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Sunday Evening, April 25, 2010,
...Having
a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away. - 2Timothy 3:5
This
evening, we had a nice gathering, although we were fewer in number.
We had great singing, freedom in the Spirit, sharing in the word and
good discussion. We talked about the danger of developing or having
a form of godliness, but denying the power. We asked six of the
young people to memorize one of the first six steps of the process
below and then we walked through a couple of real examples to
demonstrate how one can develop a religious form, at the expense of
truth and freedom.
|
Step 1 |
At first the form is a true expression of service and
worship. This brings true liberty and freedom. |
Liberty |
|
Step 2 |
Then the form becomes so familiar that one can go through it
without thought or consideration. |
Legalism |
|
Step 3 |
After this has taken place long enough, one can go through
the form of worship without even meaning it; in other words,
without sincerity. |
|
Step 4 |
Then it becomes an easy thing to gradually substitute the
form as having some kind of power in itself. |
|
Step 5 |
When these steps have been taken, one comes to the place
where he maintains the form even though it now has no life
in it. |
|
Step 6 |
The final step is to defend the form while opposing the very
thing the form once meant. |
|
Step 7 |
Given time, and possibly a generation or two, the final step
is to apostatize by abandoning the form for the purpose of
liberty (an occasion of the flesh). |
Apostasy |
We must
all guard ourselves against developing a mere form, where a form is
defined as a empty expression or appearance of the real expression.
God hates it when people simply have a form of religion or when they
take up a form and leave off the truth behind the form. As one
brother said tonight, these types of forms can cause us to get into
a spiritual rut, and they simply become rituals. While various forms
may be truly based on a genuine expression of service and worship,
over time, they can become habits or traditions which, if not
properly kept from the heart, can lead to a powerless religion.
At this point they are simply mindless commandments which become
very dangerous because "the letter killeth, but the spirit gives life."
People
develop religious forms individually, and groups of people can
collectively develop religious forms as well. Anything that is
repeated often can become a form. For example: the manner in which
we conduct a meeting can be a form. i.e., singing, prayer, teaching,
etc... Even praying before meals can become a form. Taking unspoken
prayer requests "by the uplifting of the hand" can be a form or
expression that is not from the heart. Forms come in many shapes and
sizes, but all lead to a powerless religion.
Jesus told the church in Ephesus "I know thy works [they had a form
of religion} ... but you have left your first love".
Paul
made it clear that in the last days, there would be many who simply
have a form of godliness, but who deny the power that is available
through true expression and worship in the spirit and truth. It is
necessary and needful that we all examine ourselves to make sure
that we are doing the right thing for the right reason.
Anything
less than that will eventually lead to a form and ultimately a
powerless religion is sure to follow. When we come to realize that
we have developed a powerless form, Paul said "from such, turn
away". |
