New Wednesday Night Class!

Starting on Wednesday night, September 7th, we will be going through the articles of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, one by one.  I don’t have a specific end-date in mind, so this may very well carry us into the new year.  Considering our year of prayer regarding our continued association with the SBC, it is vital that we study and understand what

In Mark 7:5 the Pharisees questioned Jesus as to why His disciples did not properly wash their hands before eating.  To be sure, the hand washing in question had nothing to do with the removal germs from one’s hands, but rather, it was about traditional Jewish ceremonial customs.  The Pharisees considered themselves to be morally defiled if they had touched anything Gentile or otherwise been around non-Jewish people.  In other words, they believed that their act of handwashing was for the removal of sin!  They followed these traditions in a failed attempt to present themselves as righteous before God.  How ridiculous is that?!

Yet…

I once observed a life-long deacon in a Baptist church approach a family of first-time visitors just prior to the start of the worship service, and rather than warmly welcoming them to the service, he instructed the young boys in the family to remove their ball caps.  The deacon then smiled and nodded and continued to make his way up the aisle of pews, shaking hands with others in the crowd.

Just a few days ago I came across a card I had received many years ago during pastoral appreciation month.  The card was nice, and was personally signed by a member of the church, along with a hand-written postscript which stated, “It would be nice if you would start tucking your shirt in.”  Unfortunately, this was not part of an inside joke.  The sender was entirely serious.

Jesus offered a specific response to the Pharisees who made the comments in Mark 7.  He quoted Isaiah 29:13 and applied it directly to them, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”  In other words, “You’re just going through the motions, but you’re not actually concerned with what God commands – you’re just concerned with making yourselves feel good.”

We must be very careful as we approach the Lord in worship.  Yes, obedience is important – mandatory even – but we must understand that since none of us can live in perfect obedience, proper worship requires personal humility and charity toward others.  We must examine our hearts continually and assume the most of others in our congregation, that they are doing the same.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com