Daily Devotional for Saturday, October 28

The Condemnation

“And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,” Mark 12:38.

Most of us have worked with a coworker who never does anything on a routine basis but suddenly springs to life when the bosses come around. Then it is a pure dog and pony show. If you have not, then you probably have worked with the one who does nothing for an entire project but shows up when things are wrapping up to share in the high fives and congratulations. We say that person is “all talk.” That is what the Pharisees were, “all talk.”

Many today, just like the Pharisees, are so caught up in self-righteous legalism that they have actually managed to convince themselves they have followed enough rules to make themselves worthy of God. If fact, they thought they were so special that they could help God out by adding many of their own rules to His Law! Again, we ought not to be surprised, as we love to add things to God’s Word that really are not there at all. Specifically, we like to take the rules we love to follow and insist loudly that following them is right from the mouth of God.

In our devotional passage, Jesus told His listeners to beware of those folks. Why? Because they are dangerous! Those who think they are earning their way to Heaven through their works are actually busy working themselves straight to hell. Then we must ask how we protect ourselves from such false teachers. As with all things related to life and faith, the answers are in God’s Word. It was good enough for Jesus when He contended with Satan, and it is good enough for you today as well. 

JUST A THOUGHT: We sure get full of ourselves, when what we need to be is full of the Holy Spirit.

Wally Fry