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All of the Old Testament dietary laws were shadows (or pictures) of spiritual truths which would become realities in the New Covenant. These Pharisees (as well as many Christians today) missed all of the spiritual significance of these laws and saw only the physical act.
The real spiritual meaning that these Old Testament dietary laws symbolized was that we were supposed to be holy (separated) unto God in everything - even what we eat. Under the Old Testament law, it was forbidden to eat or to touch certain animals, not because there was anything wrong with the animals, but to illustrate the point of being separated unto God and to serve as a constant reminder of this separation. Under the...
ONE OF MY FAVORITE VERSES ON LOVE IS 1ST JOHN 4:7-8 "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED HOW THIS VERSE RELATES TO AN ISLAMIC TERRORIST. THE ONLY THING I CAN DO IS ASK MYSELF, "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO"? WELL, I KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
Deuteronomy 4:2 clearly states "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it . . . ." This same thought is repeated in the New Testament in Revelation 22:18-19 with very stiff penalties. Religious man is very swift to observe the part about not diminishing any of God's commandments, but there seems to be an unwritten law that adding to them is okay. Every denomination has its own set of "do's and don'ts" which aren't found in scripture, and like those of the hypocritical Pharisees, their unwritten laws usually have to do with outward appearance.
We need to remember that adding to God's commandments is just as bad as taking away from them. We need to speak when the Bible speaks, and be...
WHEN JESUS WAS ON THE CROSS, THE THIEF SAID TO HIM "LORD, REMEMBER ME WHEN THOU COMEST INTO THY KINGDOM" (LUKE 23:42). IN THE NEXT VERSE JESUS SAID "TODAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE". HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED WHERE THIS "PARADISE" WAS THAT JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT?
This is the biblical definition of a hypocrite, "someone whose words and heart (actions) don't agree." A hypocrite may act the part of a Christian or he may talk like Christ, but he won't do both. When both confession and action from the heart are consistent with God's Word, there is salvation (Rom. 10:9-10).
The word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word "hupokrites," meaning "the playing of a part on the stage; an actor." It was a custom for Greek and Roman actors to use large masks, when acting, to disguise their true identity. Hence, hypocrisy became "the feigning of beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; insecurity" (American Heritage Dictionary).
The...
SOME PEOPLE DON'T MAKE ANY TIME FOR GOD. HE WANTS TO FELLOWSHIP WITH US DAILY BUT THE ONLY TIME GOD IS MENTIONED, IN A LOT OF HOMES, IS WHEN SAYING THE BLESSING, IF THAT IS EVEN DONE. THEN, IT IS SAID JUST BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO BEFORE EATING AND A LOT OF TIMES IT IS A BLESSING WE HAVE MEMORIZED. I KNOW, I WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO DID THAT.
Man looks on the outward appearance (this is what the scribes and Pharisees were concerned with), but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Jesus looked on men's hearts. The Old Testament laws concerning washing served a secondary purpose of hygiene, but as stated in Colossians 2:16-17 and Hebrews 9:1,9-10, their real purpose was to shadow or illustrate spiritual truth.
Defiled food may hurt our bodies, but it cannot reach our spirits (Jn. 3:6).
The scribes and Pharisees missed the principle of spiritual purity taught by the Old Testament ordinances and became obsessed with strict adherence to their rituals. While they relentlessly enforced the laws dealing with the physical realm, they had become completely corrupt in the...
PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME HOW I KNOW THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD. I TELL THEM THAT THE BIBLE SAYS HE DID AND I BELIEVE THE BIBLE. ALSO, I KNOW BECAUSE HE IS ALIVE AND FELLOWSHIPS WITH ME. I CAN FEEL HIM WITH ME. I ALSO KNOW BECAUSE HE HAS HEALED ME OF MANY THINGS. I KNOW BY FAITH.
Jesus is stating that our spirit, not our flesh, is where our life comes from. These people were so dominated by their physical lives that they were missing all the spiritual significance of His words. Although God's Word does benefit our physical man, the Word is spiritual and must be understood through the spirit. God's Word is spirit and it takes our spirit to illuminate its truths to our minds.
The Word of God is not paper and ink. Jesus is the Word, and He existed in spiritual form long before any words were inspired to be written down by the Holy Ghost. The Bible is simply a physical representation of Jesus and spiritual truth. It is inspired of God and therefore, totally accurate and reliable, and yet, until we...