The Pharisees of Jesus' day began with a noble cause. They wanted to keep God in the government. The Sadducees on the other hand wanted a completely secular state without any mention of God. They had adopted, not only the Greek language and culture, but its lewd and lascivious lifestyle as well. It was a life and let live society; if it feels good, do it. The Pharisees arose in opposition to this. They rightly wanted God's word to be observed. The word Pharisee means separatists. They remembered God's command to be a Holy and Separate people.
Their failure was legalism; they made a rule for everything. They expanded the law of Moses with "what-ifs" that made daily life a chore instead of a joy. They called themselves teaching people how to observe God's law but made them dread the law instead. No doubt many where driven to abandon the law altogether because it seemed to be impossible to keep.
The problem with legalism is that one can not anticipate every situation in advance. If I tell someone what to do, instead of teaching him to think, he will always be dependent on me. If I teach him to think, he will eventually become a teacher himself. So it should be in the Christian life.
Jesus told his followers to go and make disciples. Disciples are those who have chosen to discipline themselves to follow the law. Their is nothing wrong with the law. Who would want to live in a society that had no rules? Think about driving down the street without stop lights? What is there were no laws against trespassing or even murder. You get the point.
Observing the law of God is a good thing. It brings the blessings of God on one's life. It keeps the young from folly and gives the old a place of honor and respect in society. It shows us how to live and how to die. So how should this law be enforced? The Muslim answer is to kill those who do not obey. Should this be the Christian answer as well?
As a Christian I must determine to keep the law of God out of love and respect for him. Because I love God, I will obey his word. In doing so, I pray that others will want to follow my example. Hopefully they will see through my joy for life that observing God's law is a blessing and not a curse.
The Pharisees missed the concept of living by example so they lived by law with no grace. As a Christian I must live by grace and let God enforce his law. I will not throw the law out and join the Sadducees but I will seek to live the law without the harshness of the Pharisees. The law is perfected through love.
In Christ's love,
Sullivan Jones
