, O my God, for good
     according to all that I have done for this people.
   --Nehemiah 5:19

Though a grown man and a great leader, Nehemiah approached God as if a little child, "Look! See what I have done."

To gain God's attention is a thrilling thought. He is far superior to kings and dignitaries; far superior to men and women of wealth; far superior to men and women of power...far superior to anything created.
God...Creator!

Call out all you want, "Look, God, Look!"; there is a way to get His attention. You will find it to be an almost 'knee-jerk' reaction from God. He tells us how to draw His attention, how to make Him turn and look:

     But to this one I will look,
     To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
     And who trembles at My Word.
     --Isaiah 66:2

Mark Stinnett

Which of Jesus' Teachings Do You Follow?

“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
—Matthew 7:28-29

This description followed what we call ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’ There were similar reactions to Jesus' teachings later on.

For example...
Just a couple of days before the crucifixion of Jesus His religious opponents attacked Him with everything they had. The Pharisees plotted together to trap Jesus in what he said by putting Him in a politically awkward position. After Jesus’ had wisely responded…

“And hearing this, they were amazed….” 
—Matthew 22:22

Then the Sadducees posed a question, more of a riddle. They intended to embarrass Jesus with an impossible theological conundrum. Again He answered wisely.

“When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”
—Matthew 22:33

The Pharisees challenged Jesus again, and once again He answered them. Then, He asked them a question regarding their interpretation of Scripture.

“No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.” 
—Matthew 22:46

(Some have called Jesus the Master Teacher, and rightfully so.)

Then, in the very next verse, or more accurately, in the very next breath, Jesus began to warn His disciples AND the crowds about the scribes and Pharisees. He publicly humiliated them, labeling them as hypocrites!

That’s right. In Matthew 23 Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (the teachers of the people) and warned folks not to follow their example. Jesus was not guilty of name-calling. Yet, many in our current society would ‘crucify’ a person for lashing out in judgment like that! (They misunderstand.)

People today love the teachings of Jesus when He says, “Love one another”; when He tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan; the Beatitudes; when He says, “I will give you rest.”

However, some people cannot tolerate the strong stance of Jesus against sin:

• Anger brings guilt just like murder.
• Lusting for a woman is sinful.
• Divorce is almost always wrong.
• Lying is wrong (all the time).
• Retaliation is not God’s way.
• If you refuse to forgive another person, God will not forgive you.
• Religious activity is meaningless without a sincere heart.

These are some of the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus also found in the Sermon on the Mount.

The Master Teacher who amazed the crowds and taught love ALSO preached repentance saying that without upright, moral living “you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus even warned that there would be many who would claim to be His followers, who would claim to have done good deeds in His name, yet who practiced unrighteousness. We must embrace all that Jesus did and all that He taught.

Enter through the narrow gate...for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 
—Matthew 7:13-14

Mark Stinnett

How Important Is The Truth To You?

A coworker of mine once quipped, “You have your truth; I have my truth.” Translation: You can believe whatever you want and that belief will be what you call truth. Or said another way: “I am comfortable with the way I see things, so don’t be surprised when I don’t agree with the facts.” She wasn’t really interested in truth.

One man sighed, “What is truth?” That happened to be Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion. Perhaps he had been interested in truth at one time, but on the day that he questioned Jesus, Pilate despaired at the notion of the existence of truth.

Another man’s reaction to truth was rage! King Asa of ancient Judah made a treaty with a foreign king. (Isn’t that what kings are supposed to do? Well...NO! Not if you are the king of the people of God. You are supposed to consult God, trust in God.) So, God sent a seer (kind of like a prophet) with a message of rebuke to King Asa for his ill advised alliance. The king threw a fit and had the seer thrown in prison. Clearly, the king was not interested in truth.

Would you like for me to tell you a lie!?
Of course not!

Nor would I want you to lie to me; no white lies, no bending the truth, no bold-face lies, no deceptions. NO ONE wants to be lied to...
...yet...sometimes the truth is really brutal. Sometimes we want nice news; we want to hear what we like...or what we already believe…so badly, that we prefer a lie over the truth.

It happens in politics all the time. Some politicians will promise anything just to get elected. What if your doctor conducted his practice like a lying politician? What if he only told you what you wanted to hear: "You’re doing grrrreat!"? No one wants news of failing health; yet we KNOW that we will only benefit from the truth.

People hate it when others lie to them, but under the right circumstances, under pressure, many are tempted to lie...and give in.

How important is ‘truth’?

The Apostle Paul visited a congregation of God’s people who were known for their love for the truth. In fact, they accepted the preaching of Paul AND they were “examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11) You might call the believers from Berea ‘Truth Seekers.’ They verified what Paul said by going to the Scripture.

When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32), many of those listening stumbled over the word ‘free.’ They started talking about never being enslaved. They completely missed ‘the truth’ part of what Jesus said. Jesus concluded a moment later that “My word has no place in you,” meaning, they had no real interest in truth. They were so angry with the teachings of Jesus that they wanted to kill him. They actually wanted to kill Him!!! Yet Jesus was presenting to them the truth which He had received from God.

There are a lot of people today, religious people, who talk about God, who praise Jesus, who claim to follow Jesus. Yet, in reality, they are simply re-labeling what they are already doing as ’discipleship.’ They are re-labeling what they already believe as ’the truth.’ But Jesus said:

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” 
--John 8:31

What is your source for truth: God or Man? How do make decisions concerning your marriage, rearing children, your career, caring for aging parents, your congregation, your life?

Truth assures life! 

Open The Book!

Mark Stinnett