John 18:28-32
Many religious people go to Hell. This passage shows why.
Some Jewish leaders take Jesus to Pilate. They don’t go near him. Doing so would put them with Gentiles, and that would make them unclean for Passover, the day of liberation. They are trying to kill a prisoner on the day of liberation! They are willing to murder for the sake of their beliefs, one of which is “you shall not murder!”
Now, both religious rules are in the Old Testament. Priests are to remain clean from the “common” people. A person who seeks to change the law is to be put to death. Yet, the person with whom these folks are dealing is God, Himself!
Religious people wind up in hell because they follow God’s rules without noticing God in their midst. The rules matter more than the Lord. It is not just ancient Jews who mess this up!
They want Jesus dead, but are not allowed to kill him. Romans can’t have people taking law into their own hands; there would be no point then for Roman rule! So, these religious people found a way around the problem.
There are many religious people of all religions who set their minds and hearts first, then turn to faith to justify what they want. Honor women by killing them. Condemn homosexuality by disrupting funerals. Welcome people to worship by not talking to them.
In all these ways and more, folks of “faith” leave God. And leaving God means we want no God. And God delivers.
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