Snakes in the Temple by David Orton

Author:David Orton [Orton David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780768408010
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
Published: 2015-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

How much of pastoral ministry is intentionally devoted to admonition and teaching in order to produce spiritually mature people? Overall, pastors are not seen as spiritual directors or teachers whose role is to admonish and mold character, but as employees of the church to work as program managers and people-carers. The spirit of compromise reduces the ministry to a politically correct, people-pleasing peacekeeping corps.

A Religious Spirit

A deceitful religious spirit rode triumphantly into the kingdom on the back of Ahab’s alliances. Jezebel became the patron of Baal’s prophets (see 1 Kings 18:19-20) and Ahab the builder of his temple. Ahab also raised an Asherah pole (see 1 Kings 16:32-33), a phallic symbol, to celebrate the procreative powers of the earth. All this while maintaining the appearance of spirituality in the ritual worship of Yahweh.

An Ahab-leader pursues appearance over purity. Ahab, having a mind for image, named his children in the Lord’s honor—Ahaziah (“Jehovah holds”), Jerhoram (“Jehovah is high”), and Athaliah (“Jehovah is strong”). However, despite the religious façade he “did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30).

Karl Marx was right when he said, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” The spirit of religion medicates the pain, but it never mentions the problem. Living in denial, it slaps a gloss of religious sentiment over the rotting core of self, satisfied with its veneer of respectability.

When man’s spirit takes control, the Holy Spirit withdraws and conservatism replaces conversion. The supernatural knowledge of God is lost and the spirit of religion moves in. A culture of conformity takes over. Social integration replaces spiritual intimacy and Christianity becomes a folk culture, offering soothing words of “peace, peace” (Jeremiah 6:14) to those who are already “complacent in Zion” (Amos 6:1). It endorses and promotes the predominate culture of the West—of personal peace and affluence—building contemporary cathedrals to the gods of productivity and power.

The spirit of religion maintains a religious orthodoxy, but not a spiritual orthopraxy. It defends correct belief, but deserts He who is the truth. Jesus said to the Jews:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me that you may have life (John 5:39-40 NASB).

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