“Pious Compensation” – FBC Morning Light (10/3/2023)

Well a good Tuesday morning. Today in our Bible reading we're in Jeremiah chapter 7 and 8, 2nd Timothy chapter 1 and Proverbs 26. And today I want to return to the book of Jeremiah and this time look at the first several verses in chapter 7.

Religious Activity Cannot Compensate for Sin

Because this section really challenges us, even in our New Testament Christian life and experience. So let me ask you this, do you go to church regularly? I mean make it a practice of your life to attend God's house every Lord's Day and just make that your habit.

I trust you do, I hope you do, but then here's what I want you to ponder. Do you do so with an attitude that says that that church attendance and listening to the preaching and singing the songs somehow compensates for Monday through Saturday?

Here's what I'm getting at. We can have the attitude that says, even if we don't consciously say it, I live the way I want to live, you know, Monday through Saturday. And yeah, you know, I know I'm not perfect, I know I do things that God doesn't like, and so on and so forth.

But you know, hey, I read my Bible, I try to read it pretty regularly, you know, maybe a few times a week. I do go to church every Sunday, and so on and so forth. So, you know, I'm sure God will give me a pass for those other things.

Well, Jeremiah 7, these first 10 verses challenge that line of thinking. Because notice to whom the preaching here is coming in the first couple of verses. The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, quote, Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.

All right, so the audience here are people who are coming to God's house to worship the Lord. Put it in a New Testament context, it would be like Jeremiah is standing outside the church when people show up and they get out of their cars and they're coming up to the door in the church, okay?

They're coming to worship the Lord. But here's the message. The Lord says, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Because here's the problem. Their ways and their doings were quite contrary to the ways that they should be living and the things that they should be doing.

Listen to some of the things that the Lord confronts them with. He says, in verse 5, If you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, that is, if you execute justice, the problem is they weren't.

If you do not oppress the stranger, the problem is they were, the fatherless and the widow. And do not shed innocent blood in this place, problem is they did. Or walk after other gods to your hurt, problem is they were, then I will cause you to dwell in this place.

He goes on in verse 9. He says, Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before me in this house which is called by my name and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations.

You get what they're saying? You get what they're doing? They're living the way they want to live, they're doing what they want to do, taking advantage of their neighbors, stealing from other people, you know, committing murder.

Now we might put this in a New Testament context of hating a brother. You know, you hate him, you've killed him, you've already committed murder. Committing adultery, well, you know, I don't do that, but, you know, what about lust?

And, you know, the Lord says if a man looks upon a woman lustfully, then he's already committed adultery with her. Swearing falsely, making promises you don't keep, worshiping some other god, some sports team, some activity that you love to do, that you're willing to sacrifice greatly for, even sacrifice, you know, time with God's people and God's house and so forth for the sake of that idol, da-da-da, okay?

Then you think you can do all those things, and then go to church, and God will give you a pass for all those things. That's the attitude of Old Testament Israel, Judah, in Jeremiah's time, and God condemns them for it.

He confronts them for it, and he says to them, you need to amend your ways. So I read through this, and I have to examine my own heart. Do I need to amend my ways? Do I have some of this attitude in my heart, thinking that, well, you know, this was okay, because after all, I read my Bible every day, and I have devotions, and I go to church, and I, yeah, etc., etc.

Can't think that way. Instead, we have to think like this. Is this pleasing to the Lord? If not, I want to get rid of it. Is this disobedient to God's Word? If so, I want to get rid of it. I want to stop doing it.

Is this attitude Christ-like? If not, I want to change it, and so on and so forth. We don't want to have an attitude that says, my religious activities will compensate for my sinful behavior, so I can go on in my sinful behavior.

No. No. We don't want to go there. So Father, I pray that from this Old Testament passage, we would be exhorted to ponder these things in our own hearts, and to examine ourselves, and make sure that we don't have that kind of an attitude.

This we pray in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Tuesday. I trust the Lord will bless you in it. Good day.