The Danger of Lip-Service Faith | Mark 7:6-8

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Today’s shout-out goes to Ken Dunwoody from Atlanta, GA. Thank you for partnering with us through Project23. You're helping us call hearts back to the Word. This one’s for you.

Our text today is Mark 7:6-8:

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” — Mark 7:6-8

This is a mic-drop moment from Jesus. He’s not just correcting the Pharisees—he’s exposing them.

He quotes Isaiah, calling out their hypocrisy:

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

That’s a hardcore call-out. These religious leaders sounded godly. They looked godly. But their hearts weren’t close to God—they were far off, buried beneath the weight of practice, performance, and pride.

Their worship was hollow. Their obedience, performative. Their leadership, off course. And their doctrine? Built more on man-made rules than God’s revealed Word.

And here’s the warning for us: it’s easy to drift into lip-service faith. We say the right words, but our hearts are disengaged. We quote Scripture, but don’t surrender to it. We sing worship songs, but don’t live worshipful lives. We know all the Christian lingo, but we don’t love like Christ.

It’s possible to build a whole spiritual life that looks right—while being far from God.

So ask yourself:
— Am I more loyal to tradition than to truth?
— Am I teaching others to do things God never commanded?
— Do I sound faithful but live faithless?

God doesn’t want your performance—he wants your presence. He doesn’t need spiritual noise—he wants spiritual nearness. He’s after your heart. Not just your habits.

#HeartBeforeHabit, #JesusNotJustWords, #FaithThatFeels

ASK THIS:

1. What spiritual practices have I been doing out of routine, not relationship?
2. Have I substituted God’s Word with man-made rules or traditions?
3. Where is my heart far from God, even if my words sound close?
4. How can I move from lip-service to true-hearted obedience?

DO THIS:

Pause today and examine your heart. Pray Psalm 139:23–24—ask God to reveal where you’ve drifted into routine and return to genuine worship.

PRAY THIS:

God, I don’t want to honor you with words but deny you with my heart. Pull me close. Break down my traditions. Rekindle authentic worship. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Give Me Jesus” – Jeremy Camp