Hello dear ones! How is the study going for you? I hope that you are enjoying the comments here on this page, and that God is speaking to you personally and uniquely each day as you meet with Him.
Today, let’s talk for a bit about how Jesus pushed back on legalism and brought in a new way of doing life. You see, when we just follow the rules, we get trapped by them. We start measuring ourselves and our worth by how smart we are at being exactly perfect at rules-keeping. When we fail, which we inevitably do, we beat ourselves up and drown in shame at times. This is not God’s way! Jesus said in Mark 2:22, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” His way, the way of being led by His Spirit, is new and the old legalism cannot contain it. We burst free when we trade in rules following for relationship building and a listening to the Spirit.
A great example of this occurs in Mark 2:23-28. Jesus’ disciples broke a few stalks of grain and munched on them as they were walking. There was nothing wrong with that. Yet, the Pharisees were so conscientious about the command to not work on sabbaths, that they’d enlarged it beyond what God had said. Their rules frowned upon even a simple munching on a grain that was picked. Do you see how out of proportion that was? Yes, the Sabbath is a day set apart for rest and worship. However, when we start to strictly enforce more and more rules about what constitutes rest and work, we end up being enslaved to the rules and not enjoying the rest that is a gift God gave! Charles Swindoll says this about legalism. He calls it “an aggressive opponent to all who long to be free. Legalism is a thief, not only stealing our liberty but also robbing us of our joy.” Let’s be careful to obey the Lord out of our love for Him, but let’s not add on to His commands precise and picky rules that are more about “looking good” than obeying the spirit of the command.
My recorded verse: Mark 2:27 “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.”
My response: I‘m so thankful that the sabbath was created as a gift to slow us down, and not as a heavy chain to choke us, Lord. Thank You for the gift of rest and for Your desire to see us rest! Help us to honor You in this, without creating foolish rules.
