Deuteronomy 6:16-19 and Matthew 4:5-7 tell us that we should not put God to the test. One way that we commonly do test God is to ask Him to prove His love and concern for us through miraculous signs like healing. Another way is to seek our will rather than His will in our prayers even if we sound religious by quoting Scripture promises. And a third way we test God is by grumbling. Jesus passed the test for us and so whenever we encounter temptation we should not test God.


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Labels: healing, signs, temptation, testing

Matthew 15:1-16:12 shows us how Jesus' teaching is the exact opposite of the Pharisees' teaching. Jesus fulfills the word/law of God. The Pharisees make void the word of God because they have elevated the tradition of the elders to the same level as the word of God. Jesus seeks change from the inside out -- from the heart to the mouth. The Pharisees are concerned with outward conformity -- ceremonial washings. Jesus can interpret the signs of the times (his miracles). The Pharisees can interpret the signs of the sky for the weather. The danger is that the Pharisees' teachings if they get a foothold in the church would spread to the whole like leaven works in dough. And this is easy to fall into since we often respond to Pharisees by becoming Pharisees.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: heart, Matthew, Pharisees, signs, tradition

Matthew 15:1-16:12 shows us how Jesus' teaching is the exact opposite of the Pharisees' teaching. Jesus fulfills the word/law of God. The Pharisees make void the word of God because they have elevated the tradition of the elders to the same level as the word of God. Jesus seeks change from the inside out -- from the heart to the mouth. The Pharisees are concerned with outward conformity -- ceremonial washings. Jesus can interpret the signs of the times (his miracles). The Pharisees can interpret the signs of the sky for the weather. The danger is that the Pharisees' teachings if they get a foothold in the church would spread to the whole like leaven works in dough. And this is easy to fall into since we often respond to Pharisees by becoming Pharisees.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: heart, Matthew, Pharisees, signs, tradition