Sermon Tone Analysis

CLEAN AND UNCLEAN

NOTHING TO DO WITH PHYSICAL CLEANNESS---Ceremonial matter

1. unclean made it impossible to approach worship to God.

women on her period

after child birth

every dead body— don’t touch it

it was transferable

every Gentile (not Jew)

if you walked on the same ground as a gentile

RELIGION HAD BECOME IDENTIFIED WITH A HOST OF EXTERNAL REGULATIONS ******THIS WAS AS IMPORTANT AS OBEYING THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

JESUS RESPONDS TO RELIGION

“DEVOTED TO GOD”--- a man is devoted to God and devotes all his giving to God … so if the poor parent needs help he can say no because his money and property is devoted to GOD. (therefore he doesn’t have to honor his mom and dad)

HE COULD USE RELIGION TO AVOID THE BASIC DUTY OF HELPING HIS PARENTS

ANOTHER MEANING OF “DEVOTED TO GOD

ANOTHER MEANING OF “DEVOTED TO GOD”

IF A MAN MADE AN OATH TO BE DEVOTED TO GOD he cannot change his mind or heart.

WHY??? Strict pharisee will say no oath cannot be broken..

NUMBERS 30:2

‘When a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.’

****STOP MAKING SILLY REGULATIONS

EXAMPLE TAKE YOUR HAT OFF BEFORE YOU PRAY

close your eyes when you pray

outward RULES AND REGULATIONS

To the religious folk worship is ritual and laws, to Jesus, worship is the clean heart and the loving life.

15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.

17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?

18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

this is part of what got Jesus on the Cross..

condemns scribal and pharisaic rituals and ceremonial religion

he actually wipes out large sections of the book of Leviticus

HE CANCELS ALL THE FOOD LAWS OF THE OT

JESUS IS SAYING “ It’s not the state of your religion but the state of your heart”

its easy to follow rules… but difficult to love your enemy or give to the poor and needy

EXTERNAL THINGS

go to church a lot

give to the church

go to bible studies

CHECK YOUR HEART

CHECK YOUR HEART

CHECK YOUR HEART

Written by Jefferson Bethke

See, one's the work of God, but one's a man-made invention

See, one is the cure, but the other's the infection

See, because religion says "do"; Jesus says "done"

Religion says "slave"; Jesus says "son"

Religion puts you in bondage, while Jesus sets you free

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see

And that's why religion and Jesus are two different clans

Religion is man searching for God; Christianity is God searching for man

Which is why salvation is freely mine, and forgiveness is my own

Not based on my merits, but Jesus' obedience alone

Because He took the crown of thorns, and the blood dripped down His face

He took what we all deserved—I guess that's why you call it grace

And while being murdered, He yelled,

"Father, forgive them; they know not what they do."

Because when He was dangling on that cross, He was thinking of you

And He absorbed all your sin, and He buried it in the tomb

Which is why I'm kneeling at the cross, saying, "Come on, there's room"

So for religion—no, I hate it; in fact I literally resent it

Because when Jesus said, "It is finished," I believe He meant it