Yesterday, we ended by looking at the Pharisees and their penchant for adding burdens on the Jewish people. They had such a strangulating grip on the throats of the Jews, acting as God’s authority in this world, and telling them things were “illegal” when they really weren’t.
The same thing happens in the common world in which we live.
Did you know that it’s illegal to drive barefoot? While driving barefoot should be illegal, it’s not. There isn’t a single law in the USA that forbids it. If I were a legislator, I would strive to make public barefootedness a criminal offense – but I don’t like feet so you can understand my point. Now, while it’s probably not the best practice in the world to drive barefoot, so long as it doesn’t affect your ability to control the vehicle, you can air out your toes as you go down the road. For the sake of others in the car, though, you might want to at least put those noxious nubs in a sock!
Here’s one that’s a little iffy. Maybe you’ve heard or been told that harvesting rainwater is illegal. That’s only true in you live in Colorado where the practice is 100% illegal, although legislation is being presented to reverse this antiquated law. Eight other states including Ohio have some regulations that must be met. The rest of the states can harvest rainwater to their heart’s content. Texas and North Carolina even encourage it.
It’s not just the laws of the land that get created without authorization. It’s always been true in the spiritual realm. The Pharisees had added over 1,500 extra laws for “clarification” purposes to God’s laws established in Scripture. However, they found odd ways around even their own man-made laws. “They created loopholes to get around some laws.
***If your house was burning down on a Sabbath, you could not carry clothes out of it. However, you were allowed to put on several layers of clothes as the house was burning down. You could leave without breaking the law because you were wearing them instead of carrying them.
***You could not travel more than 3/5 mile from your house on the Sabbath. However, you could leave food 3/5 mile from your home on the night before, which would make it permissible to travel twice the distance without breaking the law.”1 Does anyone else reading this think that is crazy?!?
The Bible gives a strong warning in Colossians 2:8. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Tradition often gets elevated to doctrinal status and that is always wrong.
Now, let me carefully and quickly throw out a warning. Church members often want to swing the pendulum hard in the opposite direction. We know that we are SAVED by grace and we are to LIVE in that grace. But that doesn’t mean that there are no Biblical “rules” to follow. We can’t just go out and live wild and reckless, claiming that we have grace. God’s Word gives us a simple standard: holiness. That means separation FROM all that is of the world and TO all that is of the Father.
And, a church may have standards that are expected of leadership. This is NOT necessarily legalism. It doesn’t become legalistic until you say, “Thus saith the Word and this is how you measure up and obtain grace.”
We have liberty as Christians but that liberty is to be exercised in view of OTHERS and not in view of ourselves. Consider what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:9. “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.” To the Galatians, Paul said in Galatians 5:13, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
It’s easy to become Pharisaical. It’s even easier to become selfish and self-centered in our grace and liberty. Remember that liberty doesn’t mean “no law.” On the contrary! Find the Biblical balance and understanding of law and liberty. Today, I leave you with Romans 8:1-2. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
1https://kentcrockett.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-legalism-of-pharisees.html
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