- 40th International Bible Conference, July 31, 2008     For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9     The Breadcrumbs that Are Necessary for UsSo far we have spent some time taking a look at our lives and examining our current state through the words of the Old Testament. Also, through the law, we have come to see just how serious the matter of our sin is. The Bible contains a record of what Jesus said about the state of our hearts.   “Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’ He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and your mother”, and, “He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God’ ? then he need not honor his father or mother.” Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”’ When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.’”  Matthew 15:1-14 It seems that when Jesus’ disciples ate, they did not wash their hands before they picked up the bread and broke it. So the scribes and Pharisees who were well-versed in the law came to Jesus and accused His disciples of transgressing the tradition of the elders. The tradition of the elders was the rules regarding customs and daily life that had been passed down through the history of the Israelites. The law does not say anything about washing your hands before eating, but it seems that it was considered a matter of course in regard to the customs of the Jews at that time. Yet Jesus said, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” He was asking them why they were defiling the commandments of God with their customs. Jesus pointed out their wrongdoing, saying that God said to honor your father and your mother, and, whoever curses father or mother, let him be put to death; but they used God as an excuse, giving to God rather than honoring their fathers and mothers. He said that since they were not honoring their parents, they were transgressing the law by their traditions.These words not only served as a lesson to those who lived in the land of Israel at that time, they also apply to us who are living in this present time. God has taught each of us individually through the law, and we come to examine ourselves through the law. And then the Bible tells us that another righteousness apart from the law?that is, Jesus Christ?came to this world, and through His death on the cross, the blood of Jesus, which has been given to us as a gift, has freed all of us from our sins. Even so, many religious people in this world admit that the Bible says this but do not take it any further than that. They say the way to draw near to God is by doing good deeds and keeping the law, and they do not concede to the meaning of these words. They may claim to be serving God, but in God’s eyes their hearts are wicked and they have turned their backs on Him. Through the Bible, we are able to hear the words that God wants to say to us. Yet, even though we can see these words clearly, our minds are full of the many things we have heard and learned while living in the world. Jesus spoke here for the sake of those who are captivated by such thoughts so that they are not able to understand God’s words properly. When He said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me,” He was referring to those who claim to worship God, whiletheir hearts have departed from the words of the Bible, which God has had recorded for mankind, and they make excuses, advocating things that are not in the Bible. We need to consider whether we are making this same mistake. You need to examine yourself and consider whether or not you are entertaining your own thoughts of what you should do in order to be saved and thus preventing the love of God from being poured out for you even though you listen to His word. When we turn to the Bible we need to have a simple prayer in our hearts, asking God to let us hear what it is that the Bible is saying and what it is that He wants to tell us. Rather than trying to reach conclusions with our own logic, we need to take these words of God as they are and see ourselves in their light. Jesus said, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” He also said, “They are blind leaders of the blind.” We need to ask ourselves whether we are perhaps teaching things that are far from the Bible and far from the path of life; whether we have listened to such teachings and, mistaking them for truths, based our lives on them; or whether we have established our own rules and standards and live our lives satisfied with these. What is the attitude that we should adopt when we read such verses? Are you going to say, “I listen but I don’t get it. I have listened so many times, but I still cannot get saved”? You may have listened many times, but you do not find the answer because you listen in the way that you think is necessary in order to believe. You need to have the heart to ask God to enable you to hear the words as they are. “Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’ So Jesus said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.’”  Matthew 15:15-20 When you see a person that you hate, you may say, “I wish that person were dead,” but even words like this that you mutter carelessly under your breath are included when Jesus said that the things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. He said that defying God and saying this and that about God, not even aware that you are doing it, all stems from evil thoughts in the heart. As a Man who had the eyes of God, and as the Son of God who had the eyes to see through to our evil thoughts, Jesus was telling us about the state of our existence. “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.’ But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’”  Matthew 15:21-24 Now Jesus had departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. There a Canaanite woman?that is, a woman who was not an Israelite, a Gentile woman?cried out to Him, “O Lord, Son of David!”. But Jesus did not respond to her. Then His disciples came and urged Him to send her away because of her loud cries, but Jesus replied, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus had come to the land of Israel, in the midst of the nation of Israel, as the Bible says, “He came to His own” (John 1:11). It was not proper for her as a Gentile to address Jesus as “O Lord, Son of David.”“Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’”  Matthew 15:25 The woman immediately understood His words and said, “Lord, help me!” But Jesus answered her as follows: “But He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.’”  Matthew 15:26 What is this bread? Was it the bread the disciples ate with unwashed hands? The bread that Jesus spoke of when He said to the Canaanite woman, refers to the body of Jesus Christ,the Son of God who was born within the history of Israel, and of whom it was prophesied in the Old Testament which God had recorded through their history. It was this bread that Jesus said was not good to throw to the dogs. Such is our position as Gentiles. Jesus came first to the land of Israel.Upon hearing these words, the Gentile woman replied in this manner: “And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’”  Matthew 15:27 Are we perhaps trying to eat the whole loaf? Are we expecting something much greater than is appropriate for our position? God wants us to hear His voice quietly deep down in our spirits, but don’t we tend to be dissatisfied with this and want to hear Him speaking to us in a loud voice? When the Bible says that even the little dogs eat the crumbs, it means that it is enough for even a single verse from the Bible to bring hope. This should be our attitude. It would not be appropriate for a dog to attempt to eat the entire loaf on the top of its master’s table. Since we are merely Gentiles and distant from the history of the Jews, when we approach the Bible and encounter the word of God, we should hope and pray that God will speak to our hearts even through just one verse. This was the attitude I had in my heart on the evening that I was born again. Only about five minutes before the moment I received that peace, while I was speaking with someone, I realized that I had been expecting something much too big and trying to swallow something much too large. Then hope arose in my heart as I saw that God needed only to connect me to the cord of life, like an umbilical cord. At that time, I was not even aware that this was my attitude. Yet, once the voice of the Lord had whispered gently in my ear through the words of the Bible,my eyes were opened to the Bible, and when I think back to what happened to me on that day, I can only thank God for that hope that He put in my heart so that I was ready to accept even just the crumbs that fell from the master’s table. When you read the Bible, if you think, “These words are not related to me. I’ve heard these verses before and I know them already so there is no point in listening to them,” this is the attitude of a person who disregards the Bible and does not seek to eat the crumbs. “Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”  Matthew 15:28 This woman did not say anything particularly great to Jesus. She simply expressed her sliver of hope as she said that even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table, and yet Jesus said to her, “Great is your faith!”These are words that Jesus also allows us to hear. He gives us the answer directly, bringing together everything in the Old Testament that we have been studying so far. This woman shows us what kind of attitude each of us individually should have in our hearts as we stand before God and before the words of the Bible. On a deeper level, this shows us that the Gentile nations who were far from the law are able to participate in the blood of Christ through His death. This is the history of the Church with which we are familiar.     The Love of God the Father that Covers All TransgressionsThere is another woman who met Jesus. Let’s turn to John chapter 8. “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in

정회원으로 가입하시면 전체기사와 사진(동영상)을 보실수 있습니다.