Passage Read: John 9-10
Meditation Verse: 9:16
Thought
The Pharisees had the Sabbath all figured out. Or so they thought. They didn't understand Isaiah 58, instead they focused on minuscule rules that defined what keeping the Sabbath looked like. Some of their rules made them look like fools, but they didn't see that. They found ways to "outsmart" God by their rules, yet God saw clearly their foolishness—and their blindness. They weren't interested in pleasing and honoring God, but defining things in such a way that they could display their supposed righteousness to those around them. They were so fixated on their own rules and regulations that they couldn't recognize the true Christ when He came among them. Their own "wisdom" blinded them to the truth and kept them out of the Kingdom of God. They were convinced they belonged to God, but they knew nothing about Him.
Application
It is a dangerous thing to make up rules and regulations to try to define what obedience to God looks like the details. The more I build a framework beyond the words of Scripture to define godliness and righteousness, the further I get from the truth, and I become a danger to myself and anyone who listens to me. God's Word is the only standard for righteousness, and if I want to recognize whether someone comes from God or not, I need to compare them against what Scripture actually says, not what I think they should be. We Christians are as good as the Pharisees at imposing rules and regulations and standards beyond the "imprecise" instructions of Scripture to define godliness, and we benefit no one by doing so. I need to preach Scripture and Scripture alone, not my ideas of right and wrong. If Scripture makes something plain, it is required for all. But if I come up with an application that is not expressed in Scripture, then it is for me alone. It might be helpful for others, but it is not "law" that I can now impose on others. Before I go expecting others to follow something I've come to believe, I need to be sure Scripture actually says it and requires it; otherwise, I can only offer it up as an example of my own application.