Human Trafficking in the Church — Part 19
Recognizing the Six Characteristics of the Religious Spirit of Babylon
“And they said, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven’”—Genesis 11:4 (NASB)
4. Working for Spiritual Approval (continued)
Jesus frees us from the heavy burdens of religious requirements, but the religious spirit of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, does not give up that easily. Since Jesus’ death, which freed us all from bondage to the law, there have been voices that have tried to enslave us again. These voices say that believing in what Jesus has done is not enough.
These voices insist that religious works still need to be performed in order for us to be accepted and approved.
Symbolically, it is like these voices are constantly trying to deceive us into thinking that we must continue construction on a religious tower of Babel with hopes to reach heaven someday through our own efforts.
The early apostles were confronted by this religious spirit and its call to continue construction on a symbolic tower to reach heaven in Acts chapter 15.
At that time, this call to return to the bondage of religious works came, not from unbelievers, but from Christians who believed in Jesus. This is a warning to all of us. The pressure to submit to religious requirements often comes from within our own ranks. The religious spirit of Babylon works through unsuspecting leaders in our own churches.
“But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, ‘The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.’
“So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue.”—Acts 15:5-6 (NLT)
Peter recognized this as an effort to put believers back under the heavy yoke of religious requirements. He got up and spoke eloquently to defend the freedom that Jesus had won for these new believers through His death. Peter alerted the leaders to the fact that this was an effort to enslave people again to continue construction on the tower to reach heaven through human effort. Peter actually saw this as a direct challenge to everything that Jesus had accomplished for us.
“At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”—Acts 15:7-11 (NLT)
Then James stood and made the leaders aware that God was not leading them back into slavery to experience again the human trafficking that had characterized the reign of King Saul (See I Samuel 8:9-18.), but God was instead restoring the tabernacle of David and the freedom that came with it.
David’s tabernacle had no veil hiding the Ark of God’s Presence. There was no Outer Court or Holy Place. There were no barriers between the people and God. All were free to worship, seek, approach, and serve God without limits or religious constraints.
“And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, ‘Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.’”—Acts 15:13-17 (NKJV)
James struck down the attempts by the religious spirit of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, to bring the new believers into slavery to religious works.
“And so, my friends, I don’t think we should place burdens on the Gentiles who are turning to God.”—Acts 15:19 (CEV)
The apostles and elders sent this decision in a letter to the new believers. In this letter, they made it clear that they were not in agreement with any believers who would seek to enslave them to religious works. They confirmed in writing that “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36 NKJV).
“The apostles and the elders, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! We’ve heard that some of our number have disturbed you with unsettling words we didn’t authorize. We reached a united decision to select some delegates and send them to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul. These people have devoted their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas. They will confirm what we have written.** The Holy Spirit has led us to the decision that no burden should be placed on you other than these essentials:** refuse food offered to idols, blood, the meat from strangled animals, and sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid such things. Farewell.”—Acts 15:23-29 (CEB)
The response of the people to this message of freedom from religious requirements was enthusiastic.
“And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.”—Acts 15:31 (NLT)
It must have been a great relief for the people to receive an official message from the church leadership confirming that no religious works were required of them. No traditions needed to be kept. They did not need to perform any service to the church in order to earn acceptance or approval.
Maybe we need more official messages like this from our church leaders today! Maybe we need to be reminded of what God declared in Isaiah 58:6:
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?” (NKJV)
New Religious Burdens
“Loving God means keeping his commandments, and **his commandments are not burdensome.”—**1 John 5:3 (NLT)
Jesus freed us from the heavy burdens of religious works. He exposed those who were cooperating with the religious spirit of Babylon the Great and rebuked them for heaping unnecessary, heavy burdens on God’s people that God had never required.
“They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.”—Matthew 23:4 (NLT)
But the spirit of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, is very subtle. It comes into a Christian organization bringing religious requirements and demands that are not from Jesus.
These religious demands and expectations can take many forms, from regular church attendance to serving on church committees to working in the children’s department to serving as an usher during church services. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these activities. There may be times when God calls on you to serve in these and other ways. The problems start when there is an expectation of service to the organization. If service to the organization becomes a requirement for your acceptance or approval, that is a problem.
If we take on commitments to serve the organization in ways to which God has not called us, those commitments can become burdens, and the work can feel like unpleasant drudgery that just drains us of energy and enthusiasm. What should be joyful privilege becomes drudgery because when we take on responsibilities that God has not called us to, His grace does not go with us.
Any time that a religious organization imposes requirements upon people that feel like a heavy burden, that is a sign that the religious spirit of Babylon the Great is at work. This religious spirit influences leaders to heap additional requirements upon the people that God never intended.
“You didn’t want sacrifices and offerings. You didn’t require burnt offerings and sin offerings. You opened my ears so that I could hear you and obey you.”—Psalm 40:6 (NIRV)
The religious spirit is never satisfied. It tries to influence people to believe that what Jesus did was not enough. There is more that must be done. Religious acts must be performed. People must commit to serve the church. Symbolically, a tower must still be built with human effort if heaven is to be reached.
People are victimized and enslaved in the name of religion.
This shifts the emphasis from loving and serving people to loving and serving the church system. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 23:14 in his stinging rebuke to the Pharisees:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.” (AMP)
And again, in Mark 7:9-13:
“Then he said, ‘You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.’” (NLT)
The Apostle Paul had to confront this in the Galatian church. The leaders there had been influenced by the religious spirit of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, to believe that what Jesus had done was not enough. The believers there were being taught that more works were required of them.
Symbolically, this was another effort by the religious spirit to convince people that a tower still needed to be built to gain heaven’s approval.
“O you foolish and thoughtless and superficial Galatians, who has bewitched you [that you would act like this], to whom—right before your very eyes—Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified [in the gospel message]? This is all I want to ask of you: did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying [the requirements of] the Law, or was it the result of hearing [the message of salvation and] with faith [believing it]? Are you so foolish and senseless? Having begun [your new life by faith] with the Spirit, are you now being perfected and reaching spiritual maturity by the flesh [that is, by your own works and efforts to keep the Law]?”—Galatians 3:1-3 (AMP)
“I am astonished and extremely irritated that you are so quickly shifting your allegiance and deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different [even contrary] gospel; which is really not another [gospel]; but there are [obviously] some [people masquerading as teachers] who are disturbing and confusing you [with a misleading, counterfeit teaching] and want to distort the gospel of Christ [twisting it into something which it absolutely is not]. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned to destruction! As we have said before, so I now say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from that which you received [from us], let him be condemned to destruction!.”—Galatians 1:6-9 (AMP)
“Now, however, since you have come to know [the true] God [through personal experience], or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and worthless elemental principles [of religions and philosophies], to which you want to be enslaved all over again? [For example,] you observe [particular] days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [to the point of exhaustion] over you in vain.
“Believers, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I have become as you are [a Gentile]. You did me no wrong [when I first came to you; do not do it now].”—Galatians 4:9-12 (AMP)
“It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed].”—Galatians 5:1 (AMP)
As Peter said to the Christian leaders in Jerusalem,
“Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”—Acts 15:10 (NKJV)
Do NOT Become a Servant of the Will of People
We are called to submit ourselves to one another (See Ephesians 5:21 and 1 Peter 5:5), but that does not mean that we allow other people to control us or enslave us to serve their demands. Jesus demonstrated meekness and humility in His ministry, but He refused to allow people to dictate what He should do.
“But Jesus, for His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people [and understood the superficiality and fickleness of human nature], and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man [and human nature], for He Himself knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being].”—John 2:24-25 (AMP)
Likewise, we are called to obey God. We must not become slaves to do the will of any person. We must not allow anyone to usurp the position of Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, even for a moment.
“You were bought with a price [a precious price paid by Christ]; do not become slaves to men [but to Christ].”—1 Corinthians 7:23 (AMP)
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”—Galatians 1:10 (NIV)
Jesus Christ has made us free, and “if the Son makes you free, you are really free” (John 8:36 ERV). Now that we are free, we can truly serve others in love without being controlled by them.
Paul voluntarily made himself a servant to all, as Jesus did, in order to bring more people to Christ.
“For although I am free in every way from anyone’s control, I have made myself a bond servant to everyone, so that I might gain the more [for Christ].”—1 Corinthians 9:19 (AMPC)
“For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (worldliness, selfishness), but through love serve and seek the best for one another. For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is fulfilled in one precept, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, you shall have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit].”—Galatians 5:13-14 (AMP)
A life of service to others is the pathway to greatness.
“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.”—Matthew 23:11 (AMPC)
“Sitting down [to teach], He called the twelve [disciples] and said to them, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all [in importance] and a servant of all.’”—Mark 9:35 (AMP)
Even in this, as we devote our lives to service to others, we do not do this with an eye toward pleasing the people that we are serving, but in all things we serve with an eye toward pleasing the Lord, doing all things to serve His will, not the will of the people that we serve.
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people”—Ephesians 6:7 (NIV)
“Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people. You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ.”—Colossians 3:23-24 (CEB)
