July 13, 2022

Passage Read: Matthew 15-16
Meditation Verses: 15:5-9

Thought

The problem with the Pharisees and scribes wasn't that they were so careful to keep the Law of the Lord, but that they were so crafty in coming to with ways to "keep" the Law without keeping it. They spent so much time debating what God meant and desired that they completely lost sight of what God wanted from them! They made up new rules and interpretations that completely undermined God's actual commands and intent! So they began teaching and preaching their new rules rather than God's original commands. Their legalism and hypocrisy were because they didn't hold to the actual commands of God and diligently practice them. Had they just obeyed the Law, they would have been just fine and so ready to receive Jesus when He arrived.

Application

In my diligence and zeal to obey the Lord, I need to be careful only to preach and teach what His Word actually says. If I add my interpretation and my applications to what I preach, I'm in danger of setting up new rules that distract from God's own directives. Then I become the legalistic hypocrite God hates. He said what He meant and meant what He said when He wrote the Scriptures. They are clear and detailed where God intends to limit our behavior, and they are broad and general where He intends to give freedom in obedience. For me to impose my detail where God has purposely left things broad is to fall into the trap of the Pharisees and scribes.