Acts 15:28 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:”

The early believers were aware that their authority came from God, and specifically from the Holy Spirit. They had experienced more than enough of the rule of man, and they wanted to operate in the kingdom of God. The particular issue at hand was of vital importance, not only for them in their time but for believers of all ages, down through today, as I discussed yesterday. They knew that “religion as usual” could be an immense burden, so they limited their instructions to a few things that could easily be major snares, not urging adherence to the whole weight of Jewish tradition. Recently several Christian leaders have been recommending Sabbath observance to a degree that hasn’t been practiced among Christians for a few centuries, specifically “unplugging” from the digital world from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, and that frankly seems wise to me, though I haven’t implemented it in my own life yet. After all, Jesus explicitly said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27) The point is, the Old Testament regulations were given for the benefit of mankind, to bless them and not burden them. As John wrote clearly, God’s commands are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3) It is when we twist them and misapply them and use them against each other that they become more than we can bear.

I have been something of an “anti-legalist” all my life. How much of that was from a proper understanding of Scripture and how much was from simply being rebellious is for God to decide. As a pastor I have sought to guide my flock in the right path, without laying heavy burdens on them, and I have probably erred on the side of laxness. I have had believers who drank and smoked, and God has dealt with them, with my saying very little. I have been consistent in pointing out what is dangerous to our bodies, and that we are accountable for our stewardship of our bodies, but that applies to overeating and lack of exercise as well. In Bible days, with no mechanical transportation and frequent food shortages, those last were seldom an issue! I am not to gloss over anything the Bible tells us, but I am to be fully sensitive to the Holy Spirit as to what applies to us today. The moral issues are most universal, but they are the most under attack. I am not to be a legalist, but I am certainly not to be a scoff-law.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the rather severe reminder You’ve given me over the past 12 hours, with the failure of the hard drive. That really is forcing a reset of my priorities, of understanding what my legacy is to be. I ask for Your will to be done, whether or not I recover any of that data, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!