Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."
Mark 4 v 30- 32.
We are fortunate to have a small wood backing on to our garden. Different birds will often be seen resting in the branches of the trees. When the neighbour's cat joins the party, the birds take flight. Birds rather wisely don't rest in branches alongside cats.
The picture in this parable is of the birds of the air resting securely in the branches of the tree that grew from a mustard seed. There are no unfriendly cats lurking in the branches. As Christians, we are called to rest in the branches of the Kingdom of God, finding in Christ that 'yoke that is easy and burden that is light.'
Why do so many Christians live outside that place of rest? Why do so many of us live in the branches of the Kingdom of God with agitation, insecurity, and unhealthy activism as the characteristics of our lives? What cat has got amongst the pigeons?
I would like to suggest that the fat cat of religious legalism is the most destructive spirit which the devil has used to rob many of us of the joy and peace of resting in Christ. Many of us are more the slave to religious piety and human tradition, rather than the 'doulos' of Christ.
At its heart legalism is the exaltation of law, formula, and red tape as a doctrine of justification by works, rather than a justification through faith alone in Christ. I have listed a number of ways in which this legalism appears, and some of the spiritual insights that can help us catch this cat and keep it off the back of our lives.
1. Promotion of knowledge over love.
There are five references in the New Testament to 'knowledge puffing up, but love building up.' These are 1 Corinthians 4 v 6, 4 v 18, 8 v 2, Colossians 2 v 18, and 1 Tim 3 v 6.
Knowledge is not a substitute for love. We can have great knowledge of the Bible, and have had great personal insights in the Holy Spirit, but without love we gain nothing. One of the characteristics of a knowledge or experience driven legalism, is the desire to impress others with what we know or have experienced, rather than inspiring people into a greater passion and personal revelation of Jesus for themselves.
True spiritual knowledge is the fruit of love, and will in turn inspire others in their pursuit of Jesus. In the Colossians 2 v18 reference, the issue is a false parading of spiritual experience as a sign of the Lord's approval. If the temptation in more conservative circles is the displaying of Bible knowledge in a wrong way, in charismatic circles it can be the wrong displaying of experience and inappropriate use of spiritual gifts as a means of securing our authentication.
A measure of true spirituality is how much is concealed, not how much is displayed. What we share needs to be the tip of the iceberg, not the hidden roots. The hidden life is the rewarded life, but the legalism cat will often tempt us in an opposite direction, that of performing and displaying our knowledge and experiences to win the approval of men. When we do this, our motive is not love, and we can become 'sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.' Birds won't rest secure for long in these type of branches.
2. Misunderstanding of covenant.
The basis on which God accepts us is unconditional covenant grace. If the story of the Prodigal tells us anything, it is that we can't earn our passage or ticket to grace and favour. Even when we are in ' the distant land', far away from the Lord, His love for us is not based on our getting our act together. The Prodigal returns with a pre planned script of intent, only to see it effectively ripped up in the loving embrace of his father.
The 'ifs' and 'thens' of scripture in relation to covenant are there to help us grow in the quality and depth of our relationship with the Lord. They are not contractual obligations that need to be kept in order to secure God's grace and love, but rather our invitation to respond to, and live in the benefits of, that love and grace.
Take the verse in 2 Chronicles 7 v 14, often used as a rallying cry for prayer and revival.
'If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.'
This promise is given to a people who are already redeemed. Israel had been set free from Egypt, not because they had kept the law ( it was given after their deliverance), but on account of the Lord's grace and mercy towards them. Promises like the one quoted in 2 Chronicles are given to an already redeemed people. Even if the Israelites ignored the Lord's word, (and they frequently did), it would not change the basis on which He loved them, beautifully defined in Deuteronomy 7 v 7-8:
' The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.'
The foundation of our relationship with the Lord, is unconditional grace. We embrace the 'ifs' and 'then' clauses of scripture to grow in the depth and quality of that relationship, but not as a means of trying to earn our ticket or right of passage. God's love for us is not conditioned on whether we read the Bible, attend church meetings, pray, fast, tithe and so on. The subtle cat of legalism tries to convince us to the contrary. It is because God loves me unconditionally, that I can and want to change. I don't change in order to secure God's favour; rather His unconditional favour inspires me to want to change.
3. Preoccupation with externals.
'Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations- "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," which all concern things which perish with the using- according to the commands and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.'
Colossians 2 v 20-23.
Legalism preaches external conformity and behaviour, without internal transformation of the heart by the Holy Spirit. Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart. Legalism will disciple people into a system of living, but not into the Author of Life. The Psalmist cries out to the Lord, 'With you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light.' Legalism sheds light on our behaviour, but does not impart the life that brings true light to all men.
It is too easy to point a finger at outward behaviour and habits, and ignore the appalling pride and covetousness that can be hidden in our own hearts. We can forget how patient and gracious the Lord has been with us. We can easily fall into the trap of 'straining out a gnat, and swallowing a camel.' We can strain out a gnat on dress code in church, for example, but ignore the camel of injustice that endorses a theology that silences women from participating fully in the life of that church. The birds of the air will not rest in peace alongside these sort of cats in the branches.
4. The finger in every pie syndrome.
One of the motives behind legalistic drive is the desire to be in a position of control and influence over people. Sometimes this can be insecurity; we simply want to be needed as 'God's Fixers', putting things right in a way that no one else can. Our identity is driven by the need to make ourselves indispensable, the very opposite of what we should be doing.
Two of the signs of this syndrome are the inability to say 'no', and the inability to delegate to others who are better equipped to do the task in hand. Self protection often lies at the heart of the 'finger in every pie syndrome.'
Why were the Jewish leaders so afraid of Jesus? What motivated Herod to have put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under? What motivated David's brothers to pour scorn upon him when he went to confront Goliath? What motivated Tobiah and Sanballat to ridicule Nehemiah? Why were Darius' officials so angry with Daniel? It was a combination of fear, self protection and insecurity.
Fear that someone more important, or more graced than them was now on centre stage. Defending their own self interests, rather than promoting the interests of others. Insecurity, in that they would not necessarily know where they would now fit in to the overall scheme of things. We are the Lord's servant first, and only secondly the servant of men. The finger in every pie syndrome turns this principle on its head. We become a slave to what people expect of us, rather than prioritising what the Lord has called us to. We become more concerned with what others think about us, rather than how the Lord sees us. Saying 'no' becomes impossible, and delegating to others is seen as a potential risk too far.
5. Rose tinted view of history and tradition.
Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For you do not enquire wisely concerning this.
Ecclesiastes 7 v 10.
This is one that I particularly have to be careful of. In a nostalgic way, I often look back on the past through rose tinted glasses remembering all of the selective Match of the Day highlights, but conveniently overlooking the less attractive elements of history.
It is only very recently that I took the plunge into social networking, emails and mobile phones. First class letters and landlines were my primary means of keeping in touch with anyone outside a one mile radius from my home. That has now changed. My regret is that it took so long to make the change.
The primary reason I backed out of doing school assemblies back in 2005, was that all the schools I went into were replacing the old fashioned overhead projectors with laptops and projectors. I was intimidated by technology, and reasoning that the old ways were the best ways, I bowed out, and let others go in.
I would justify not having a mobile phone, or not using email with all kinds of silly nostalgia. The reality is that I was getting caught in a time warp of my own tradition, and I needed to change. The rest is now history. I've even found myself going back into one or two schools to take assemblies with YouTube clips and the like.
The reason I give this personal example is to illustrate how powerful and stubborn we can all be in resisting change, citing history and tradition as our convenient get out clause for change. You wouldn't be reading this short paper if I hadn't thrown off the shackles of my own prejudice against technology... I write these blogs on my smartphone during the in between moments of the day. If we are not careful we can become a slave to our own little institutions and mindsets, rather than be a servant of the Holy Spirit.
What self made institutions and mindsets are perhaps preventing you from being a more fruitful servant of the Holy Spirit? Legalism is defined as the exaltation of a formula or red tape at the expense of life and grace. One of my potential red tapes and formulas is 'the past is best.' Getting progressively freed up from this is helping me to sit more comfortably on the branches of the tree. The legalistic cat of 'the past is best', is slowly being starved to death.... I hope!
PS. This will be the last blog until September. Thanks.
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