Outward Ritual Or Inward Relationship
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly … No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly.
Romans 28-29
What you act like on the outside. What you are on the inside. Are they the same? Or different?
The Jews of Paul’s day had laws, customs and holidays that reminded them that they were a religious people, a God-centered society.
But they mistook knowing about God for knowing God—a mistake many duplicate today. Outwardly, they honored God with their lips. But inwardly, they dishonored him with their hearts.
W. H. Griffith Thomas offers this caution about confusing head knowledge with heart knowledge in your relationship with God.
WALK WITH W. H. GRIFFITH THOMAS
“Nothing is easier than self-righteousness and self-deception in religion.
“It is possible—without any real change of heart—to know a great deal of Christian truth, to be occupied with Christian work, to be associated with Christian people, to know with great familiarity Christian jargon, to live largely in a Christian atmosphere, yet all the while be without the new life that comes from the Spirit of God.
“The danger of such a position is far greater than that of willful and deliberate sin. Our Lord was constantly warning his hearers against such false assumptions.”
WALK CLOSER TO GOD
The Jews thought they were close to God. In reality, they were an eternity away.
Jesus warned, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord …’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me’ “ (Matthew 7:22-23). Hard words. Words that remind you that Christianity is more than facts and actions. It involves an inward transformation of heart.
You can fool your friends with the things you know, the words you use, the good works you do. But outward ritual can never replace the inward relationship God wants to have with you today—and every day!
Advertisement
