The Great Exchange, Part 1

With this week being the week before Easter, we are being even more intentional in talking about the "Easter" story. Yesterday, I had a discussion with the children (after reading to them about the life and death and life of Jesus) about some of the primary accusers of our Savior....the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were one of the most "upstanding" (in their own eyes) citizens, weren't they? They were the keepers of the law! They followed the book to a tee. Yet Jesus reserved His most harsh words for this group of "religious leaders". The problem was, they didn't just keep the law. They added to the law. They worshipped the law. They glorified themselves in the name of following the Holy God.

I am tempted to quote the entirety of Matthew 23 here, but, for obvious reasons, I will not. But I ask you to read it, and as you do, think about the church today.

What have we, in the name of Christianity, added to the commandments of Jesus to love the Lord with our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves?

Consider these man-made traditions: dressing up for church, singing only certain kinds of songs, using only a certain translation of the Bible, going to church several times a week. I'm not saying that those things are wrong in and of themselves, but they become wrong when they are seen as rules instead of personal preferences.

They become wrong when they are kept and then used to promote ourselves as more holy than others.

They are wrong when they become more important than following Christ--which has nothing to do with following a set of rules, but has everything to do with freedom from sin and the law (Galatians 5:1).

The Bible is clear that as Christians, we are simply to be like Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2). On the cross, He exchanged death for life, and freed us from the law of sin and death. Does that give us a license to sin? Of course not!!!! Galatians 5:13-14 says, "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'."

Freedom from the law means that we are free to fulfill the law of Christ, which is love (Galatians 6:2). It means that we are no longer bound by sin. It means that we should not be like the Pharisees, who believed that keeping man-made traditions would somehow make them greater in the eyes of God (Matthew 15).

Yes, Jesus had hard words for those people. He called them hypocrites, white-washed tombs and a brood of vipers--and this was the "religious" group.

Jesus' death and resurrection was so much more than we sometimes understand. He set us free, and He wants us to walk daily with Him--not so that we will be glorified and simply look holy, but so that He will be glorified and we can be holy.