Matthew 23:13-15

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. - Matthew 23:13-15

Dear Jesus,

You didn't pull any punches in your final day of teaching in the temple during your last week. You exposed for me that the measure of a person's religion is not whether they work hard at it or not. It's about truth. If they don't point people to who you are and what you have done for us, they are just law-teachers that lead people to trust in themselves. It's a recipe for disaster. Lord, help Christian teachers everywhere to allow the gospel to predominate their teaching so those who are searching can find the real you. Keep me from being a moralist who lives and teaches as if keeping the law is the supreme goal of spirituality. Help me to live in the Gospel not just give it lip service.

Amen

Pastor Don Patterson

Without Jesus and his completed work, the finest religious teaching is a heap of rubble.

Additional Reading: 1 Timothy 1:7-9