The question arose in class this week about legalism and what that term means. Legalism in the Biblical context is an unbalanced focus on rules and behaviors as a means to salvation. The Jewish community in the first century were highly legalistic in their practices and we see that throughout the New Testament. Pharisees tried to "catch" Jesus breaking all kinds of rules so that they could persecute him for false teaching (Matt 9:11-15; 12:1-3; 15: 1-3; Mk 7; Luk 6:1-11, to name a few). The pharisees got so wrapped up in piety (dutiful devotion to god and observance of religious principles -- Thank you, Dictionary.com!) that they had no relationship with God. They had no heart for holiness, but only a daily to-do and not-to-do list that they checked off as they went about their business.
The idea that God is after a willing heart is not one that is exclusively New Testament. Genesis tells us "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Gen 15:6). David was called a man of God's own heart and, as history would have it, became the greatest king Israel had. There is an interesting illustration of this idea in 1 Samuel 15. In this story we have Saul, the anointed king of the Israelites and Samuel, the priest and judge over the nation, responsible for the spiritual health of the people. God, through Samuel, gave the orders to Saul to completely destroy his enemies, the Amalekites, and, "...destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them. Put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys" (v. 3). Saul destroyed the Amalekites, but did what he thought the religiously right thing to do would be. He plundered and kept the best sheep, cattle and livestock for the purpose of sacrificing them to God. But he missed the command, "Destroy everything." When Samuel heard this his response speaks to this topic clearly:
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than to sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Sam 15:22-23)God wants obedient hearts. The sacrifice here is a practice that was created out of the disparity caused by disobedience! What God would have preferred is that Saul would have listened, as Mal and I tell our 4-year-old niece, "the first time."
The tie-in to our study in James is that we will begin to see much language dealing with behavior. James' message, however, is that we show the world our heart with the outpouring of markedly different behavior. The behavior must come from the heart and then be reflected outwardly. That's my challenge for you. Have a blessed week!
