CULTURAL DECEPTION

It saddens me that the world allows culture, custom, & tradition to define who Jesus is instead of looking at the Word of God.

The Sadducees & Pharisees were obsessed with keeping their spoken customs & meeting cultural expectations. So much so that they missed reality. God's Law is perfect. But their legalism wasn't rooted in love for the Lord but in their pride & devotion to customs (ethos). The evil one deceived them (exapatao) through the traditions of man. One of the accusations they brought against Jesus was the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath; they claimed He broke the Fourth Commandment (Deut. 5:14). Jesus was healing infirmities. He was performing Good by rescuing & healing those in need. But being wise in their age prevented them from seeing this (1 Cor 3:18).

Today, cultural deception is still our issue. However, more prominent than legalism is antinomianism. Antinomianism says there is no moral law God expects Christians to obey. People who hold this view claim that faith in God or loving God is enough & that there is no expectation to live an obedient & godly life. Both of these viewpoints claim self-righteousness even though they cultivate evil. So what is True?

Culture said it was obedience to God's Law, but that neglects love & faith.

Culture today says love, but that neglects God's Law & faith.

{Pause} Isn't it ironic that obedience & love can both be visibly displayed instantly? Or that culture never chooses faith because it's obscure & can't be tangibly measured immediately? {Unpause}

Jesus demonstrated this: true faith in God & His will → manifests itself as obedience to God's Law & is driven by sacrificial love → which is evidence of salvation.

"You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him (John 1:10). But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

P.S. I'm pretty bummed that I failed to prepare the content I wanted to/typically would for Good Friday & Resurrection Sunday. Nevertheless, I do have a few more of these that point to what our Lord did on the cross. Christ be magnified!!!