CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
May 16, 2004
KEEP PRAYING FOR:
Our congregation Our nation, military and leaders
Various friends, relatives and co-workers David and Leon in the Navy
The Stolte’s in Germany George will have an eye procedure tomorrow
Anita will have a stint put in on Tuesday Susan is traveling in Colorado
THOSE PESKY LEGALISTS
“What has happened to all your joy?” (Galatians 4:15).
Jesus faced it. Paul faced it. We face it. What is it? Legalism. Legalism takes a good idea and makes it a tradition, then it becomes a custom, and finally it becomes the law. And we are certainly not allow to break the law, any law. The Pharisees complained that Jesus and His disciples did not wash their hands before they ate. Were they concerned for their health? No. Jesus had violated “the traditions of the elders” (Matthew 15:1-2). Their traditions became more important than relationships. Jesus reveals this to them when He accused them of violating the Law by ignoring their parents so that they could offer a gift to God (vs. 3-9).
Paul faced it in Galatia. There were some who had come among the Galatian churches with a different gospel (1:6). They were emphasizing circumcision, stealing the joy of the Christians and biting and devouring one another. As such those Christians were confused and struggling. When reading Galatians, this legalism must be kept in mind.
We face it today as well. Traditions, which are neither good nor bad, have been turned into laws. Just think about our laws. We have attendance laws; one is faithful if he or she attends at least three times a week. This does not take into account the attitude or actions of this “faithful” person. We have the law of the invitation. An invitation must be offered at all services to make it scriptural. I have seen this law in action. A brother gave a devotional talk one Wednesday evening but did not offer an invitation. A couple of months later another brother did the same. Next thing I knew there were complaints about not having an invitation. It just wasn’t scriptural. Then there is the law of service in a “worship assembly.” Only men can pass the communion. When a sister got up and walked across the pew an handed the bread to another person, an elder became upset that such was done. As someone has said, the only place women cannot serve is in the assembly.
Max Lucado has something to say about this in his new book, It’s Not About Me (Integrity Publishers, 2004). In chapter ten entitled My Salvation is about Him, Max writes the following:
“We quickly side with Paul on the circumcision controversy. The whole discussion sounds
odd to our Western ears. But is it so strange? We may not teach Jesus + circumcision, but
how about:
Jesus + evangelism: How many people have you led to Christ this year? Or:
Jesus + contribution: Are you giving all you can to the church? Or:
Jesus + mysticism: You do offer penance and pray to the Virgin Mary, don’t you? Or:
Jesus + heritage: Were you raised in the church? Or:
Jesus + doctrine: When you were baptized, was the water running
or still? Deep or shallow?
Hot or cold?
Legalism. The theology of “Jesus +.” Legalists don’t dismiss Christ. They trust in Christ a lot. But
they don’t trust in Christ alone. We’re tempted to dismiss legalism as harmless. After all, legalists
look good. They act religious. They promote morality and decency and good living. Is there any
harm to their teaching” (p. 100)?
Jesus and Paul both thought that this idea and those who promoted it were dangerous. It is dependent on human activity. “do you think your baptism and Sunday attendance will be enough to save you? Legalists do…Who would look at the cross of Christ and say, ‘Great work, Jesus. Sorry you couldn’t finish it, but I’ll take up the slack’” (p. 103)? “Legalism is joyless because legalism is endless. There is always another class to attend, person to teach, mouth to feed” (p. 103). Once a law is created, it cannot be violated without consequences. So we have our laws and if violated all who participated in the action risk punishment. The violation and the violator must be dealt with. All the laws will be obeyed so that God is pleased.
What is forgotten in this is the relational. David recognized this when he said that if God desired sacrifices he would offer them, but what God really wanted was a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51). Isaiah saw the same in his day when God told him that the sacrifices of the Israelites were a stench in His nostrils because their hearts were far from Him (Isaiah 1, et.al.). Amos too said the same about sacrifices because there was no justice, mercy and righteousness in the land (chapter 5). The Pharisees were more concerned about traditions and Sabbath breaking than the health and welfare of people in relationship to God.
Lucado goes on to say that grace offers both peace and rest, but legalism doesn’t. Grace is God giving us what we need not what we deserve. We need peace and rest. The Galatians were losing their freedom in Christ because of legalism. Today many of us have been in the same situation. We need understanding not judgment, forgiveness not punishment, comfort not control. We want leaders who listen and understand our point of view, even if they do not agree, not leaders who shut off all discussion because they have the “authority” to do it. We understand that God delights in forgiveness (Micah 7:18-19), will forgive when things are not done just right (2 Chronicles 30), and wants a relationship with us. Now I’m not saying that this means we can do whatever we want. That is not the point. What we want to see is that a tradition is a way that helps us to better serve God and one another. However, there might be a better way and we must be willing to look at it as well.
The key to this is the title of Lucado’s book. It is not about me! Like Jesus we give ourselves to others to bring glory to God (read Philippians 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:24). It is building a relationship with God in Christ and with one another, not through laws but through grace, love and service.
George B. Mearns