Legalism Blinds

Legalism Blinds

John 5: 9&10

 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath. 

10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

   What they said was not exactly true.  The Law did not forbid anyone from carrying a mat on the Sabbath.  What they should have said was that their interpretation of the Law forbids anyone from carrying their mat on the Sabbath. 

   They studied the Law but failed to understand that the Law was there to help the people, not bind them.  They could not see a difference between their interpretation of the Law and God’s revelation to man.  They had elevated their opinions to the same level as God’s revelations.

   The Law states that the Sabbath Day is to be kept holy, and that on it no work is to be done.  This is a good principle, even today.  Giving yourself one day to rest and, at the same time, one day to focus on God and His Word is a great way to live.  But the Scribes and Pharisees went way beyond what God said and what He intended for man to live by.  The Jewish religionists asked: What is work?  And they came up with all kinds of things that they defined as work.  For instance, to carry a burden on the Sabbath Day is work.  So next they had to define what a burden was.  Scribal Law is written that a burden is ‘food equal in weight to a dried fig, enough wine for mixing in a goblet, milk enough for one swallow, honey enough to put upon a wound, oil enough to anoint a small member, water enough to moisten an eye-salve, paper enough to write a customs house notice upon, ink enough to write two letters of the alphabet, reed enough to make a pen’ and on and on and on until it becomes a burden in itself.  I read that there was a debate among scholars about whether or not walking with an artificial limb or supports such as canes or crutches could be a burden and therefore forbidden!  Do you believe that this is what God intended with His commandment?  Of course not!  This is religion tied up in knots with petty rules and regulations.

   When I was a young boy, the church my parents went to established a rule that no woman was admitted to the church unless she had her head covered with a hat.  On the other hand, no man could as much as step inside the doors if he had his hat on.  Women were sent home to get a hat or had to sit in church with handkerchiefs on their heads.  Legalism was alive and well then and it alive and well in many Christian churches today.  And, sadly, many Christians are guilty of thinking of it as a virtue not as a hindrance to our growing in the Lord.

   Legalism is a trap that hinders your walk with God.  You find yourself trying to live up to standards and requirements that often are beyond what the Bible teaches.  Rather than encouraging people to grow, we begin “policing” them to be sure they are living up to the standards we adhere to.  A young man who began coming to our church was confronted by an elder about his truck being seen parked in the parking area of the Rod & Gun Club, a famous (or infamous) drinking club.  He was accused before he could explain that he worked for a painter who was contracted to paint the interior of the club.  He and his family left the church, and who could blame them?

   We need to live by the standards written in the Bible, but we also need to be careful not to exceed them and begin adding and expanding what the Bible says.  We need to keep from hitting people over the head with the Bible, too.  When a person becomes a Christian, they often still have bad habits that may take time to grow out of.  Shoving the Bible in their face and shouting in their ears is not the way to help them.  There is a loving way to teach people and we need to approach new Christians in a loving way.  I have seen both methods used over the years and the loving approach always works best. 

   Another danger is when a church becomes proud of their standards and an attitude begins to grow up in the church that “we’re so much better than that church is.”  A superior attitude is inappropriate and dangerous.  We all come out of sinful lives so we start in the same place.  We all struggle with growing in Christ and we all make mistakes.  Remember the warning Solomon made in Proverbs 16:18 –

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.   

   I find that just living by the Bible and minding to my growth in Christ is a full time job for me.  I don’t want to take on the burden of trying to re-write the commandments and statutes or second-guessing Jesus and the Apostles.  Just living by the Bible as its written is hard enough.   Why make life harder?  I’ve given up arguing theology with others and choose to live with them and show God’s love to them.  If they believe that Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and was crucified for my sins and resurrected in the flesh then we can have fellowship. 

Stephen Cram                            November 18, 2012                Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8