Word@Work 026 - Mark 3:4
Published: Mon, 12/17/07
Word@Work from BeaconLight
Read Mark 3:4 Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. (NIV)
Like the law of gravity, all God's laws simply express how His creation (both physical and moral) is designed to operate. They clearly define what will work and what will not. But like multiple layers of paint that hide the original of an old masterpiece, petty rules (that 'gold plate' God's original instructions), lose sight of what God originally intended.
So Jesus needed to separate God's objective for the Sabbath, from wrong ideas that God never intended. His opposers claimed that healing people on the Sabbath was wrong - because it was 'doing work'. By starkly contrasting life-saving with 'manslaughter by neglect', Jesus forced them to see the foolishness of their legalism.
There comes a point in every argument when there is nothing more to say. When that happens, people usually start to think ... which is a very good thing! Serious thinking cannot begin until prejudice is exposed as a dominating wrong habit.
So don't be worried when it all goes quiet; as false assumptions fall away and the truth will become self-evident. It is then, and often not until then, that your friends will start to think about what God is saying.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be straightforward about what is true, so that my friends and colleagues will hear Your voice above the cultural din - and think about what You are saying. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
Like the law of gravity, all God's laws simply express how His creation (both physical and moral) is designed to operate. They clearly define what will work and what will not. But like multiple layers of paint that hide the original of an old masterpiece, petty rules (that 'gold plate' God's original instructions), lose sight of what God originally intended.
So Jesus needed to separate God's objective for the Sabbath, from wrong ideas that God never intended. His opposers claimed that healing people on the Sabbath was wrong - because it was 'doing work'. By starkly contrasting life-saving with 'manslaughter by neglect', Jesus forced them to see the foolishness of their legalism.
There comes a point in every argument when there is nothing more to say. When that happens, people usually start to think ... which is a very good thing! Serious thinking cannot begin until prejudice is exposed as a dominating wrong habit.
So don't be worried when it all goes quiet; as false assumptions fall away and the truth will become self-evident. It is then, and often not until then, that your friends will start to think about what God is saying.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be straightforward about what is true, so that my friends and colleagues will hear Your voice above the cultural din - and think about what You are saying. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
W@W026 | Word@Work 2002, 2007 © Dr Paul Adams | Provided by BeaconLight
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