RELIGION VS. KINGDOM
THE GREATEST TREAT TO CIVIL SOCIETY IS MANKIND. THE PICTURES ON OUR FLAT SCREEN TELEVISION TELL THE STORY. BLOOD, DEATH, DIPLOMACY, CONFLICT, HATRED, FEAR, POVERTY, STARVATION, RAPE, GENOCIDE, REFUGEES AND HUMAN MIGRATION, NATURAL DISASTERS, DAILY BOMBINGS, ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, IMMIGRATION, CORPORATE CORRUPTION, MORAL DECAY, SEXUAL REVOLUTION, AND CLASH OF COUNTER CULTURES ALL TESTIFY THAT WE ARE OUR OWN GREATEST ENEMY.
PERHAPS THIS IS THE REASON THE WORDS OF JESUS WERE SO STRONG WHEN HE ADDRESSED THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF HIS DAY WITH THESE WORDS;
MATT. 23:13-15
13″Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the Kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
Matt. 15:6
” Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”
Matt. 5:20
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matt. 21:31-32
“Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
IT WOULD SEEM FROM THESE WORDS THAT ONE OF THE GREATEST OBSTACLES TO THE KINGDOM IS RELIGION.