MuddyPuddles

I have a friend with whom I have been studying the Bible recently.  He is very “conservative” in his understanding of scriptures.  I would even describe him as somewhat legalistic.  To his way of thinking, we should all be able to agree on what the scriptures teach and that we should use command, example and necessary inference to make those determinations as well as the principle of the “Thundering silence of scriptures” (meaning that things not specifically authorized in scripture are necessarily unauthorized and therefore forbidden).” 

This approach seems very reasonable if this is the way you are first taught by seemingly wise and knowledgeable men for whom you have great respect.  But the reality is that those guidelines are not commanded.  Nor are they exclusively exampled.  And they are not necessarily inferred.  In fact the scriptures are “Thunderingly silent about how to interpret the scriptures.”  Well, maybe there are clues here and there, but historically we’ve “strained out the gnat and swallowed the camel” in this regard.  And, even after exhaustively examining the poop, some of us haven’t realized it yet.

What’s good about my discussions with this young legalist is that, though he is a legalist, he still seems to be open-minded.  What I mean is that he seems to genuinely consider the things that I say.  Most legalists that I’ve dealt with in the past few years remind me of the Pharisees that stood there and watched Jesus heal the man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years and then complained that Jesus had done it on the Sabbath.  They totally missed the point.  They focused on the wrong things and felt threatened by anything that didn’t fit their preconceived notions.  In short, they were not open to the possibility that they had been wrong or that they had been majoring in the minors for all those years.  They read the scripture, (1 Cor. 10:12 (KJV)),  “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” but didn’t consider the possibility that it might apply to them.

I am hopeful that this young man will not be a legalist one year from now.  In fact, because of his open mind, I feel optimistic that his legalistic days are numbered.  Legalism and open-mindedness cannot co-exist in one person for long.  I believe they are incompatible when it comes to studying the new covenant (which is written on men’s hearts rather than on tablets of stone).  Maybe that is why it is so rare to find an open-minded legalist.  They can't stay that way for long.  If correctly challenged with scripture, they must either close their minds (like the Pharisees) or move toward grace, like the Galatian brethren.  

Please pray for me and this young man as we study the word together.  Pray that God will open our eyes and lead us both to the truth. Thanks in advance,  Dennis