STEP INTO THE LIGHT

(Part 4 of "Don't be a pharisee...") 

For we maintain that [we are] justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 

Romans 3:28

(This is the fourth part in a series on looking at Christ through faith or through the law.)

Lastly, as we progress from right and wrong, through rules and regulations, we arrive at the stark truth that the leaders of this particular synagogue, and ourselves,  lacked faith (see scripture).  Faith separates the believer from the non-believer.  Faith doesn’t need rules and regulations, it doesn’t need right or wrong.  It’s content to accept.  And what's of great encouragement - we are justified by our faith:  not the law: not the regulations.

Jesus said that we should have childlike faith, not childish faith.  I think the difference has to do with the heart of where our faith stems from.  Childish faith needs constant affirmation, as if it's not quite enough.  Childlike faith is content in a place of trust.  Hebrews tells us that it is confident and assured.  A child cannot do anything to earn their parent's love - it's available to them freely!  When we get this, we get that it's not about what I do, but about what Jesus did!

Don't be a pharisee... part 3

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?  Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

 (Luke 13)

Sometimes, it’s not so easy to know what the loving thing to do is – so, again, like the temple leaders, we fall into the trap of consulting the rules and regulations.  When we look at things through the eyes of the law, we look at the rules.  It’s the only way.  The law consists of rules and regulations.  I believe Jesus challenges us to look deeper than the rules and seek to find the relationships.


We live in a world that is governed by this way of thinking so it’s hard to escape it.  But if we want to grasp Grace in the person of Jesus, and steer clear of the trap of looking at life and people through the eyes of law, through the eyes of a non-believer, then we need to steer clear of setting our sights on the rules and regulations.  We need to see Grace through the eyes of a relationship with Jesus.  The temple leaders felt that it was wrong to heal on the Sabbath... but right any other day, because that’s what the rules said.  They were unable to sink deeper into the situation and recognise the relationships.

I believe Jesus had a different way of looking at it.  He was able to act in love, not because of the rules, but because of the relationship.  He was able to stop, listen and love because He valued this woman and was willing to put her and her needs above the expectations that were placed upon Him by other people.  Because He rose above these expectations, He was able to behave unexpectedly - and this was how He became a location for a miracle!  Is this story only about how the temple priests tried to trap Jesus, or is it about how miracles happen?  

GOD wants to use you and I for amazing things - but if we stick to the expectations and rules of society, we will only understand Grace and GOD's presence with us, in terms of right and wrong, rules and regulations.  This means that when I do something good or right... GOD must be with me.  If I do something bad or wrong, then He is not with me.  


Let me tell you today, that even when you 'do wrong', GOD IS WITH YOU!  GOD never ever turns His back on you.  When we choose to act selfishly, we turn our backs on GOD, not the other way around.   Deuteronomy 31 reminds us of this, and again the writer of Hebrews reminds those reading his letter: that GOD is always with them.


We need to let go of trying to impress GOD buy keeping His law - Jesus died on a cross and rose again so that we wouldn't have to live this way!!  If I can encourage you today, let me lay it out there that people are more important than anything else.  Relationships are more important than rules.  Sometimes we need to look passed the rules in order to see the relationship.  Jesus gives us His Grace so that we can look beyond the rules and relish in a relationship with Him!

IS IT RIGHT OR WRONG?

(Part 2 of "Don't be a Pharisee...)

Have you ever asked yourself "Is this right or wrong?"

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people.  “There are six days for work.  So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

 (Luke 13)

The first thing that the teachers of the law did was to ask themselves, "Is this right or wrong?"  This is something we tend to do every day of our lives, whether the moral dilemma is huge or insignificant, this is an easy trap to fall into.  Should I?  Shouldn’t I?  It is right, or is it wrong.  I believe that Jesus came to teach us to stop asking ourselves this question.

I believe, Jesus was never concerned about right or wrong, here’s why.  The temple leaders are saying how it would be perfectly okay to heal on any of the other six days of the week, just, not today Jesus, it’s the Sabbath!  And clearly, since you have done something wrong, you must be wrong.  A logical and acceptable response, I think?