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THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL ELIMINATES LEGALISM

(John 8:3-11)
August 2, 2009

The good news of the Gospel eliminates legalism. The word legalism includes absolute authority, strict laws and literal applications. If the Gospel can eliminate these detrimental constraints, it’s truly good news. But how does it do that?

Some people base their lives on rules and regulations. Soon, these rules become more important than the people the rules are designed to protect. However, the more we love people, the more flexible we will be in applying the rules.

A preacher said, “One Sunday morning during my sermon, there was a loud noise back behind the pulpit. We heard a lot of voices shouting and feet running.

The next morning in staff meeting, I righteously declared, “Find out who those kids were, contact their parents, and let’s get this under control.”

One of the staff members meekly pointed out that I was the parent of the kids who were making all that noise. So, of course, I handled the issue differently.

Jesus always operated on the premise that every “noise maker,” every adulterer and every thief was in fact his own child. And thus, their lives were more important than the inflexible application of rigid rules and regulations. That explains his surprising response to one particular sinner who was being accused.

Let’s consider Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery. “

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees "brought a woman there. She had been caught in adultery. They forced the woman to stand before the people. They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught having sexual relations with a man who is not her husband. The law of Moses commands that we kill with stones every woman who does this. What do you say we should do?’ They were asking this to trick Jesus so that they could have some charge against him.

But Jesus knelt down and started writing on the ground with his finger. They continued to ask Jesus their question. So he stood up and said, ‘Is there anyone here who has never sinned? The person without sin can throw the first stone at this woman.’ Then Jesus knelt down again and wrote on the ground. Those? who heard Jesus began to leave one by one. The older men left first, and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman. She was standing before him. Jesus stood up again and asked her, ‘Woman, all of those people have gone. Has no one judged you guilty?’ She answered, ‘No one has judged me, sir.’ Then Jesus said, ‘So I also don't judge you. You may go now, but don't sin again’ ” (John 8:3-11).

Now what happened in this story?

I. FIRST, THE PHARISEES SET THEMSELVES UP AS ABSOLUTE AUTHORITIES.

They and they alone knew what was right and what was wrong. They felt it was their religious duty to ferret out sin. But was it really their business to spy on a couple? Furthermore, if morality was the purpose, why didn’t they bring the man involved? No, these zealots had ulterior motives. Most critics do!

Jesus, however, never set himself up as an absolute authority. In fact when someone came and asked him to judge a situation he said, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” (Luke 12:14).

Unfortunately, many of us tend to judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves:

When others are set in their ways, they’re obstinate;

but when we’re set in our ways, we’re just resolved.

When an associate treats the boss especially well, she’s buttering him up;

but when we do so, we’re being thoughtful.

When others take a lot of time to do things well, they’re procrastinating;

but when we do so, we’re cautious.

When others give lavish gifts, they’re spendthrifts;

but when we overdo, we’re generous.

When others pick flaws in things, they’re critical;

but when we do that, we’re perceptive.

When someone else says what they think, they’re spiteful;

but when we do that, we’re being straight forward.

When others take great risks, they’re being careless;

but when we do, we’re being courageous.

—adapted by Maralene Wesner

In short, we’re all biased in our evaluations and we’re all limited in our understanding. So, we must not set ourselves up as absolute authorities.

II. NEXT, THE PHARISEES CHOSE AND QUOTED THE STRICTEST LAWS CONCERNING BEHAVIOR.

They picked out the judgmental and punishing verses of the Old Testament, instead of the uplifting ones.

Jesus didn’t operate by a set of laws. Instead, he adapted his actions to meet the needs of individuals. Legalism said to, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy” (Matt. 5:43); but Jesus said, “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matt. 5:44).

Legalism said men must not touch a woman, but Jesus did. He allowed a woman to kneel beside him “Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them” (Luke 7:38).

Legalism said women weren’t to interact with men, but Jesus disagreed. When “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught,” and Martha complained, the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it—and I won’t take it away from her’ ” (Luke 10:39-42).

Legal rules simply don’t work. They become out of date. Consider this list: “Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. . . Don’t eat any more white bread. If you are sincere about obeying Christ, you must not take warm baths or shave your beard.”

These admonitions sound ridiculous and even comical. But this was the actual list given in most Christian schools in the second century.

What do you think our own lists of legalistic rules will sound like to those a few generations in the future? What ridiculous list of do’s and don’ts have we concocted. Furthermore, who gave us the right to make a list of rules for others to live by?

Also, rules don’t work because there are always exceptions and changing circumstances. For example, Don’t run a red light unless you’re speeding a dying man to the hospital.

Never throw a child out of a second story window except when the house is on fire and there’s a fireman waiting below with a blanket.

Don’t cut a person with a knife, unless he has appendicitis and you’re a surgeon.

Strict rules are often illogical and they hurt people. Paul said, “We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:6).

The gospel delivers us from the law.

III. FINALLY, THE PHARISEES DEMANDED A LITERAL APPLICATION OF PUNISHMENT.

If Jesus had agreed to these conditions and the Old Testament Scriptures had been followed, this woman, taken in adultery, would have been killed. But Jesus didn’t demand a literal application of punishment. Legalism also said people should be put to death for breaking sabbath laws. The Scripture said, “One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they caught a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. He was apprehended and taken before Moses, Aaron and the rest of the community. They held him in custody because they did not know what to do with him. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘The man must be put to death! The whole community must stone him outside the camp’ ” (Num. 15:32-35).

But Jesus didn’t follow these admonitions. He allowed for exceptions. He said, “Haven’t you ever read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?” (Matt. 12:5).

He redefined the Sabbath as a blessing, not a duty. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27, niv).

Jesus affirmed flexibility and tolerance when he said punishment is not the best response to mistakes. He neither stoned nor condemned the woman taken in adultery.

The Babema tribes of southern Africa have a unique way of dealing with antisocial behavior. Instead of punishment, the entire village gathers in a circle around the offender and each member, at length and in precise detail, tells every single good thing the person has ever done. No thoughtful deed or kindness is left out, nor does any tribal member, regardless of age, fail to take part. By the time all have finished, sometimes several days have passed and at the end there is a joyful celebration as the person is welcomed back into the tribe.

That’s the attitude Jesus had with the woman accused of adultery. It’s significant that he gave the church the keys to heaven. He didn’t give them the keys to hell and judgment. The gospel is not to be used as a punishment.

CONCLUSION:

So, the good news of the Gospel eliminates legalism with its rules and punishment. The woman who was dragged before Jesus and accused was facing absolute authority figures, strict laws and literal applications.

When these things happen to us they greatly limit our personal freedom and seriously impede social progress. Jesus was constantly attacked by the Pharisees for his tolerance and flexibility. Those who insist upon an “eye for an eye” are revealing their own inner rage. Someone who ventured beyond these restrictions, and instead advocated leniency, was confronted with the inevitable question: “Just where is there Biblical authority for that?” “Oh, it’s there,” He answered. “It’s right after the passage about getting a driver’s license.” He meant that you can’t quote a verse to substantiate every belief and behavior. It’s obvious that the Scriptures do not deal with specifics like technology and electronics.

That’s one of the main reasons Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit. We can now be guided by our conscience and current situations, instead of being held to a list of absolute requirements. Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. Jesus said, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things . . .” (John 14:16, 17b,nlb 26, niv).

The woman caught in the sin of adultery was not punished as the law directed and neither should we use Scripture to punish others. The good news of the gospel eliminates legalism. John said, “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Paul said, “Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).

“We . . . know that a man is not justified by observing the law , but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:15-16).

So we must not choose and quote the strictest laws concerning behavior.
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(WC1870)

Copyrighted 2009 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THIS MESSAGE IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE. The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works.

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