Devotion or Doctrine?

I enjoy studying and learning about people, places, and events. You can quickly know what things interest me by looking at my bookshelves. Some of my favorite subjects are anything relating to the 1960s, Watergate, Mafia, Ohio State football. I also love to read church history and theology books.

Our bookshelves are filled with those books as well. When my wife and I moved a few years ago, we packed up sixty boxes filled with books. As those who helped us move hauled heavy box after heavy box, they kept asking, “Ugh, do you really need this many books?” It isn’t just books we seem to accumulate. There were also ten boxes marked “shells.” We lived near the beach and regularly collected shells to display in glass containers throughout our house. 

What things do you enjoy studying and learning about?

I can know a lot about a person without personally knowing them. I can know a lot about a particular subject simply by studying it. I know about the subjects that I enjoy. Knowing about comes from studying. Knowing about is nothing more than an accumulation of knowledge. Knowing about is very different from knowing.

Many people know a lot about Jesus without really knowing him in a personal and intimate way. We sometimes replace devotion with doctrine. We sometimes replace relationship with rules (religion). We sometimes simply check boxes. There is nothing wrong with being well versed in the Bible and well learned in theological things. In fact, both of those are very good things! However, Jesus did not call us to doctrine and rules. He instead invites us into a relationship, one in which we are completely devoted to Him.  

The Pharisees were an influential group during the time of Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees (along with the high priests) made up the Sanhedrin, the highest ruling council of the Jews. The Pharisees were adherents to both the Oral Law as given to Moses and the Written Laws found in the Torah, which gave them the attitude and appearance of superior sanctity. The Sadducees rejected Oral Law and insisted upon a literal interpretation of the Written Law whereas the Pharisees believed that God gave Moses knowledge of what the laws meant and how they should be applied. The Oral Law was written down three centuries later, becoming what is known as the Talmud.

The Scribes, many whom were Pharisees, studied the Law, transcribed it, and commented on it. They were often hired when an interpretation of that Law was needed. Ezra, who was “skilled in the law of Moses (Ezra 7:6)” was a scribe. 

Yet, as “wise” as these groups of religious leaders were, Jesus repeatedly rebuked them for having a religion rooted in pride (doctrine) rather than one grounded in the true worship of God (devotion). In one such rebuke, in Matthew 23, Jesus calls these religious men hypocrites six times. I encourage you to read this entire interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees and Scribes – Matthew 23:1-36. 

Rules are imposed from the outside in whereas a relationship runs in the opposite direction, from the inside out. I believe that when rules (doctrine) are prioritized over relationship (devotion), we soon find that we simply cannot measure up, thus becoming disenfranchised, eventually walking away from both the rules and the devotion. But, when we focus on devotion rather than doctrine, relationship over rules, our obedience comes from the inside out. It becomes something we want to do rather than something we must do. 

So, today, regardless of where you are in a walk with Jesus – maybe still deciding whether to jump in, just dipping your toes in the shallow water, or someone who has been walking hand in hand with Him for years – take up his invitation to “Follow me” and by doing so, you will be on a path that makes you more like him. Your devotion will help you walk out the doctrine.

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