The Gospel vs Religion (2)

7 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,[a] holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.[c]) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)[d]— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”[e] 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”[f] (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[g] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus[h] charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The first thing I want to say is that Christianity is not a religion. And until we see that we've misunderstood it. all the others are religions, but Christianity is not. And here in this wonderful incident, you have the contrast between religion and Christianity, what the Pharisees had was religion. And they had it bad if I could put it that way. But what Jesus had was Christianity or Christianity reality. They had rituals. They had all the outside of it. He had the inside of it, and this is the difference. And one of our difficulties in this country is that we suffer from religion.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes, (Greek: “God Manifest”) also called Antiochus Epimanes (the Mad), (born c. 215 BCE—died 164, Tabae, Iran), Seleucid king of the Hellenistic Syrian kingdom who reigned from 175 to 164 BCE. As a ruler he was best known for his encouragement of Greek culture and institutions. His attempts to suppress Judaism brought on the Wars of the Maccabees

The first thing he said is this you've turned religion into an external instead of an internal matter. And therefore you've become terribly concerned with the outward appearance and outward actions.

The second thing he said is this. You have Substituted for the divine command, a human idea

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

The third thing he said was even more devastating. He said, you think religion is a matter of physical action. I tell you, it is a matter of spiritual attitude.

Mark 7:1-37 LESSON TAKE AWAY

Many people think all religions are all the same, but I would argue that Christianity is different from the rest.

What Separates Christianity from Other Religions

1. Every other religion teaches us to earn our way to God.

Christianity is the only religion that teaches that God came to us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus died for us before we did a thing for Him. God didn’t wait for us to get things right before He sent His Son to die. In fact, God sent his Son because He knew we could never get things right apart from Jesus!

2. Other religions have systems of rules to appease their god. Christianity is a relationship with God.

Other religions give us a list of things to do and not do. Some religions call them laws or pillars. These are things that you do in hopes of getting into heaven.

Psalm 145:18-19 tells us, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”

We don’t have to appease God to receive His favor. He already showed us His love for us by sending Jesus to die on a cross in our place, for our sins. The separation between us and God was appeased, and we didn’t have to do a thing except believe.

The separation between us and God was appeased, and we didn’t have to do a thing except believe.

Christians go to church, read the Bible and obey God’s commands, not because we have to but because we want to. We want to learn about this God who would go to such great lengths for us. We want to show our thankfulness for His grace by representing Him well with our lives. And we choose to follow His plan, knowing that a God who loves us enough to sacrifice His Son for us has our best interest at heart.

3. No other religion has an empty tomb.

We’re the only people who follow a leader who died and came back to life.

Every other major religious leader is dead. People have been looking for Jesus’ body for thousands of years, and they still haven’t found Him! With all of the advancements in scientific technology, no one has been able to solve this “mystery” in the world of science. The tomb is empty, and the body is not hidden and will never be found because Jesus rose from the dead.

In Matthew 28:6, we are reminded of this truth: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

In Matthew 28:6, we are reminded of this truth: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”