On the Cross We Also Die to the Religious Work of Men

Paul says the only thing that has any value is a new creation. First and foremost, it is sin that has no value and should not be allowed to exist any longer. Then everything else that is not part of the new creation must be brought into death. We are to die to everything that comes under the heading of “work of man.” It must all come to an end. And there is much that falls into that category!

What an abundance there is of well-intentioned works of man and well-intentioned ideas that originate in the human mind! They may be well-intentioned; nevertheless, they cause damage. They are all outside the Word of God. Whoever speaks in the church is to speak as the Word of God, and whatever is done is to be done in accordance with the Word of God.

The first thing in this category is denominationalism, with all its trappings. What is a denomination, anyway? Nothing but the work of man! Where do we read about such things in the Bible? What, for example, is a Lutheran Church, Baptist Church, Pentecostal Church? Chapter and verse, please! Where does the idea come from of taking the title of “Pastor,” “Priest,” or “Reverend” simply because one has been to some school or has some degree? Chapter and verse, please! It is pure vanity, a means of livelihood, a lust to dominate, and pure folly!

Useful? Necessary? No, it is only a weight, a plague, vanity, and ludicrous stupidity. When a “pastor” affects a “ministerial” or “spiritual” tone, he sounds like a fool to a spiritual person! It is almost enough to make you vomit. Luther was of the same opinion. Read Luther’s Pastoral Letter.

Some people say we must belong to a religious denomination and have our name on the church membership list. Where is that written? Chapter and verse, please! To which denomination did the first apostles belong, and the rest of the early Christians? Chapter and verse! Oh no, my dear, well-meaning and, in spite of all your reading, ignorant friend, it is all deception! We have no more use for it today than they did in the days of the first Christians. On the contrary, it causes incomprehensible damage.

Division is a work of the flesh. Gal. 5:19-21. It is a manifest sin, a work of the devil. You have to admit that to insist that such things are necessary for the furtherance of God’s kingdom on earth is truly ridiculous!

Much of what is done among the people of God is purely the work of man. I have only mentioned a few of the more obvious examples.

It is not worldly people who display the most opposition to divine truths; it is religious people, just like it was in Jesus’ time, and especially the religious leaders who make their living from religion. They defend their living instead of loving the truth!

How miserable! How base! Why did they cry out, “Away with Him! Crucify Him!”? Because He loved them so much that He told them the truth!