Corinthians 3 says:
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
If we try to modify our behavior without the power of the Spirit, that can lead to frustration. We can become so intent on trying to do all the right things in order to feel good about ourselves and even to make people with whom we come in contact think that we are doing OK. This is legalism, and it is destructive. God wants us to dip into the reservoir of His kindness and mercy, to discover His resources to live the Christian life, to stop trying to keep a set of rules that will ensnare us and keep in step with the Spirit.
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In the 23rd chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus calls out the practices of the religious leaders of His day, those who had apparently gone way beyond the Law as prescribed in the Old Testament and
entrapped the people within an extreme form of legalism. We can read where Jesus said:
(2) ..."The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers
5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.
6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'
There does seem to be more than enough legalism to go around. The Daily Signal has a story about a freelance reporter who was arrested on the New York City subway. It says:
This “criminal” had the audacity to put her foot up on an adjacent, empty subway seat. That’s right, a woman was arrested and spent four hours in a holding cell for conduct that interfered with no one.The article points out that:
The New York City Transit Authority’s rules of conduct specifically forbid one from placing “his or her foot on a seat on a station, platform or conveyance,” under Section 1050.7(j), along with a host of similar misbehaviors. While it is unclear whether the reporter was familiar with Section 1050.7(j)—which details “disorderly conduct” on the subway—New York City police officers sure are.The story says that a 2012 report showed that over 6000 tickets were handed out the previous year, with 1600 people arrested for violating Section 1050.7(j). The article went into some other instances where people were arrested for seemingly harmless crimes, like a New York City guitarist who was strumming on a subway platform or a Washington, D.C. 12-year-old who was eating a french fry at a transit station.
That D.C. incident actually went to the D.C. Circuit Court, where then-member John Roberts, our current chief justice, according to The Daily Signal, upheld the constitutionality of the arrest: The story says, "Roberts correctly implied that just because a law is unprincipled or draconian does not mean it is an unconstitutional law that courts are equipped to strike down." That D.C. ordinance resulting in the arrest has been modified. And, the mayor of New York has signed an act reducing penalties on those who commit small offenses.
Jesus took aim at the laws that were imposed by the religious leaders of his day. He accused them of enacting laws that they themselves would not follow, accusing them of doing public works in order to be seen of men. He accused them of prideful activities, possessing corrupt hearts while attempting to make an outward show of their piety.
But, to bring this home, how often are we guilty of doing something very similar? We can become so trapped in our legalism that we fail to experience the liberty of Jesus Christ. We can examine our actions to see if we are really doing what we do in order to obey and honor God, or so that other people can see what wonderful Christians we are. Sure, He intends for us to exhibit holiness, but that starts with the inward cleansing of the Holy Spirit, not acting holy for the crowd while our hearts are not in sync with the Spirit.
Motivation is a key. If we are acting like a Christian for show, perhaps we are not really showing the love and character of Christ. Our activity should be driven by love and released by the Holy Spirit. If we are merely playing to the crowd in order to make people think that we are something that we are not on the inside, then we are missing the point. We can set up elaborate rules for ourselves that result in our being religious without truly living from the heart. Legalism is destructive and suffocating - living in the Spirit is freeing!
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