Jeremiah 7 opens with the Lord giving Jeremiah instructions to stand at the temple’s gate and proclaim what the Lord has to say to all that enter for worship. Jeremiah is obedient to God. He shares the unpopular word of the Lord with the people, which confronts the false belief that God will not let harm come to the temple and those who live near it even after they have committed detestable acts.

The people of Judah had the false notion that because they performed their religious rituals in the temple, they were safe from the anger and wrath of God. The people followed a worship ritual but maintained a sinful lifestyle. They lived lives of religion without a personal commitment to God. We can easily do the same. I did! I found myself in a place of fulfilling religious duties without the correct heart posture. Somewhere along the way, my desire to please God was replaced by the desire to please people. I fell into the trap of the “good Christian image” rather than wanting to glorify God. I was angry with God, and instead of being honest with him, I performed for him. Attending church, communion, teaching, and singing all became pointless exercises. These activities are good to do, not because we ought to do them for the church, but because we want to do them for God.

Many of us today view the church as the people of Judah viewed the temple. We go to our beautiful buildings prepared for worship and leave without taking the presence of God with us during the week. The image of going to church and belonging to a group becomes more important than the substance of faith and a life changed by God. Some of us even think that going to church will protect us from evil and problems as if proclaiming faith in God alone is a magical cure to all of life’s tribulations.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Jeremiah 7:3-7 NIV