Jesus Blew Holes in the Doctrine of the Day... Be Willing to Hear
I have been studying in the Book of Mark. This morning, I read from Mark 3-4. A few things stood out to me that, I believe, can be applied to "religion" today.
First of all, Jesus shot many holes in the doctrine of the day. The Pharisees were masters of doctrine, of putting God in a man-made box. Sound familiar?
One such example occurred in Mark 3:20-27. In this Passage, the scribes accused Jesus of having "Beelzebub... By the ruler of demons He casts out demons" (v. 22). In Jesus' time on earth (and during the early church age), there was a practice among Jewish exorcists of invoking the name of powerful demon to bind a lesser demon. Notice how Jesus shot down that philosophy: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" (vs. 23-27).
Oh, but He doesn't stop there! Read this, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" (vs. 28-29). Ouch!!!
Jesus did not stop there, however. This is just one example.
Traditionalist mindsets keep us stuck in rut. Sometimes those ruts turn into holes, pits that we do not even realize are there we become so comfortable in them. Jesus addressed this.
"Then He said to them, 'Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him" (Mark 4:24-25).
This is not saying that poor people are going to lose what little they have while rich people are going to get wealthier. It means that those who are open to being challenged, to hearing new things, to seeing God in a different light are going to be given so much more understanding. There are those who only read the Bible one way. They read the Bible using the doctrine they have grown up with. They never deviate. They never want to truly experience what God is so wanting to show them. They are stuck. They're not going to grow, because they refuse to. They're right. Everyone else is wrong.
Instead, allow us to be willing to get out of our man-made "God box" and experience what He is all about. Let us not be like the ones that are referred to in Mark 4:33 who were "unable to hear" what Jesus was trying to teach them.
First of all, Jesus shot many holes in the doctrine of the day. The Pharisees were masters of doctrine, of putting God in a man-made box. Sound familiar?
One such example occurred in Mark 3:20-27. In this Passage, the scribes accused Jesus of having "Beelzebub... By the ruler of demons He casts out demons" (v. 22). In Jesus' time on earth (and during the early church age), there was a practice among Jewish exorcists of invoking the name of powerful demon to bind a lesser demon. Notice how Jesus shot down that philosophy: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" (vs. 23-27).
Oh, but He doesn't stop there! Read this, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" (vs. 28-29). Ouch!!!
Jesus did not stop there, however. This is just one example.
Traditionalist mindsets keep us stuck in rut. Sometimes those ruts turn into holes, pits that we do not even realize are there we become so comfortable in them. Jesus addressed this.
"Then He said to them, 'Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him" (Mark 4:24-25).
This is not saying that poor people are going to lose what little they have while rich people are going to get wealthier. It means that those who are open to being challenged, to hearing new things, to seeing God in a different light are going to be given so much more understanding. There are those who only read the Bible one way. They read the Bible using the doctrine they have grown up with. They never deviate. They never want to truly experience what God is so wanting to show them. They are stuck. They're not going to grow, because they refuse to. They're right. Everyone else is wrong.
Instead, allow us to be willing to get out of our man-made "God box" and experience what He is all about. Let us not be like the ones that are referred to in Mark 4:33 who were "unable to hear" what Jesus was trying to teach them.
Love this!
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