IN exposing the hypocrisy and sin of following traditions which we looked at in the previous meditation, Jesus seals his words by quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah. The quotation is taken from Isaiah 29:13. This quotation opens up to us a problem which is of serious consequence both for the health of the church, and also for true religion in the soul.

Let us observe what Isaiah is saying in the quotation. In verse 8 the prophet is speaking of the fact that outwardly a person can be honouring God, but in reality this is not so. Then in verse 9 the prophet draws a conclusion from this which is that worship of God can become vain, and tradition, the opinions of human beings, replace the truth of God in the teaching the church is giving.

Christ has used this quotation from Isaiah to point out that the important thing in our relationship with God is the heart. By the heart the Bible means the inner disposition, feeling and motivation. It is not sufficient to obey a number of outward rules, and then imagine that this fills our obligation to God. What God requires and looks for is holiness and righteousness within a person.

Jesus also exposes the tendency amongst human beings to imagine that we are righteous if our outward behaviour is good. This fools other human beings, but it does not find acceptance from God unless the heart is holy also. It is one of Satan's lies that what is important is our outward behaviour, and if this is good and acceptable, then we are acceptable to God. The problem goes even deeper because the devil encourages us to believe that by following the outward rules we have gained merit and so earned God's approval. Here is the problem of so much self-denial, so called, which is carried out in Lent. We can so easily give up something in Lent, and then feel when we have succeeded that we have earned brownie points before God. The truth of the matter is that such outward action can't earn merit before God, and is of no value at all if the heart is not touched and purified in by the action. If the self-denial in Lent is done for these wrong reasons then they are not only worthless, but also a danger to our souls.

Those of us who worship God Sunday by Sunday need to examine ourselves by these prophetic words from Isaiah. It is not enough simply to sing the hymns, and join in the prayers. This is only honouring God with our lips, and if what we are saying does not come from the heart then it is dishonouring to God rather than honouring, and is in fact deception and lies, rather than true worship.

Outward religion of forms and traditions is only vain worship, because God simply does not accept it. Jesus pointed this out in the story he told of the Pharisee and the Tax collector who prayed in the temple, though in different places. The Pharisee prayed to God with his lips. He outlines before God all the various good things he had done. He told God about his fasting and his tithing of his money. He told God about his acts of charity. He was proud of how well he supposed he had done. Jesus said that his prayers were not heard by God.

There are hundreds of church goers who are like this. They go regularly to church, and give their money to charity and the church. They live good and respectable lives, but these are all outward things, and are of no consequence before God. What is important is the condition of the heart before God. These church goers are imagining that they are in God's favour and that they are on their way to heaven, when they are not. The traditions which they espouse have blinded their understanding, and left their soul in danger of everlasting damnation, for if they go on this way they will end up in hell.

The fact is that traditions and thinking like this leads to superficial religion, and errors of teaching come to the forefront of church life. So we see in the Church of England today people being taught that if they have been baptised as a baby they have been magically and automatically born again. They believe this even though there is no evidence of such new birth in their lives. Then again there is a common belief or tradition these days in the Church of England that by simply attending Holy Communion and partaking of the bread and wine people have obtained salvation. But all this is outward. Baptism has no value of itself. Baptism is only a powerful sign and seal of God's favour and goodness when the heart is truly penitent before God, and there is a humble and heartfelt faith in Jesus as the only one who can cleanse them from sin and save them from the evil consequences of sin, and its punishment of eternal death. Holy Communion is only of value if there is a lively faith in Christ and his death for sinners. As we eat the bread and wine it is not the physical eating that has any effect, it is rather the spiritual eating by faith on what the bread and wine signifies, which is that Christ gave his life to suffer the just punishment of God against our sins.