Jesus and the End of Religion
Pastor Dave Moore
Old Testament Reading: Leviticus 16: 15-28
“He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
“Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
“When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.
“Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
“The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
What we think about the Bible absolutely shapes us. God has given us the Bible because it is what He wants us to know about Him and how He wants us to live. ~ D Moore
The final word of God was Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to set up a religion. He came to bring us close to God. Religions are good at making rules, good at trying to externally shape our lives, but God sent Jesus to internally shape our lives. ~ D Moore
I am absolutely convinced God is pleased when we begin and maintain a personal relationship with Jesus and then with God. Living to obey rules is tedious; living to please God can be exciting. ~ D Moore
New Testament reading: Hebrews 8: 1-2, 7-13
“Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
By calling this covenant “new,” He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
Theme: What I want us to think about today is that Jesus did come to end religion and substitute a radical new relationship with God. A covenantal relationship, a relationship rather than a religion. ~ D Moore
(Genesis 14: 13-24) To have the priest sit at the right hand of God becomes the person inhabiting both roles. The unique thing to see is the priest is seated while serving and ministering. ~ D Moore
What religions have in common?
All religions believe behind the nature of the world that we can see and touch there is a deeper ultimate reality.
Philosophy tells you how to live but without a deeper reality
There is a gap between the deeper reality and us
The gap needs to be addressed; most religions say we have to do something about that gap.
Religions differ in how the gap should be dealt with: sacrifice, financial giving, prayer, meditation, or good deeds. Other religions say the divine is in us, we have to tap into it. Others feel they don’t need religion of the past to understand life: Science explains everything and there is not a deeper reality. The more science explained, the less people would need religion and it would fade away. D Moore
Funny thing happened on the way to and away from the church. The number of Christians adherent world-wide is growing. ~ D Moore
“You can’t go on “seeing through” things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. To “see through” all things is the same as not to see.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Christianity though says embrace Jesus because he didn’t come to set up a new religion. He is a priest and a king, an interesting combination. (A king represents God to people and brings the laws, but the priest represents the people to God. The priest helps the people make sacrifices for their atonement). ~ D Moore
Do you see how Jesus fits into that gap between God and us? Hebrews is all about helping us see who Jesus is. ~ D Moore
Jesus is the way to God. Jesus’s life, death and resurrection is the path through which we get to God and Good gets to us. ~ D Moore
The word “religion” in the New Testament never applies to Christianity. The Roman’s interpretation of Christianity was that they were “atheists”.
~ D Moore
Imagine a Christian explaining Christianity to the Romans: No, we don’t have a temple, Jesus is the temple. No, we don’t have any priest, Jesus is our priest. No, we don’t do sacrifice because Jesus was our sacrifice once and for all. No, we don’t have to do anything, we are accepted by Jesus. All we have to do is accept Jesus. Christianity is not like any religions. It is a relationship. ~ D Moore
The covenant relationship is based on God’s promises. ~ D Moore
Our relationship with God is binding and also intimate. ~ D Moore
The new covenant in Christ is not a religion but a relationship. The new covenant God forgives the sins of His people and forgets them. The old covenant was conditional, the new covenant in Jesus is unconditional. ~ D Moore
God took the first step towards us by having Jesus take our sins and was forsaken, so God could see the good of Christ in us. He actively forgives and forgets our sins. Christ has bound Himself to us.
How do we know we are in the intimate, covenantal relationship with God? Intimacy rather than formality; overwhelming sense of God’s love; Scriptures come alive; your prayer is a conversation; when you are reprimanded, you apologize. ~ D Moore
Equality instead of hierarchy. They will all know me from the least to the greatest. Jesus hangs out with all of mankind, warts and all. (In religion, we are responsible for bridging the gap between God and us). But we are saved by grace, we all are lost without Jesus.
Community over individualism. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. We join a new family, new Kingdom of followers helping others find Christ. ~ D Moore
Jesus is recreating the world through redemption and making new people to inhabit it. ~ D Moore
The church is about meeting others’ needs. We all are flawed but I’m going to be true to them, even if they aren’t always what I wish there were. ~ D Moore
Our covenant relationship of love and grace is given to us all and we both receive the grace of God and love and we are to allow that to flow from our lives into our community. ~ D Moore
Have a great week. God bless.