8. Meditation: Chapter 7. The Dead Religion And The Living Son Of God - Part 1

Chapter 7

The Dead Religion And 

The Living Son Of God - Part 1

John 5:1-17

The Jewish Religion Is A Warning 

To The Modern Assembly (Church)

  

In this chapter, God’s words reveal us the horrible spiritual condition of Jewish Religion. The assembly of God should learn the important lessons and be warned by the failures of Israelites. 

Let us approach the core of the matter directly. The modern Christianity is conforming to the earthly Jewish Religion recorded in this chapter. Many Christians are saved by grace, but wandering in the wilderness of earthly religion (1 Corinthians 10:1-6). Today there is a multitude of sick, blind, lame and withered lay in the porches of earthly Christianity. And the pitiful multitude are governed by the pool of notions of paganism blindly, and await the absurd falsehood to save them from their spiritual infirmity. The consequence of their waiting is the spiritual wandering and standstill for vacuous thirty and eight years (Deuteronomy2:14-15). They are locked by the dead and dark earthy Christianity without spiritual strength, sight and revelation to walk into the land which flowswith milk and honey (the heavenly fullness of Christ).   

Moreover, the complicated, organized and systemic development of modern Christianity is unhealthy and evil. Her testimony (!?) makes the unbelieving world misunderstand that the faith of Christians is the same as Buddhism, Islam and other religions. We all have to repent humbly and bitterly before our Lord! Let us bear in mind that our precious faith is not a religion (Christianity), but “a living true God”. The crucified Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2) and the bible is our only foundation and standard. Anything has nothing to do with the crucified Christ and His words are valueless in God’s sight.

A Calling Of Emancipation From 

The Earthly Christianity

Here is also a story of a man delivered from the dark, blind, closed, stubborn and ruthless religion. We need to recognize a significant fact that the salvation of the cross not only saved the sinners (us) from sin but also rescued “the believers” from the valueless, vain and empty religion. 

The revelation of cross drastically delivers the apostle Paul from his old religious traditions carried out by his blind and natural zeal. And the revelation of crucified Christ thoroughly breaks all his pride in religion (Philippians 3:4-9). If any sincere saint wants to follow the Lord, the inevitable and costly process is that all our old conceptions of earthly Christianity will be destroyed by the revelation from God through His words (just like the experience of the apostle Paul). 

Today God’s calling for His saints in the end-time is “arise and walk out of the earthly and mixed Christianity”. The last history of Israelitesrecorded in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah is full of spiritual instructions for us. In last days, the faith of many children of God is in a state of spiritual captivity at religious Babylonian world by blending with earthly system of Christianity. Today the God’s spirit is working in the small remnant (Ezra 1:1-5) who perceive the corruption of Christianity and have a earnest burden and concern about the Lord’s testimony among the saints toward the impious world with a sorrowful heart (Nehemiah 1:1-8) and clear vision (understanding) just like Ezra and Nehemiah. 

That is a call of returning back from the spiritual captivity, making a clear cut of religious chaos, meanwhile, and seeking to recover and build up the Lord’s testimony according to God’s mind by His grace in a contrite, humble and broken spirit. Dear children of God, do we ever thus listen to His call (Revelation 3:12-13)? Are we the pious remnant (overcomers)? We must make a choice and answer the God’s calling! Oh! dear Lord! Let us live in your sanctification and holy separation so that we could be Your honorable and serviceable vessels in the end-time (2 Timothy 2:20-22)!                          

The Perils Of Legalism In Modern Christianity

The sabbath is deemed by Jews as one important and inviolable day. And here the sabbath is the representative of law of Moses. The Jews want to establish their own righteousness by keeping their law (Roman 10:3-4). And therefore they would be very ruthless, cool, and cruel to anyone who violates their law. The law of Moses makes them without mercy, grace and sympathy toward the weak people. The Jewish law is full of heartless judgment and condemnation. 

Unfortunately today the spirit of law of Moses is still alive in modern Christianity. Many Christian traditions, fixed rules and various ceremonials become the merciless legalism. If any sincere believer questions, challenges and violates any point of the religious old frame endorsed by the unenlightened multitude, he will be unwelcomed, suspected, despised, condemned, criticized, reproached and judged mercilessly. The cool legalism does not allow the different voices and opinions from the bible’s light according to the Lord’s mind, and claim: “our doctrines are best, don’t inquire anything, just do them according to our custom, if you shall not do, you cannot…”. You can’t find the open, soft, flexible, meek and hungry heart (the essential condition for the Lord’s fullness) in legalism. The Christian legalism will be the great hindrance and obstacle for the Holy Spirit to lead the God’s assembly further into the unsearchable fullness of Christ.   

The Sabbath Is A Living Person (Christ)

In the four gospels, Jesus did many things on the sabbath, and His repeated violations of the sabbath provoke Jewish people to kill Him (Matthew 12:7-14; Mark 3:1-6). And again we could hear the basic tone of the gospel according to John: “I AM” the Sabbath. What does that mean? In the light of new testament, the sabbath is no longer a day! The sabbath is aliving Person (Christ)! For the matters and things of law of Moses in old testament are just the shadow, but the reality and body is that living Christ(Colossians 2:17). That is a tremendous transition accomplished by the salvation of cross.

Today Christians have no need to keep and hold fast any day or feast or other many religious rules because we are now already in the great Reality (living Christ) and under the law of the Spirit of life. But it is so important that we must continue to discover, understand, grasp, walk into and live in the “spiritual meaning” of the Jewish matters, days and feasts (five offering, Passover, Sabbath etc.) And we have to let go the shadow, and hold fast and draw upon the living Christ (Mark 2:27-28; Matthew12:8; Matthew 11:28). For the living Christ is end of law of Moses for righteousness to every one that believes.

Our precious faith is based on a living Person (Christ), and we need the revelation of the Holy Spirit by His words to unveil the spiritual meaning hidden behind the things of old testament in the bible. Galatians 4:10-11: Ye observe days and months and times and years. I am afraid of you, lest indeed I have laboured in vain as to you. The Galatian saints fail to recognize the great transition (from law to grace; from Moses to Christ) accomplished by the salvation of cross. There is a sense in which that they still live in epoch of old testament, and want to keep the whole law. 

God sent forth His Son, come of woman, come under law, that He might redeem us from the law, that we might receive sonship. Christ has set us free in freedom, and be not held again in the yoke of bondage of legalism! This is the question about the shadow and body. The Jews hold fast the shadow (law) against the body (Christ). They could keep every detail of whole law like the Saul of Tarsus, but entirely know nothing about the preciousness and sweetness of our Lord Jesus, and try to kill Him, and finally crucify Him on the cross. The Jews really missed a lot by keeping the legalism. How about us?