Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
I've always seen this as one of the most dramatic moments in the Old Testament. God commissioned Jeremiah to go to the gate of the Temple. This is the very temple David desired to build, Solomon did build, and the Shekinah glory moved into, demonstrating that God had moved His presence from the tabernacle He had instructed Moses to make in the wilderness.
This place was without question the House of the Lord, the God-ordained place of worship. And yet, generations of disobedience and spiritual neglect had brought the people of God to the point where they had lost the purpose of the house of God. It never was about the building, the furniture, the rituals. It was all meant to be about God and, above all, about the promise of the Saviour, who was represented in every aspect of their worship.
But they had forgotten God and gotten set on formalities and heritage. The building became their god. Jeremiah’s job was to stand at the gate of Solomon’s Temple, point to it, and proclaim, "Trust ye not in lying words, saying the temple of the Lord are these.”
I am quite confident that God’s house today is the local church, and that church is Baptist in doctrine and practice. At the same time, I believe I can hear the Lord calling preachers to stand in the pulpits, even in Baptist churches, and tell people not to trust in the building, the practices, and the ordinances of the church. No one is saved through baptism, church membership, or the receiving of the Lord’s Supper. No one goes to heaven because they are faithful to church attendance. No one’s sins are forgiven because they taught Sunday school or even “surrendered to be a pastor.”
Jesus said, “destroy this Temple and I will raise it up in three days.” He spoke of Himself. The only “Temple” we can trust is Jesus Christ.
To trust in anything else is just “lying words.”
#TrustInJesusAlone #HouseOfGodNotInBricks #SoleTrustInChrist #JeremiahAtTheTempleGate #TrueWorshipBeyondBuildings
Beyond Bricks: Lying Words and the True Temple to Trust
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