Far Away Hearts

January 24

Genesis 43

Psalm 15

Proverbs 3:13-14

Matthew 15:1-20

Far Away Hearts

“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.  But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commands of men.”  Matthew 15:8-9 LSB

This is a sobering passage. Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who were very “religious.”  Everyone who saw them believed they were holy and righteous.  They said and did all the right things.  They obeyed the rules, went to church, and acted spiritual.   From the outside, it appeared that they were closely connected to God.  They probably even believed they were “good” with God.  They were doing what they had been told they were supposed to do.  They were sincere in their beliefs.  Unfortunately, they were sincerely wrong.  Jesus exposed the error in their thinking.  He went beyond the surface and looked at their hearts.  He saw hearts that were focused on power and privilege.  He saw hearts that were more concerned with maintaining their position in society than pleasing their God.  He saw far away hearts.  Instead of maintaining purity and holiness out of love and worship of God, they did it for the approval of man and their own glory. 

            Jesus clearly explained that they were worshipping in vain and their teaching was of no value.  Jesus reserved His harshest criticism for the Pharisees and Sadducees.  He was patient and gentle with those who were sincerely seeking Him, but He had no tolerance for those who were leading people astray with false teaching.  He hated their teaching because it was wrong, but also because it gave people a false sense of security where they believed they were in a right relationship with God when really they had no idea what that meant.

Unfortunately, this is as true today as it was in Jesus’ day.  There are many people who look very “spiritual” and “holy” on the outside, who say and do all the right things, and who may sincerely believe they are “good” with God and yet their hearts are far from Him.  They go through the motions and do what they were taught and yet they do not have a personal relationship with God.  Their hearts are far from Him because they have never let Him change their hearts.  Please don’t misunderstand me, it is possible to have a relationship with God and stray.  You can get caught up in the cares of this world and fall away for a time.  That does not mean you do not have a relationship with God. It just means you need to turn back to Him.  But there are many sitting in churches all over the world who have never truly believed and asked Jesus into their hearts.  If you aren’t confident in your standing before God, ask Him to reveal it to you.  He will. 

It is also important to note that Jesus takes false teaching very seriously.  If you are a teacher, you are held to a higher standard.  You are responsible for the teaching you provide to make sure that it is based on a solid understanding of His Word.  Teaching should be approached prayerfully and with the leading of the Holy Spirit.  You do not want to be responsible for leading others astray.