DAY 18 – The Day Religion Died | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

<p>The Day Religion Died</p> <p>Matthew 5:17-20, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.</p> <p>Over the history of humanity, among people who claim to follow God, there has been a tension between what and who is right or wrong. </p> <p>There have always been religious leaders who have placed themselves over people as the standard for all others and doing so while claiming God’s permission and a superior station in life. But those people, like the Pharisees, have always been the wrong ones.</p> <p>This became clear when Jesus entered the religious scene of his day. He made a distinction between God’s intended purpose, and what religious leaders were actually doing. Yes, God did give the Ten Commandments and other statutes to Moses on Mount Sinai and they were designed to be understood, and followed by God’s people. However, we know from Paul’s writings that the Law was intended to reveal the futility of trying to obey the Law in one’s own strength (Rom. 8:3–4) as well as point the people to Christ. (Galatians 3:24)</p> <p>Paul wrote, “The Law is good” (1 Timothy 1:8), but the problem was the sin nature and weakness of humanity as revealed in their (and our) inability to consistently do what God wanted. We know in history that religious leaders added 600+ lesser rules and man-made “commandments.” In all of this, religious leaders gave (and still give) people a false sense of security, that if they do what was told them, they would be “r