The Jewish nation of Jesus' day sought a savior who could free them from Roman authority. They molded their religious hopes around this false human dream.

When Jesus came along, He had all the marks of the Savior (miracles, fulfilled prophecy) but His humble demeanor and death on the cross conflicted with their view of what the Messiah should be. In the end they chose to cling to the shadow of their religious traditions and false hopes and reject the reality confronting them in Jesus Christ.

Many in the religious world have faced this dilemma and failed, choosing comfortable habits and popular ideas over the reality presented to them in God's word. Self serving religion has always been easier than the realistic demands of the Bible.

The principal that guided much of the thinking behind the "Restoration" movement was that the reality of God's word always take precedent over the religious habits instituted by custom, human invention or design. The Church of Christ has always distinguished itself as one that maintained the priority of God's word over any habit or popular idea.

Let's keep this in mind as we search the Scriptures for what's real and not simply what feels religious.