This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Drawing near with the mouth and honoring with the lips while the heart stays far away is empty mockery, for outward words, gatherings and ceremonies are not true honor unless worshipers turn from evil and worship in spirit and truth and holiness. It was spoken in conflict with scribes and Pharisees who came to accuse Him, when they exalted human traditions and ceremonial washings and minor rules above the great principles of God's commandments. Such worship is vain because putting human customs, maxims and sayings in place of God's commandments displaces the living Word, obscures its true meaning and makes the law void and of no effect. In this He declared the Jewish leaders hypocrites who discarded truth for tradition in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, and the same condemnation rests on professing Christians who promise obedience yet follow invented rules, set aside the Sabbath of Eden and exalt a spurious sabbath of men. Mere profession without willing love and obedience from a changed heart is deceit and worthless and cannot save, for outward honor can coexist with a heart controlled by evil, so a daily heart-searching experience that shapes character is required.
Words and Historical Setting
The rebuke was spoken in direct conflict with scribes and Pharisees who came to find grounds for accusing Him, when the issue was their elevation of human traditions above God's commandments. Their attention to ceremonial washings and minor rules turned them away from the great principles of the law, giving greater weight to human tradition than to God's law.
The charge was uttered with calmness, power and authority unlike the hesitating scribes, discerning the policy to cover truth with superstition and tradition. He rescued truth and gave it to the world clothed with more than its original glory and lustre, to implant among men great truths whose value few knew. It exposes the leaders as unconverted and unsanctified by truth, letting self shape religious life. They were impenitent and self-sufficient, their religious life become a pretense claiming loyalty while refusing obedience despite abundant evidence of authority and divine power for lack of the spirit leading to obedience. Their claim to righteousness and concern for the nation hid rejection of Christ and resistance to God, and their self-satisfaction was part of their spiritual deception. They repeated long prayers to be heard by others and gain a reputation for piety, yet were spiritually ignorant and unready to receive the Messiah. They put human traditions above God's commandments and opposed and killed over humanly devised ceremonial rules. Outward religious honor thus coexisted with a heart far from God.
The most learned rabbis brought a mass of human tradition into interpretation of the Scriptures and exalted traditions and maxims of men above the Word of God. Maxims and customs handed down through the rabbis from generation to generation were made all-essential and regarded as of more force than the Ten Commandments, and the precepts and teachings of men were dwelt upon as of more value than the words of the living God and than a Thus saith the Lord. So few understood the true requirements of God and practiced pure principles that all who connected with the religious teachers expecting to receive proper education in accordance with the Word became confused. In youth Jesus would take no interest in the multitudinous traditions and ceremonies, would not follow any custom requiring departure from the will of God, would not place Himself under those exalting men's words above God's word, and would not observe meaningless forms or rehearse maxims. He moved independently without direct attack on their reiterated Thou shalt and Thou shalt not, shutting such formalities out of mind to avoid corruption and needless conflict that would weaken later influence, showing it is better to prevent evil than to correct it after it gains a foothold.
Empty Worship Exposed
To draw near with the mouth and honor with the lips while the heart stays far away is mockery toward God, speaking with a mouth of guile, and outward words, religious acts and ceremonies do not amount to true honor. Merely gathering to worship is not enough, for worshipers must turn from evil and worship in spirit and truth and in holiness. This emptiness was seen when sacrifices that represented Christ were offered and the Saviour was sought through ceremonies, yet Christ Himself when He came in fulfillment of them was refused and not received. It was exposed also by distorted interpretation of the word and by unrighteous conduct, revealing the gap between religious profession and the inner life, and by teachings, traditions and maxims that could occupy the mind while drawing people away from the word.
God looks upon the heart rather than outward acts, and He is not more present in a temple or shrine than elsewhere, but encompasses people wherever they dwell and hears them there. Multiplying words in prayer, weary pilgrimages, unprofitable works, offerings, prayers to the virgin and saints, cowls, shaven crowns and gold-adorned garments have no power or efficacy to secure His favor while the heart is far off. Liberty and complete remission come only through the gospel, through Christ who offered Himself on the cross once for all as the satisfying sacrifice for eternity for the sins of believers.
Outward profession does not prove loyalty, for people may claim to be on the Lord's side while serving another. True allegiance is shown by who has the heart, where the thoughts turn, whom one loves to speak about, and where the warmest affections and best energies are given. Those truly on the Lord's side cherish thoughts of Him, give themselves to Him, and seek to reflect His character, share His Spirit, do His will and please Him.
Mere profession without willing, genuine love and obedience is deceit and worthless, and cannot secure entrance into the Holy City and a right to the tree of life, while blessing rests on all who love and obey. Lip service is insufficient, for genuine change must begin in the heart and shape character and the way a person lives, so as not to misrepresent Christ or lead others into sin.
Professing the truth alone does not save when the heart is controlled by evil and produces selfishness, covetousness, pride and evil passions. What is needed is a heart-searching daily experience, for people can honor with words while heart and actions oppose Him. Lukewarm professors who persist in sins that God hates become a hindrance to faithful believers and to unbelievers alike and a stumbling block, but when those sins are subdued Christ comes into fellowship, gives divine strength, and they grow in Him and gain victory. This same condition appears in teachers who use human traditions to set aside the law, turning people from the commandments and drowning out His voice.
Tradition Replaces God's Law
Honoring God with words is empty when human teachings replace His word, for preoccupation with inherited traditions can occupy the mind with matters that do not concern salvation while drawing people away from God's word and causing them to pass by its precious truths. Teachers relied on repeated human maxims, fiction and false interpretations, distorting Scripture, obscuring its clear teaching and its prophecies about Christ, and making obedience to God's commandments seem a needless burden of ceremonies that weakened respect for God. The most learned rabbis brought a mass of human tradition into interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures and exalted traditions and maxims of men above the Word of God, so that few understood the true requirements and practiced pure principles, and seekers expecting proper education according to the Word became confused. These traditions hid the plain meaning of His Word and left people confused, and part of that failure is misreading God's messages to fit one's own ideas.
Human customs and sayings put in place of God's commandments displace the living Word, obscure its true meaning, and make the commandments ineffective and void. Customs and traditions were treated as more important than God's commandments, so human teachings displaced the living Word of God, and teachers used human traditions to set aside God's law, turning people from His commandments and drowning out His voice. Keeping religious rules while ignoring the law's underlying principles of love for God and others voids the law, while Christ reveals that the law reaches the heart and its motives. Such worship is vain because it teaches the commandments of men as doctrine, accepting the sayings of men as God's commandments and presenting human inventions as divine truth.
The Jewish teachers honored God outwardly with words and temple services while their hearts were far from Him, for their explanations of Scripture relied on repeated maxims and fiction. Although they offered sacrifices that represented Christ and asked for the Saviour through their ceremonies, they refused to recognize or receive Him when He was among them, whom those ceremonies represented. Strict observance of religious forms and traditions did not honor God when it set aside His law, and the rulers' claim to righteousness and concern for the nation hid their rejection of Christ and their resistance to God. Satan beclouded the understanding of even the chosen people so that, separated from God, they could not discern sacred things, prophecies were made indistinct, and precious truth was buried under rubbish and hidden from sight.
The Sabbath given at the creation of the world lost its true significance under piled-up human inventions, maxims and traditions, and teaching the commandments of men as doctrines made worship vain.
Prophecy Doctrine and Scripture
Christ's declaration stands against the Jewish nation as hypocrites because they had discarded truth for tradition, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy. Their worship was outward profession with mouth and lips while the heart was far from God, and therefore vain because they taught the commandments of men as doctrine. He came to implant among men great truths whose value few knew, and He uttered this charge with calmness, power and authority unlike the hesitating scribes, discerning the policy to cover truth with superstition and tradition, rescuing truth and giving it clothed with more than its original glory and lustre.
The leaders are portrayed as the son who said I go, sir, and went not, their religious life become a pretense claiming loyalty while refusing to obey God's law. Though convinced by abundant evidence of Christ's authority and divine power, they would not receive it because they lacked the spirit that leads to obedience, remaining impenitent and self-sufficient. They made void the law of God by their traditions, so drawing near with mouth and lips while the heart was far away made worship vain. The same warning applies to professing Christians who promise obedience but follow rules of their own invention, reject God's commandments and set aside the Sabbath.
Making void God's law by teaching men's doctrines while honoring with mouth and lips led the once-elect nation to reject the Son of God. The same course is reached when people accept and exalt a spurious sabbath and turn souls away from obedience and loyalty to God. Rulers show zeal in taking the false sabbath under the care and protection of law to restore to the man of sin his lost ascendancy, placing divine honors upon it. When this is fully done the commandments of men are clothed with sacred garments and pronounced holy, and persecution breaks forth upon those who observe the Sabbath given in Eden as a memorial of creative power.
Observance of the first day of the week by the majority honors with mouth and lips while the heart is far, because the Bible gives no authority for the change either in precept or in example of Christ or His followers, but follows traditions of men instead of a divine Thus saith the Lord. This is the constant work to lead men away from God's commandments to veneration and obedience of the traditions of the world. Disloyal men who transgress the holy Sabbath, argue over the plainest statements of the Word, misinterpret and twist the Scriptures from their true meaning to excuse disobedience stand under the same condemnation given to the scribes and Pharisees. They are called to heed what is truth and to turn from traditions, maxims and sayings of men to Christ as Teacher, the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, knowing what is truth by a Thus saith the Lord.
Even the chosen people were beclouded in understanding and separated from God so they could not discern sacred things, with prophecies made indistinct and precious truth buried under rubbish and hidden from sight. The Sabbath given at creation lost its true significance under piled-up human inventions, maxims and traditions, and teaching the commandments of men as doctrines made worship vain. Man's inventions and traditions are unreliable and dangerous because they place men where God should be and place sayings of men where a divine Thus saith the Lord should be, accepting the sayings of men as God's commandments. Christ's teachings are old truths in new settings sending divine light back upon the entire Jewish economy as the veiled gospel, unlocking the treasure house of the Old Testament, separating precious truth from superstition, error and devisings of men, and calling minds to look to God Himself as Author of all truth.
Tradition and commandments of men must not be put in place of the word of God, for the Bible is the foundation of faith and every doctrine must be shown from it and renounced if found in error. Those holding doctrines without a plain divine authority stand condemned, so they refuse to bring views to the test and try to wrench the Scriptures from defenders of the faith. Access to God's word helps reveal the difference between formal worship and truth, for people may take part in ceremonies and outward words and religious forms without discerning that service must come from a living heart and that their hearts are far from God. The verse was fulfilled in Jews whose minds filled with prejudice misunderstood plain lessons, hated Christ for not siding with the leaders, opposed Him, counteracted His efforts and made His words of no effect. It is fulfilled in many professed believers today who study to prove their own ideas correct, change meaning to suit opinions, quote half a sentence omitting the half exposing their error, and wrest Scriptures and testimonies to preconceived ideas, with whom God has a controversy.
God is not more present in temple or shrine than elsewhere, but encompasses people wherever they dwell and hears them there, looking upon the heart rather than outward acts. Honoring with mouth and lips, multiplying words in prayer, weary pilgrimages, unprofitable works, offerings, prayers to the virgin and saints, cowls, shaven crowns and gold-adorned garments have no power to secure favor while the heart is far off. Outward religious forms and words do not amount to honoring God when the heart is distant, and the warning fits rejection of lifeless formalism and of teaching human traditions as God's commands. Liberty and complete remission come only through the gospel, through Christ who offered Himself on the cross once for all as the satisfying sacrifice for eternity for believers' sins.
Call to Heart Obedience
The verse describes lukewarm professors of religion in these last days in the fitting-up time to appear before God. Their hearts are controlled by evil angels rather than by divine truth, shown by selfishness, covetousness, pride and evil passions instead of good works and an elevated, noble-hearted, generous character. They lean on a false hope, an old experience and mere profession of truth instead of a daily, heart-searching experience, and they refuse to examine themselves closely. Profession of truth alone does not save when the heart remains far and is controlled by evil, for religious words and drawing near with the lips do not prove devotion. Those with far hearts keep the sins God hates and have nothing to relate, and they are a continual weight to faithful followers, a stumbling-block to unbelievers, and a curse to the cause at home and abroad, causing evil angels to exult and taunt God's angels, so it would please God more if they had never named His name.
When the sins God hates are subdued, Christ dwells within and comes into fellowship, giving divine strength and victory so they grow in Him.
Making the customs and maxims of the scribes and Pharisees and traditions handed down through the rabbis all-essential and of more force than the Ten Commandments kept back even Christ's few followers and disciples from advancing, from supplying their lack of knowledge, and from becoming efficient workers and reaching the usefulness they might have reached. The precepts and teachings of men were dwelt upon as of more value than the words of the living God and than a Thus saith the Lord. The most learned rabbis brought a mass of human tradition into interpretation of the Scriptures and exalted traditions and maxims above the Word, so few understood the true requirements and practiced pure principles that seekers expecting proper education became confused. The same misconception of what is most essential hinders spiritual education when schools pattern after other schools instead of critically studying and doing the Word under its guidance.
The verse applies to teachers who honor with words while heart and actions oppose Him, who use human traditions to set aside God's law, turning people from His commandments and drowning out His voice. They replace God's law with human traditions and present human inventions as divine truth. In contrast stands clear teaching joined with practical obedience rather than teaching joined with transgression.
Drawing near with the mouth and honoring with the lips while the heart stays far away is empty mockery, for outward words, gatherings and ceremonies are not true honor unless worshipers turn from evil and worship in spirit and truth and holiness. It was spoken in conflict with scribes and Pharisees who came to accuse Him, when they exalted human traditions and ceremonial washings and minor rules above the great principles of God's commandments. Such worship is vain because putting human customs, maxims and sayings in place of God's commandments displaces the living Word, obscures its true meaning and makes the law void and of no effect. In this He declared the Jewish leaders hypocrites who discarded truth for tradition in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, and the same condemnation rests on professing Christians who promise obedience yet follow invented rules, set aside the Sabbath of Eden and exalt a spurious sabbath of men. Mere profession without willing love and obedience from a changed heart is deceit and worthless and cannot save, for outward honor can coexist with a heart controlled by evil, so a daily heart-searching experience that shapes character is required.
Words and Historical Setting
The rebuke was spoken in direct conflict with scribes and Pharisees who came to find grounds for accusing Him, when the issue was their elevation of human traditions above God's commandments. Their attention to ceremonial washings and minor rules turned them away from the great principles of the law, giving greater weight to human tradition than to God's law.
The charge was uttered with calmness, power and authority unlike the hesitating scribes, discerning the policy to cover truth with superstition and tradition. He rescued truth and gave it to the world clothed with more than its original glory and lustre, to implant among men great truths whose value few knew. It exposes the leaders as unconverted and unsanctified by truth, letting self shape religious life. They were impenitent and self-sufficient, their religious life become a pretense claiming loyalty while refusing obedience despite abundant evidence of authority and divine power for lack of the spirit leading to obedience. Their claim to righteousness and concern for the nation hid rejection of Christ and resistance to God, and their self-satisfaction was part of their spiritual deception. They repeated long prayers to be heard by others and gain a reputation for piety, yet were spiritually ignorant and unready to receive the Messiah. They put human traditions above God's commandments and opposed and killed over humanly devised ceremonial rules. Outward religious honor thus coexisted with a heart far from God.
The most learned rabbis brought a mass of human tradition into interpretation of the Scriptures and exalted traditions and maxims of men above the Word of God. Maxims and customs handed down through the rabbis from generation to generation were made all-essential and regarded as of more force than the Ten Commandments, and the precepts and teachings of men were dwelt upon as of more value than the words of the living God and than a Thus saith the Lord. So few understood the true requirements of God and practiced pure principles that all who connected with the religious teachers expecting to receive proper education in accordance with the Word became confused. In youth Jesus would take no interest in the multitudinous traditions and ceremonies, would not follow any custom requiring departure from the will of God, would not place Himself under those exalting men's words above God's word, and would not observe meaningless forms or rehearse maxims. He moved independently without direct attack on their reiterated Thou shalt and Thou shalt not, shutting such formalities out of mind to avoid corruption and needless conflict that would weaken later influence, showing it is better to prevent evil than to correct it after it gains a foothold.
Empty Worship Exposed
To draw near with the mouth and honor with the lips while the heart stays far away is mockery toward God, speaking with a mouth of guile, and outward words, religious acts and ceremonies do not amount to true honor. Merely gathering to worship is not enough, for worshipers must turn from evil and worship in spirit and truth and in holiness. This emptiness was seen when sacrifices that represented Christ were offered and the Saviour was sought through ceremonies, yet Christ Himself when He came in fulfillment of them was refused and not received. It was exposed also by distorted interpretation of the word and by unrighteous conduct, revealing the gap between religious profession and the inner life, and by teachings, traditions and maxims that could occupy the mind while drawing people away from the word.
God looks upon the heart rather than outward acts, and He is not more present in a temple or shrine than elsewhere, but encompasses people wherever they dwell and hears them there. Multiplying words in prayer, weary pilgrimages, unprofitable works, offerings, prayers to the virgin and saints, cowls, shaven crowns and gold-adorned garments have no power or efficacy to secure His favor while the heart is far off. Liberty and complete remission come only through the gospel, through Christ who offered Himself on the cross once for all as the satisfying sacrifice for eternity for the sins of believers.
Outward profession does not prove loyalty, for people may claim to be on the Lord's side while serving another. True allegiance is shown by who has the heart, where the thoughts turn, whom one loves to speak about, and where the warmest affections and best energies are given. Those truly on the Lord's side cherish thoughts of Him, give themselves to Him, and seek to reflect His character, share His Spirit, do His will and please Him.
Mere profession without willing, genuine love and obedience is deceit and worthless, and cannot secure entrance into the Holy City and a right to the tree of life, while blessing rests on all who love and obey. Lip service is insufficient, for genuine change must begin in the heart and shape character and the way a person lives, so as not to misrepresent Christ or lead others into sin.
Professing the truth alone does not save when the heart is controlled by evil and produces selfishness, covetousness, pride and evil passions. What is needed is a heart-searching daily experience, for people can honor with words while heart and actions oppose Him. Lukewarm professors who persist in sins that God hates become a hindrance to faithful believers and to unbelievers alike and a stumbling block, but when those sins are subdued Christ comes into fellowship, gives divine strength, and they grow in Him and gain victory. This same condition appears in teachers who use human traditions to set aside the law, turning people from the commandments and drowning out His voice.
Tradition Replaces God's Law
Honoring God with words is empty when human teachings replace His word, for preoccupation with inherited traditions can occupy the mind with matters that do not concern salvation while drawing people away from God's word and causing them to pass by its precious truths. Teachers relied on repeated human maxims, fiction and false interpretations, distorting Scripture, obscuring its clear teaching and its prophecies about Christ, and making obedience to God's commandments seem a needless burden of ceremonies that weakened respect for God. The most learned rabbis brought a mass of human tradition into interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures and exalted traditions and maxims of men above the Word of God, so that few understood the true requirements and practiced pure principles, and seekers expecting proper education according to the Word became confused. These traditions hid the plain meaning of His Word and left people confused, and part of that failure is misreading God's messages to fit one's own ideas.
Human customs and sayings put in place of God's commandments displace the living Word, obscure its true meaning, and make the commandments ineffective and void. Customs and traditions were treated as more important than God's commandments, so human teachings displaced the living Word of God, and teachers used human traditions to set aside God's law, turning people from His commandments and drowning out His voice. Keeping religious rules while ignoring the law's underlying principles of love for God and others voids the law, while Christ reveals that the law reaches the heart and its motives. Such worship is vain because it teaches the commandments of men as doctrine, accepting the sayings of men as God's commandments and presenting human inventions as divine truth.
The Jewish teachers honored God outwardly with words and temple services while their hearts were far from Him, for their explanations of Scripture relied on repeated maxims and fiction. Although they offered sacrifices that represented Christ and asked for the Saviour through their ceremonies, they refused to recognize or receive Him when He was among them, whom those ceremonies represented. Strict observance of religious forms and traditions did not honor God when it set aside His law, and the rulers' claim to righteousness and concern for the nation hid their rejection of Christ and their resistance to God. Satan beclouded the understanding of even the chosen people so that, separated from God, they could not discern sacred things, prophecies were made indistinct, and precious truth was buried under rubbish and hidden from sight.
The Sabbath given at the creation of the world lost its true significance under piled-up human inventions, maxims and traditions, and teaching the commandments of men as doctrines made worship vain.
Prophecy Doctrine and Scripture
Christ's declaration stands against the Jewish nation as hypocrites because they had discarded truth for tradition, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy. Their worship was outward profession with mouth and lips while the heart was far from God, and therefore vain because they taught the commandments of men as doctrine. He came to implant among men great truths whose value few knew, and He uttered this charge with calmness, power and authority unlike the hesitating scribes, discerning the policy to cover truth with superstition and tradition, rescuing truth and giving it clothed with more than its original glory and lustre.
The leaders are portrayed as the son who said I go, sir, and went not, their religious life become a pretense claiming loyalty while refusing to obey God's law. Though convinced by abundant evidence of Christ's authority and divine power, they would not receive it because they lacked the spirit that leads to obedience, remaining impenitent and self-sufficient. They made void the law of God by their traditions, so drawing near with mouth and lips while the heart was far away made worship vain. The same warning applies to professing Christians who promise obedience but follow rules of their own invention, reject God's commandments and set aside the Sabbath.
Making void God's law by teaching men's doctrines while honoring with mouth and lips led the once-elect nation to reject the Son of God. The same course is reached when people accept and exalt a spurious sabbath and turn souls away from obedience and loyalty to God. Rulers show zeal in taking the false sabbath under the care and protection of law to restore to the man of sin his lost ascendancy, placing divine honors upon it. When this is fully done the commandments of men are clothed with sacred garments and pronounced holy, and persecution breaks forth upon those who observe the Sabbath given in Eden as a memorial of creative power.
Observance of the first day of the week by the majority honors with mouth and lips while the heart is far, because the Bible gives no authority for the change either in precept or in example of Christ or His followers, but follows traditions of men instead of a divine Thus saith the Lord. This is the constant work to lead men away from God's commandments to veneration and obedience of the traditions of the world. Disloyal men who transgress the holy Sabbath, argue over the plainest statements of the Word, misinterpret and twist the Scriptures from their true meaning to excuse disobedience stand under the same condemnation given to the scribes and Pharisees. They are called to heed what is truth and to turn from traditions, maxims and sayings of men to Christ as Teacher, the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, knowing what is truth by a Thus saith the Lord.
Even the chosen people were beclouded in understanding and separated from God so they could not discern sacred things, with prophecies made indistinct and precious truth buried under rubbish and hidden from sight. The Sabbath given at creation lost its true significance under piled-up human inventions, maxims and traditions, and teaching the commandments of men as doctrines made worship vain. Man's inventions and traditions are unreliable and dangerous because they place men where God should be and place sayings of men where a divine Thus saith the Lord should be, accepting the sayings of men as God's commandments. Christ's teachings are old truths in new settings sending divine light back upon the entire Jewish economy as the veiled gospel, unlocking the treasure house of the Old Testament, separating precious truth from superstition, error and devisings of men, and calling minds to look to God Himself as Author of all truth.
Tradition and commandments of men must not be put in place of the word of God, for the Bible is the foundation of faith and every doctrine must be shown from it and renounced if found in error. Those holding doctrines without a plain divine authority stand condemned, so they refuse to bring views to the test and try to wrench the Scriptures from defenders of the faith. Access to God's word helps reveal the difference between formal worship and truth, for people may take part in ceremonies and outward words and religious forms without discerning that service must come from a living heart and that their hearts are far from God. The verse was fulfilled in Jews whose minds filled with prejudice misunderstood plain lessons, hated Christ for not siding with the leaders, opposed Him, counteracted His efforts and made His words of no effect. It is fulfilled in many professed believers today who study to prove their own ideas correct, change meaning to suit opinions, quote half a sentence omitting the half exposing their error, and wrest Scriptures and testimonies to preconceived ideas, with whom God has a controversy.
God is not more present in temple or shrine than elsewhere, but encompasses people wherever they dwell and hears them there, looking upon the heart rather than outward acts. Honoring with mouth and lips, multiplying words in prayer, weary pilgrimages, unprofitable works, offerings, prayers to the virgin and saints, cowls, shaven crowns and gold-adorned garments have no power to secure favor while the heart is far off. Outward religious forms and words do not amount to honoring God when the heart is distant, and the warning fits rejection of lifeless formalism and of teaching human traditions as God's commands. Liberty and complete remission come only through the gospel, through Christ who offered Himself on the cross once for all as the satisfying sacrifice for eternity for believers' sins.
Call to Heart Obedience
The verse describes lukewarm professors of religion in these last days in the fitting-up time to appear before God. Their hearts are controlled by evil angels rather than by divine truth, shown by selfishness, covetousness, pride and evil passions instead of good works and an elevated, noble-hearted, generous character. They lean on a false hope, an old experience and mere profession of truth instead of a daily, heart-searching experience, and they refuse to examine themselves closely. Profession of truth alone does not save when the heart remains far and is controlled by evil, for religious words and drawing near with the lips do not prove devotion. Those with far hearts keep the sins God hates and have nothing to relate, and they are a continual weight to faithful followers, a stumbling-block to unbelievers, and a curse to the cause at home and abroad, causing evil angels to exult and taunt God's angels, so it would please God more if they had never named His name.
When the sins God hates are subdued, Christ dwells within and comes into fellowship, giving divine strength and victory so they grow in Him.
Making the customs and maxims of the scribes and Pharisees and traditions handed down through the rabbis all-essential and of more force than the Ten Commandments kept back even Christ's few followers and disciples from advancing, from supplying their lack of knowledge, and from becoming efficient workers and reaching the usefulness they might have reached. The precepts and teachings of men were dwelt upon as of more value than the words of the living God and than a Thus saith the Lord. The most learned rabbis brought a mass of human tradition into interpretation of the Scriptures and exalted traditions and maxims above the Word, so few understood the true requirements and practiced pure principles that seekers expecting proper education became confused. The same misconception of what is most essential hinders spiritual education when schools pattern after other schools instead of critically studying and doing the Word under its guidance.
The verse applies to teachers who honor with words while heart and actions oppose Him, who use human traditions to set aside God's law, turning people from His commandments and drowning out His voice. They replace God's law with human traditions and present human inventions as divine truth. In contrast stands clear teaching joined with practical obedience rather than teaching joined with transgression.