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There were about six thousand Pharisees at the time of Christ. They
had a reputation for holding lengthy discussions on such "fine
points" as whether it was lawful to eat an egg that had been
laid on the Sabbath.
Saul of Tarsus (later known as the apostle
Paul) inherited this religious tradition. He described himself as a
Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). Before his
life-changing encounter with Christ (Acts 9), Saul believed that his
standing with God was determined by his relationship to the Law.
After his conversion, Paul defined his
standing with God in new terms. Now what counted was his relationship
to Christ. He became concerned about faith in Christ, showing the
love of Christ to others, and reminding fellow believers that all of
us will one day answer personally to Christ the Lord.
When it came to arguable issues of scriptural
application, Paul was no longer preoccupied with the legal rulings of
the scribes. Instead he pled with other members of the family of God
not to judge one another in questionable matters. In his letter to
the Romans he wrote, "Who are you to judge another's servant? .
. . So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve
this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our
brother's way (14:4,12-13).
Many of us need to learn from Paul's
"after Christ" point of view. In an attempt to protect
ourselves from compromise, we adopt his "pre-Christ"
perspective. Adopting the way of the Pharisees, we have developed our
own lists of what a follower of Christ will or will not do. The only
trouble is that someone could keep every point on some of our lists
and still be no closer to God. A person could "religiously"
refrain from alcohol, rock music, tobacco, gambling, and going to
movies and still be godless. A person could attend church, give
money, offer prayers, and read the Bible while still being angry,
critical, and mean.
What counts, however, is what comes from the
Spirit, not what comes from the flesh. Christlike attitudes of love
are so different from our natural inclinations that they drive us to
the Spirit of Christ for wisdom, enablement, and a fresh assurance of
forgiveness. It is better to let our struggle with unkeepable
principles drive us to Christ than to occupy ourselves with the
formalities of religion and miss Him altogether.
In exchange for our trust in Him, Christ does
many things for us that religion cannot do. For example:
He loves us (John 15:13; Rom. 8:35).
He brings us to God (1 Tim. 2:5).
He brings God to us (Col. 1:15).
He bought us for God (Eph. 1:7).
He defends us before God (1 John 2:1).
He declares us "not guilty" (Rom.
3:24; 5:1).
He reconciles us to God (2 Cor. 5:19).
He sets us apart for God (1 Cor. 1:30).
He gives us peace with God (Rom. 5:1).
He makes us acceptable to God (Eph. 1:6).
He forgives us (Eph. 1:7).
He frees us from bondage (Rom. 8;2).
He qualifies us for adoption (Eph. 1:5).
He makes us heirs of God (Eph. 1:11).
He gives us His Spirit (John 14:16-17).
He gives us a new focus (Col. 3:1-2).
He lives within us (Col. 1:27).
He brings us into God's family (John 1:12).
He intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34).
He rescues us from Satan's power (Col. 1:13).
He places us into God's kingdom (Col. 1:13).
He gives us eternal life (Rom. 6:23).
He shows us how to live (1 John 2:6).
Remember that it was Paul who wrote "For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast." (Eph 2:8-9). That is quite a statement coming from a
former Pharisee! Therefore, it is important that we don't get so
wrapped up in religion that we miss out on the grace that is ours
through Christ Jesus.
Curtis
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