Will the Real Sinner Please Bow Down.

Class Outline:

Sunday May 18, 2025

Intro: Deception is the leader and self-deception is the follower, and both fall into a pit. 

 

MAT 15:1-6

 

MAT 15:7-9

"You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

8 'This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

9 'But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' "

 

That generation in Israel sought to honor God with their tradition and never drew near to God. Lips just means recited words with no heart or understanding.

 

Ultimately it is self-deceiving. We must lift the veil off of God and self.

 

There was something beyond the veil and God took the risk that they would stop at the veil and worship it.

 

Main Idea: True worship of God is only done from a person’s heart; the real him or her who acknowledges God’s power and authority and bows to Him in obedience.

 

What is not in this statement is the call to change yourself. Peculiar to Christianity is that the sinner, in all his or her filth, is told to bow down in the clean, pure, holy court of the Almighty who created him.

 

 

Honor God in worship and teaching. How they can go wrong.

 

Worship in Spirit and in truth. Teach the Scripture.

 

God demands our submission on our innermost person.

 

MAT 15:10-11

After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand.  11 "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."

 

Defiled: koinoo  = make common or impure (4x - major theme in this passage).

 

ACT 10:15

Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy [2nd imperative of koinoo]."

 

HEB 9:13-14

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

 

The person is defiled by sins, all of which originate within the heart.

 

The believer must hear and understand that it is not that which goes into the mouth that defiles him but what comes out from the heart.

 

It is the heart that needs to be cleansed.

 

What ritual or human tradition could clean the heart?

 

MAT 15:12-14

Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" [Jesus needs to move to a safe zone] 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.  14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

 

Many will be offended (especially today) by the life of Christ.

 

Who can climb the mountain of God (Psa 15; 24; 68)?

 

Psa 15

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?

Who may dwell on Your holy hill?

2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart.

3 He does not slander with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

But who honors those who fear the Lord;

He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 He does not put out his money at interest,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

 

PSA 24:1-4

The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains,

The world, and those who dwell in it.

2 For He has founded it upon the seas

And established it upon the rivers.

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?

And who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood

And has not sworn deceitfully.

 

That rules us out …until:

 

PSA 68:18

You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives;

You have received gifts among men,

 

MAT 15:15-20

Peter said to Him, "Explain the parable to us." 16 Jesus said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also?  17 "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?  18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.  19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.  20 "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man."

 

In order to understand, the believer must seek and ask for the truth.

 

Tradition is easier than changing a heart.

 

COL 2:8, 20-23 (ABCs of the world include reason, tradition, and pagan thinking).

 

Attractive and easy but they are not worship; not rewarding; have no power against the flesh.

 

Define honor: JOH 5:24, you bow to the power of God over life and death.

 

Define worship (synonym to honor).

 

JOH 4:24, spirit and truth (heart and Word).

Death and life are not in our hands, which should make any remotely humble person bow before God in fear.  

 

REV 4:10, Worthy is the Creator.

 

Bow down, acknowledge all authority, revere greatness.

 

Worship is to: [all day, every day - not church alone]

 

Bow in heart.

 

Acknowledge truth of power and authority in mind.

 

Obey in will.

 

Quality of worship is measured by how much you love all of them - love Him (Col 3).

 

Rejection of worship (ROM 1:25; 2TH 2:4).

 

Application:

 

This text unveils the tendency that we have to substitute fantasy for real. Real is much harder, but in the long run much easier (the only way to get to where all want to go).

 

The reason you can deceive yourself is that self essentially wants the easy way.

 

It also reminds us of our need for Christ. We cannot fulfill life without Him. People and things are not going to fill your heart.

 

When you do it right, your life will offend many - leave them to the Judge.

 

Sin must be overcome. Plain and simple. It is overcome by seeing and knowing Christ and not lying to yourself that you do.

 

The real person of Christ is in the Scripture; inspired by God and inerrant. Read, listen, and study with seeking Him in mind. Don’t learn for any other reason.

 

Human traditions or doctrines made from human reason will never honor God, therefore you are never to be fooled by them.