Freedom from the Extra-Biblical

The main source of criticism, that Jesus faced, came from the Pharisees.  As you recall, the Pharisees were members of a sect of highly educated, super "religious"  Jewish men.  So then, what was the problem?  It emerged when their strict observance of the Law, crossed over into legalism.  Legalism, takes observance to a new level, one that is based on adhering to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit.  That in itself isn’t the issue either, if one wants to be uber-scrupulous, so be it.  As an example, the Ten Commandments stated that one was to refrain from work on the Sabbath.  It was then left up to everyone’s individual interpretation of what work was.  Well meaning rabbis and scholars, who felt it was their responsibility to fill in that blank, began  adding all kinds of codicils and amendments to the existing law.  They decided, for example, that digging a hole to put a plant in, on the Sabbath, was work. .  But then they thought about it some more and added that you couldn’t spit either because that might make a dent in the earth which could be considered a hole.  On and on it went covering every aspect of the Law, until it became humanly impossible to fulfill this new extra, hyped-up Law.

If the Pharisees had wanted to follow this on their own, OK, but they held everyone to it, and judged others by their compliance or lack of it.  When Jesus came on the scene, he who had spent his life adhering to the Law, began deviating from the extra-legal.  This set the scene for confrontation.  The Pharisees not only began picking on his behavior, but worse yet, they judged him on it. It was a no-win scenario, for Jesus, from that point on.

 Let’s agree that the Law itself was never the problem.  We still need laws and rules, in society and as people of faith.  The Bible contains rules which are meant to call believers to accountability, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Without them there would be chaos and anarchy.  Not unlike the Pharisees of old, we have churches and people who have added extra-Biblical regulations to God’s word.  Regulations covering everything from what to eat, how to dress, baptism, and when and how often you should attend church.   And like those “religious” guys of yesteryear, they are always judging others according to these man-made elements.  This is nothing new, and Paul addressed it the church this was. “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” Colossians 2:20-23.

 I think part of the reason there is so little passion for God in the church today is because people are too busy adhering to extra-Biblical “stuff, and not seeking relationship with Him. Are you feeling trapped in a sticky web of  judgmental laws?  You shouldn’t, that’s one of the main goals Jesus had in his ministry. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17.  His sacrifice fulfilled all law, remember that, and you will be on the road to freedom. " So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36