Pastor Demetric Felton Sr. July 18, 2021

Hypocrisy Meets The Truth

Mark 7:1-23

Key Truth: Following religious rituals or traditions will never make God love you more.

Jesus Exposes The Pharisees:

1. The Pharisees wanted to discredit the work of Jesus Christ.

2. The Pharisees were afraid that people following Jesus would

lead to lawlessness.

3. The Pharisees good intentions had drifted into legalism and

hypocrisy.

Defining the Terms:

Legalism: Elevating human traditions to the level of God’s law.

Hypocrisy: Pretending to be something that you are not.

Truths For Living:

1. Without a personal relationship with God, religious rituals

profit nothing.

2. Only faith in Jesus Christ bring us into a right relationship

with God

3. The traditions of man should never usurp the authority of

God’s Word.

4. The Holy Spirit produces inner transformation that leads to

right attitudes and actions.

Taking It Beyond The Walls: Don’t try to earn God’s approval. Live as genuine followers of God, whose hearts have been cleansed by Jesus.

Food For Thought

Are there certain traditions that you practice in your family or personal life? If so, what are they?

What traditions do we practice as a church?

What are some good things about traditions? What are some bad things about traditions?

Read Mark 7:1-5: What complaints did the Pharisees and scribes make against Jesus’ disciples? What did this complaint reveal about their hearts?

What motivated the religious leaders to ask Jesus about their traditions?

Read Matthew 23:25-26: Why is following Scripture always more important than following tradition?

Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites. What does it mean to be a hypocrite? Why did the religious leaders qualify? How are people negatively affected spiritually by others’ hypocrisy?