Paul’s Primers Daily Bible Study & Scripture Reading Forum for May 11-15, 2009 Podcasts: The Pharisees–They gave up God: and therefore God gave them up.
by admin ~ May 11th, 2009
“They gave up God: and therefore God gave them up.” (Romans 1:24a). And so, they were “hated by God.” (Romans 1:30, see Liddell-Scott for definition). When we understand that Jesus Christ is a great and mighty warrior, victorious in every imaginable way; that Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of the very same God that showed forth His righteous judgment time and again in the Old Testament; that Jesus Christ brought judgment upon these most wicked men in that very generation; we can then understand the full force of these verses. Remember, Paul was a Pharisee before he amended his ways, so he knew well the evil of these Pharisees to which he is referring, and their hardened hearts which caused them to be given up and “hated” by our Lord and our God, Jesus Christ.
Consider the red-letter words of our Lord in regard to these very same scribes and Pharisees Paul just referred to: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23:23-28) “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33)
As we continue to read through the Epistle to the Romans, and study its application in our lives, we need to be careful to not fall under the sway of the scribes and Pharisees. Remember, we teach from the perspective of Ancient Christian Truth, and from this perspective it was never in form but always in essence that the Apocalyptic teaching of Jesus Christ was understood to be applicable in every generation. So we understand that the Pharisees were alive and well in Jesus’ day, having been building their evil traditions since the Babylonian captivity; and we understand that they can be found in every generation since, including our own. In every generation, they twist and turn every word of God, every law of God, into the exact opposite of what God intended. So Jesus says of them ” … Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6) “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9)
What we need to do is learn to apply the unadulterated Word of God in our heart, and the unadulterated Law of God in our daily lives. Even every aspect of our daily lives need to be brought under the continuing relevancy of the law of God. This is the Victorious Worldview of Ancient Christian Truth. As John said: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:2-3)
As we continue our reading through the book of Romans, you will see that Paul will make this more and more clear. And as we continue our reading, keep in mind that we don’t want to be as the scribes and Pharisees; we don’t want to give up God and His Law, thus bringing upon ourselves God’s judgment. What we really want is to keep always before our eyes the simple truth that ” … the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” (Proverbs 6:23)
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Next week we will continue reading and providing teaching commentary on the book of Romans. Always seeking to Awaken a Reconciled World with the Victorious Worldview of Ancient Christian Truth.
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