Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones.

I made it home last evening from another day skiing at Mt. Bachelor. Good time. My brother rode with me up to the ski area with me. We encountered a herd of elk on the way back. That was cool.

OK…the guy is here now. I’ve been waiting for him to come so I could put some graphics on his truck.

Better go.

Love, Dad/Ray.

If you have carefully read the Gospels that contain the teaching of Christ, and if your resulting perspective is basically compatible with mine, you will also recognize with me that there is nothing more repulsive, putrid, perverse, and ugly to Jesus than EMPTY DEAD RELIGION. By that I mean the appearance of godliness without spiritual wisdom, understanding, true worship, or life-changing power (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Col. 1:9-14). I think we are faced with the same conclusion again with Jesus’ response to the challenge from the Sadducees who present their hypothetical question about marriage in the resurrection (resurrection being something they deny). Here they are, posing as people who know God and His Word, people who appear to be highly committed and disciplined in their faith. But their whole package of belief and behavior is just a bunch of #^@&%$!!!…or whatever you want to call it. Jesus clearly rebukes them by saying, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” They are not just a little bit off course—“You are badly mistaken” (12:27). Can you imagine a more scalding judgment against people who claim to represent the Truth of God?!—especially from One Who Is The Truth of God!

I love the line Jesus uses in the first part of verse 27: “He (God) is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And I think it applies to this matter of RELIGION as well. He does not wish to claim any authorship to DEAD RELIGION. But living faith and relationship with Him that engages a person in life-changing power, that’s a completely different matter—as different as darkness is from light, or death is from life.

Jesus ends up this section with a strong warning to avoid DEAD RELIGION and those who push and represent it. “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely” (12:38-40).

We will be wise to do everything we can to avoid the trap and trappings of DEAD RELIGION.