COMMANDMENTS OF MEN

COMMANDMENTS OF MEN

Commandments of men: There are many men who are cognisant of God’s laws and yet deliberately abstain from them. In doing so they formulate a new relationship with God, one that suits them (within their comfort zone). This deliberate abstaining from God’s commandments is reflected in their unwise and foolish everyday behaviour. As a result their man made commandments cause sin. Let us take an example: Fasting. The Bible indicates that we should fast our bad behaviour or bad actions. This means to reduce or to remove from our character. These bad actions may be fear, lying, anger, hate etc. Men have taken this fasting and translated it to the things we eat. For example it is not good to eat meat on Good Friday.

If we don’t practice the word of Jesus as it is meant without human manipulation, nothing will benefit us. We appease our conscience so that everything suits us. Pay attention, because in this way we become ostrich-like.

Commandments of men: When Jesus fasted for forty days he wanted to prove that man shall not live on bread alone, but with every word of God. As Christians we try to emulate Jesus by fasting as he fasted, but we eat food just the same only it is food (according to your religion) which is approved for fasting. By doing so we forget the reason why Jesus fasted. Jesus fasted to prove that man must not be under any authority, not even to food, that all of us need. This is not the case when we fast. We are still eating food.

Lord wanted to prove that with the Holy Spirit we can prolong our life with God: For by whom a person is overcome by him also he is brought to bondage. If we believe that to be alive we need the system of men, which is based on material, we have to know that we are far from God. Once a person allows himself to be under the bondage of the Holy Spirit, his character and his actions demonstrate this. For example there are many people who go to church, partake in the holy sacraments, hear the Divine Liturgy etc, but no one really practices. The bible states: Therefore go to nations and make disciples. A true sign of your Christianity is the capacity to love others by sacrificing material goods or even of your own time. And practicing what Jesus said: love your neighbor as yourself.

We have the name Christians but we argue every day.

Lord asked from us: Love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to pray for those who accuse us. Although we know that the law of God says do not judge, we all judge. On Sundays, with our own conscience, we dress up properly and go to church. God’s law says, “Lie not” and yet we all lie. On Sundays we go to church to get blessed from the Holy Light. God’s law says, “Love God and your fellow-man”, because of our ignorance, we lack love towards God and therefore cannot love our neighbour as our self.

We name ourselves Christians but we are far from the reality of Jesus Christ. This makes us ostrich-like. AMEN.