Good Works or Legalism

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Mark 3:5

After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

(CSB)

My mother was a nurse working in a hospital, so it was common for her to work Sundays.  Some would argue that as a Christian one should not take a job working Sundays as that is the Lord’s day, but I remember my mother telling me that people get sick on Sundays as well as the other days of the week.  It is this same attitude of legalism, not allowing any work on the Sabbath,  that Jesus encountered with the Pharisees when he healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. 

Scripture does not tell us how long the man suffered with a crippled hand only that he had an encounter with Jesus that happened to occur on the Sabbath.  It is possible the man would not have encountered Jesus any other day of the week but only on the Sabbath when Jesus and he would have both been in the synagogue.  However, the strict legalistic Pharisees would have nobody working on the Sabbath and had to make an example of Jesus. 

While Christians are to live in obedience to the Bible, this is not a call to be legalistic in our obedience for that leads to judgmentalism, something Christians are to avoid (Matthew 7:1).  In addition, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath with the Sabbath made for humanity and not for God (Mark 2:27-28).  The Gospel message is not one of legalism or condemnation but a message of love with Jesus giving His life to save sinners from their sins (John 3:16-17; Romans 5:8).  Instead of judging a fellow Christian against biblical rules, Christians should pay attention to their heart attitude while ministering to them.  Jesus heart attitude in healing this man was,

1)      Compassion – I believe the thought of it being the Sabbath was unimportant to Jesus, only the need for healing the man’s shriveled hand.  The Pharisees on the other hand were seeking some charge to levy upon Jesus so they could kill him (Mark 3:2, 6).  This confrontation illustrates the attitude of grace versus the attitude of legalism that continues in the Church.   

2)      Teaching and demonstrating grace – Instead of immediately healing the man, Jesus takes the opportunity to question the Pharisees, asking if it is legal to heal on the Sabbath (Mark 3:2-4).  Jesus’ question placed the Pharisees in a hard place for had they said no, those at the synagogue would have questioned their legalistic attitude.  However, had Jesus agreed with the legalistic rules of the Sabbath and left the man without healing his hand, people would have doubted Jesus love for them.  Jesus healing of the man on the Sabbath was not a violation of God’s law but instead a demonstration of God’s love and grace.

3)      Anger at hardness of heart due to legalism (Mark 3:6) – The only purpose of legalism is making a legalistic person feel holier than others that do now adhere to the letter of the law.  However, this is not condoning law breaking but not using the law as a weapon of condemnation against others.  It was the hardness of the hearts of the Pharisees due to their prideful holier then thou attitude that caused Jesus to have anger towards the Pharisees. 

As a Church, we must ask ourselves if our preaching of the Gospel is legalistic or a message of God’s love and grace.  Let us take a moment to consider some situations the Church could encounter that test our leaning towards grace or legalism. 

1)      A homosexual person visits the church not for a gay wedding but prayer after a diagnosis of HIV.  Would we as a church be like Job’s comforters and preach at him or her about their illness being a consequence of their sinful lifestyle or pray for them sharing the loving message of the Gospel.  I pray the Church would share the love of Christ by praying for them and sharing the message of the Gospel that Jesus came to forgive, not condemn them for their sins.

2)      A homeless person comes into the service on Sunday that is obviously high on drugs or alcohol and in need of medical attention.  Would the church usher the person out of the sanctuary so as not to offend others attending the service or instead minister to their physical needs and arrange for medical attention by calling 911.

My prayer is that the Church would follow Jesus’ example and not treat those coming into the Church with legalistic contempt but instead minister to their needs with the Grace of God.  God loves the person with HIV and he or she is someone God sent His Son to die for and provide forgiveness of their sins, even the sin of homosexuality.  The homeless person has made bad decisions in their life and needs a renewing of their mind that can only happen through coming to know Jesus as their savior (Romans 12:2).  May our churches not be a courtroom passing judgment but instead a hospital where the spiritually sick come for healing.