The spirit of religion that manifested through the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law during Jesus’ days on earth is a spirit that should not be underrated. It was a spirit that not only hindered Jesus in His ministry on earth, but eventually plotted to kill Jesus – like the killing of prophets of old (Mt 23:21-32).
Today, the same spirit is working to kill the ‘prophets’ – those who preach the truth – and dampen the prophetic ministry, which is focused on the hearing of God’s voice and receiving of God’s revelation. That is to say, when the spirit of religion attacks the church, the church will lose its ability to know the truth and comprehend the things of God. E.g., The revelation of end times in Mt 24 was given to the disciples, but not to the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law – which means it is hard for a church plagued by spirit of religion to be interested in the coming of the Lord, nor be able to prepare people for it (v39). …Read More
Thus, the spirit of religion is not the spirit to be entertained or tolerated even in the slightest bit. Because like yeast, it will influence (expand) and eventually affect the whole church (16:6). A common misunderstanding is that this spirit exists in churches that are deemed to be conservative and traditional. But as yeast could work on anything (such as on grape juice to become wine, and water to become carbon dioxide), this spirit could work in all kinds of settings, structures, and levels.
E.g. if the church’s ministry is focused solely on things such healing, gifts or getting rich, it is as good as focusing on the ‘gold but not the temple’ and ‘gifts but not the altar’ (v17-18). If a ministry’s focus is all about just getting people saved to simply attend church, then that is the spirit of religion at work. The outcome of the attack is that there will be no holiness, no true discipleship, no salvation (v13-15), and eventually rejection of the true Jesus.
Many Christians today are living a life of ‘straining out a gnat, but swallowing a camel’ (v24). The gnat and the camel are unclean animals which the Jews were commanded not to eat or touch. The Pharisees were extremely careful with avoiding the little ‘sawdust-like gnat’, but failed to realise how much they are sucked into the ‘world of camels’. We should not indulge in the world and worldly pleasures (that is our ‘camels’), while still dutifully going to church, giving tithing, even singing in the choir, or serving in the committee (that is our ‘gnats’).
Why are there dry bones in the church? Because all that matters to many are the nice buildings, good ambience and the number of people who showed up. We cannot continue to be whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of bones. We should not desire a ‘nice’ church where everything in life is taken care of, until there is no opportunity for seeking God.
Spirit of religion is the spirit of satan (v33). Imagine if, despite being zealous for God and living a so-called ‘righteous’ life, Jesus says ‘How will you escape being condemned to hell?’ (v33)
May the church be awakened to discern these attacks of the spirit of religion, in order not to enter into a stage of desolation (v38), and be ready to say ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’ (v39).
