The Four Stages of a Religious Spirit

The Four Stages of a Religious Spirit

By Mark Pfeifer www.markandnicki.com


Matthew strategically wrote his gospel account to show how the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Their debates with our Lord increased until it reached a climax in the Twelfth Chapter. This was the turning point. In the first eleven chapters, Jesus spoke openly about the Kingdom of God being offered to national Israel. After chapter twelve, however, He only spoke in dark parables. Explaining Himself to His disciples, He quoted the prophesy of Isaiah,

"And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
Isaiah 6:9-10

What was it about the Jewish leaders that made them resistant to the Kingdom of God? What caused them to reject what God had offered them? What did Jesus see in them that made Him conclude that they would NEVER receive it? It was a religious spirit!

Using Chapter 12 in Matthew as a guide, we can see the four stages of a religious spirit in action...

Stage #1: JUDGEMENT V-1 & 2

The Pharisees watched Jesus’ disciples pick corn in the fields and eat it on the Sabbath. This infuriated them because not participating in any labor on the Sabbath was a rule that they kept devotedly. Looking down their theological noses at the munching disciples, they took a position of moral superiority and began judging their actions.

At its root, the religious spirit is supported by pride. It makes us feel holier than others because we keep rules that they don’t. Perched atop this morally superior position, we compare ourselves to others using our religious standards as a guide. When they fall short of this measurement, we set ourselves up as their judge and draw conclusions about them which gives us the perceived right to criticize them.

Stage #2: ACCUSATION V-9 & 10

The Jewish leaders in the synagogue wanted to catch Jesus in a sin. The desire to catch Him doing something wrong was greater than their desire to see a poor man healed. So they used the man with a withered hand to try and catch Jesus doing something for which they could criticize their Messiah.

The religious spirit is sneaky! It feels compelled to get the lowdown on people in order to reveal their true motive. The cynical nature attached to a religious spirit can not believe that people would actually have a pure heart and right motive in doing something kind since deep down, those who operate with a religious spirit are always putting on a show for people.

Stage #3: DESTRUCTION V-14

The Pharisees saw that they were getting nowhere in their trickery. This led them to begin creating plans to destroy Jesus. At this point, all bets were off. They were reaching a point of no return. Instead of receiving from Him, they were more interested in shutting Him up.

People who are dominated by a religious spirit despise a challenge. The root of their extreme reactions is fear. They fight to preserve what to them is the most important ingredient to their walk with God, the law. What makes this even more deceptive in that their actions are based on a zeal for God. This is why Paul said in Romans 10:2, “For I bear them witness that they (Jews) have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” This zeal for God mixes with a fear of change and creates passion. When this passion boils over, plans are be made and actions justified to eliminate any perceived threat.

Stage #4: HARD HEARTEDNESS V-23 & 24

The Pharisees had crossed the line. From this point forward, Jesus knew that their hard hearts would keep them from receiving the new form of the Kingdom of God. That’s why from this chapter forward, Jesus only spoke in parables. He saw that they had reached a point of no return.

When a person reaches this point it is impossible for them to humble themselves, repent and be forgiven. Jesus went on to talk about the unpardonable sin in the next few verses. What was happening? He was describing the only type of sin that God can not forgive - sin that is unconfused. When the religious spirit has a person at this level, they will never be forgiven because they see no need to repent. In their eyes, they have no sin. They keep all rules. It’s all those other fellows who need to be forgiven. Someone who is blinded by a religious spirit sees no need of such loathing.

Conclusion:

In identifying the four stages of a religious spirit from Matthew 12, we have also touched on four root traits of the religious spirit. Did you catch them? They are:

(1) Pride
(2) Cynicism
(3) Fear
(4) Blindness

Sometimes it’s easier to recognize those traits operating in our lives than it is to look in the mirror and see a religious spirit.

PERTOBATAN

PERTOBATAN
Apakah arti tobat atau pertobatan? Dalam bahasa Ibrani, syuv berarti berputar atau
berbalik kembali. Mengacu pada tindakan berbalik dari dosa kepada Allah. Sedang dalam
bahasa Yunani, metanoia dan metanoeo, yang memiliki makna perubahan hati,
pertobatan yang nyata dalam pikiran, sikap, pandangan dengan arah yang sama sekali
berubah, putar balik dari dosa pada Allah dan mengabdi padaNya.
Pertobatan merupakan syarat mutlak untuk beroleh keselamatan. Yesus memulai
pelayananNya dengan seruan “pertobatan”. Iman dan pertobatan berjalan seiring. Iman
terarah kepada Kristus untuk memperoleh keselamatan dari dosa, kekudusan, kehidupan
dan mencakup perihal membenci dosa dan meninggalkannya yang disebut pertobatan,
yakni berbalik dari dosa kepada Allah.
Pertobatan bukan hanya sekedar aspek pengakuan dosa tetapi merupakan tindakan
berbalik dari apa yang tidak berkenan kepada Allah dan memilih suatu gaya hidup yang
memuliakan dan berkenan kepadaNya. Pertobatan bukan sekedar suatu tindakan, tetapi
suatu gaya hidup, menanamkan suatu sikap untuk terus menerus berubah sampai
kehidupan kita sesuai dengan FirmanNya dan kehendakNya.
Pertobatan dari dosa adalah berpaling dari semua dosa yang diketahui dan kebiasaankebiasaan
yang bersifat dosa. “Sifat dosa” telah dikeluarkan dari roh kita. Roh kita telah
diciptakan baru di dalam gambaran dan keserupaan dengan Allah. Tetapi masih ada
“kebiasaan dosa” di dalam jiwa dan tubuh kita.
Ketika kita mematikan perbuatan-perbuatan tubuh dan jiwa dan mulai menjalani suatu
kehidupan yang bebas dari segala kewajiban untuk taat pada daging, maka kita benarbenar
dibebaskan dari roh perbudakan dan keterikatan (Rm 8:13,15)
PERTOBATAN “ANAK YANG HILANG” (Luk 15:11-24)
Tuhan Yesus menjelaskan arti pertobatan dalam kisah Anak Yang Terhilang.
Gambaran Dosa
Ada 5 gambaran dosa dalam kisah ini:
a. Keinginan diri sendiri (ayat12). Egoisme.
b. Perpisahan (ayat13). Anak terpisah dari Bapa.
c. Pemborosan (ayat13). Dosa memboroskan “harta” yang Tuhan berikan pada kita.
d. Melarat (ayat14). Keinginan orang berdosa tidak pernah terpuaskan.
e. Tenggelam/terjerat sangat dalam (ayat15-16). Dosa membawa seseorang jatuh
terperosok sangat dalam. Iblis datang untuk membunuh, mencuri dan membinasakan
(Yoh 10:10)
Langkah Menuju Pertobatan
Ada 5 langkah menuju Pertobatan:
a. Sadar (ayat17). Orang berdosa menyadari dan mengakui keadaannya yang penuh
dengan dosa.
b. Mengambil keputusan (ayat 18). Orang berdosa memutuskan untuk meninggalkan
dosa-dosanya.
c. Melaksanakan keputusannya (ayat 20). Orang berdosa mengambil tindakan dari
keputusannya.
d. Berbalik (ayat20). Berbalik pada Tuhan dan menyerahkan hidupnya pada Tuhan.
e. Pengakuan (ayat 21). Mengakui setiap dosa dihadapan Tuhan (1 Yoh 1:9). Dosa-dosa
kita diampuni karena darah Yesus dicurahkan untuk menebus segala dosa kita (1 Yoh
1:7, Ef 1:7, Rom 3:24-25)
Kuasa untuk mengalahkan dosa
Setiap orang percaya memiliki benih ilahi yaitu kehidupan Kristus sendiri. Kehidupan ini
sedemikian berkuasa sehingga mereka mampu mengalahkan dosa dan hidup dalam
kekudusan. (1 Ptr 1:23, 1 Ptr 1:15-16)
Langkah aplikasi
Berdoalah minta Roh Kudus untuk menyelidiki hati kita, masih adakah bagian dalam diri
kita yang belum diserahkan pada Tuhan? Bila ada dosa atau kebiasaan buruk yang harus
ditanggalkan mulai mengambil langkah sebagaimana yang diajarkan di atas. Bila masih
perlu bantuan, dukungan doa atau nasehat jangan ragu untuk menghubungi kami.

PRINSIP DASAR

PRINSIP DASAR
Perumpamaan tentang Dua Rumah atau Orang Bijaksana dan Orang Bodoh (Mat 7:24-
27)
Dua macam manusia
Hanya ada dua macam manusia di dunia ini, yaitu:
1. Orang bijaksana
2. Orang bodoh
Dua macam dasar
Kedua orang tersebut membangun rumahnya dengan:
Pasir sebagai dasar – Orang Bodoh membangun hidupnya di atas dasar pasir. “Pasir”
adalah segala sesuatu yang mudah berubah atau dapat diubah.
Batu Karang sebagai dasar – Orang Bijaksana membangun hidupnya di atas batu karang.
Batu karang itu adalah YESUS KRISTUS. 1 Kor 10:4
Arti “angin, hujan dan banjir” dalam Mat 7:25,27
Hal tersebut berarti “goncangan-goncangan” yang Tuhan izinkan akan terjadi di dunia ini
(Ibr 12:25-27). “Goncangan-goncangan” ini adalah masalah-masalah. Tuhan
mengizinkan masalah-masalah dan berbagai pencobaan terjadi dalam hidup kita supaya
tinggal tetap apa yang tidak tergoncangkan (Ibr 12:27)
Bagaimana membangun di atas “batu karang”?
Kita membangun hidup di atas batu karang (Yesus Kristus) dengan mengikuti dua
langkah ini:
MENDENGAR FIRMAN ALLAH
MENTAATINYA DENGAN MENERAPKAN HAL TERSEBUT(menjadi pelaku
Firman Tuhan) Yak 1:22, Mat 7:24
Barometer kita
Bagaimana kita dapat tahu bahwa kita telah membangun di atas dasar yang benar?
Ujiannya adalah saat anda tengah menghadapi suatu masalah atau cobaan. Bagaimana
reaksi anda?