Withered Priorities
Reading: Mark 3:1-6
Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. (Mark 3:4 – NKJV)
The question Jesus asked was a masterful one, and could be applied to a variety of situations.
It was a question that cut to the root of the Pharisees’ disposition: “What are your priorities. They were so in love with the letter of the law, that they had forgotten the purpose of the law. The law of the Sabbath was given for the benefit of God’s people, not their enslavement.
The Pharisees used the law in a manner that brought death, whereas the purpose of God’s Word is to minister life. They wielded it as a weapon, whereas it was meant through the Spirit to bring healing and blessing to the soul.
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 – NASB)
I am afraid there are some preachers today who use God’s Word more like a weapon than a balm to the soul. It is true that there are some hard words that need to be spoken, but the hardness must come from the Word itself, and not from the hearts of those who administer it.
The question Jesus asked is as valid for us today as it was for the Pharisees then: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” The answer is obvious, “Whatever rules, or statutes, or laws we find in the Scriptures, are always meant for the good of those who hear.”
Be true to the Scriptures, but never use them as a whip, or a sword to get people in line; use them under the direction of the Holy Spirit to bring healing and life to their souls.
A Weapon or a Balm?
(© 4th June, 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)
Teach me, O Lord, to use the Law,
And the Word that You have given
In a manner and in a way
That exalts true hearts to Heaven
May the Holy Spirit alter
Every Attitude of mine,
So that the reading of the Law
Gives all my hearers life – divine.
May I never use Truth, dear Lord.
As a weapon to strike and harm;
Let me use it with compassion
And apply it like healing balm.
The Word does have a cutting edge,
But it is not for me to wield;
God has called me to be faithful,
Till every sin-sick soul is healed.
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