Message: “Growing in Jesus vs. Religious Moralism (Isaiah 1:10-18)” from Dr. David Carey Dixon

A message from the series "Sunday Service." As we start off this new fall season, we want to avoid falling into our same old patterns and ruts from last year! We don’t want to be stuck in our old carnal mentality, but learn how to GROW in Christ. The invitation to follow Jesus is not about following a set of rules and practicing religious rituals (“moralism”). Moralism focuses on keeping moral rules geared toward producing a set of “proper behaviors.” But our first problem in life is not about following rules and staying within legal parameters; our first problem is relational, and this is why the solution had to be relational. God’s law was introduced through Moses precisely in order to guide His people toward right-relatedness – to God Himself and to one another. But our sin nature (our inclincation toward idolatry = our rejection of His authority) was too deeply rooted in humanity’s heart to be undone by our attempts at rule-keeping.

Dr. David Carey Dixon - September 17, 2023

Growing in Christ vs. Traditionalism (Matthew 23:1-12)

Growing in Christ vs. Traditionalism (Matthew 23:1-12)

Did you ever get in a rut? Ruts were created in stone pavement on Roman roads by the repeated passage of cart wheels; but a rut can also be created in our behavior when we fall into habits that are hard to break. The Pharisees in the NT are sometimes seen as being in the “rut” of religious traditionalism. Is this an accurate perception? Claude Goldsmid Montefiore (1858-1938), known as founder of ”Progressive Judaism” in England in the early 20th century, was one of the first to challenge the standard notions regarding the Gospels’ portrayal of the Pharisees. Were they indeed the awful hypocrites and self-righteous legalists that the New Testament often portrayed them to be? Since then, the debate on this topic has never stopped, but perhaps only recently has it begun to reach the attention of Christians beyond the academic world.

Scripture References: Matthew 23:1-12

Related Topics: Growing in Christ, Matthew 23:1-12, Traditionalism | More Messages from Dr. David Carey Dixon | Download Audio

From Series: "Sunday Service"

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