August 27, 2006

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

Straining at Gnats

Introduction

1. We are discussing “Common Mistakes in Religion.”  
2. Last week we presented the common mistake of emphasizing the outward forms over inner qualities.  The Lord said to Samuel: “The Lord sees not as man seeth.  Man looks on the outward appearances, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  (1 Sam. 16:7.)
3. Throughout the ages, these common mistakes persist in religion.  We ought to be conscious of these typical failings in religion and not repeat them.
4. Another common mistake in religion is “Straining at Gnats.”  There are significant matters that we ought to be concerned about, but it is easier to focus on the insignificant and unimportant.
5. Families, states and federal governments can likewise spend their time on unimportant matters while serious issues go unattended.

 

Biblical References

 

Matthew 23:16-22.  “Woe unto you blind guides which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing, but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.  You fools and blind, for which is greater?  The gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?”

 

This is another example of a common failure of religions.  The Pharisees thought the gold that covered much of the temple was greater than the temple itself.  They place a greater value on the gold than the temple that sanctified the gold.

 

We can be so concerned about food and clothing that we forget which is more important.  Jesus pointed it out this way: “Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment?”  (Matt. 6:25.)

 

Matthew 23:23.  “Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithes of mint, anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy and faith.  These ought you to have done and not to leave the other undone.  You blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”

 

These are powerful words by which we can remember this lesson—straining at gnats and swallowing camels!  Jesus named some minor things—tithing, that is, picking every 10th leaf off spice plants in their gardens!  While they were careful to do those things, they omitted the weightier matters of judgment, mercy and faith.

 

From the words of Jesus, we learn that some things are far more important than others, even in the will of God.  In life, we learn that you deal with the important issues first and the lesser issues later.  Norma and I were driving on the Jersey Turnpike a few years ago.  We saw an accident just ahead of us.  A man’s car was struck by an 18-wheeler and completely reversed.  The car got caught under the bed of the truck going down the turnpike backward.  When he finally was spun loose, the man sat in his car stunned while traffic continued all around him.  Several motorists ran up to see if we could help the man.  Suppose we noticed that one of his hubcaps got knocked off and started putting it back on!  The car is nearly totaled and a man is seriously injured, but we are concerned with a hubcap!  Everyone knows that you help the human being first and worry about the car later.  Putting a hubcap on first would be straining at gnats and swallowing camels!

 

Religions, through the centuries, have made this mistake.  The Pharisees were condemned for it by our Lord.  We must emphasize in our faith the weightier matters of God’s will.

 

1 Corinthians 15:3.  “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”  (ESV & RSV say “of first importance”)  Paul called the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Gospel that he preached unto them and that these matters were of first importance.  This means that other things in our faith are of secondary importance to this great truth.

 

An older preacher from Texas was visiting in our home in the Cayman Islands.  He commented to me that we should as preachers stay on the big, important biblical themes in our preaching.  That has been one of the most important pieces of advice that I have ever heard.  It is easy to get off on insignificant topics and hobbies.  Here are some examples.

 

Some gnats of religious topics in the 1^st century: 1) what you should do if you touch a Gentile, 2) how to keep the Sabbath Day perfectly, 3) how to wash your hands, 4) how to copy the Scriptures correctly, 5) how to avoid supporting your parents in their old age, 6) learning the form of the Talmudic argument.  (Theories are advanced and then contradicted.  They are examined from many points of view and qualified where necessary.  One argument leads to another when logic demands it.  Fine distinctions abound between apparently similar concepts.)

 

Some gnats in our day: The Jewish rabbis have nothing over us.  We can rival what they promoted any day!  1) You must use the KJV only, even though for 1600 years Christians knew nothing about this translation.  2)  Take the Lord’s Supper quickly and go home.  3) Studying a dress code for six months and then presenting a final decision from the elders.  4) Eating in the church building will condemn you eternally.  5) Arguments on expediency; How Implication Binds and Silence Forbids, Beals, 259 pages on this topic!!  I have an article titled “Expediency,” where four principles are laid out to determine an expediency.  They are: an activity that is authorized but not required, must be appropriate to the circumstances, it must give the right impression to others, and it must fulfill its intended purposes.  (“Sound Words,” vol. 17, number 6, 2004.)

 

Note:  A timeless article on this subject comes from the pen of L. L. Brigance, “Splitting Hairs,” Gospel Advocate, first published in March 20, 1930, reprinted in ’51 and ’74.)  This ought to be required reading for every Christian.  B. C. Goodpasture, editor of GA for years, wrote that the hairsplitter is a specialist in dealing with matters of infinitesimal consequence and one who knows more and more about less and less!

 

Ephesians 4:3-6.  “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: There is one body, one Spirit, even as your are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.” 

 

The fact that these seven things are named and other things are not indicates that some things in Christianity are more important than others. The ones indicate unity.  These are matters of first importance.  We must emphasize these things first of all.  The only way we can be united in the Christian faith as our Lord prayed is to stay with the things that are of first importance.  Fine distinctions, hairsplitting, and straining at gnats cause more and more divisions.  We need to learn that some things are a matter of indifference to the Lord.  I do not think that the Lord cares one way or another whether the song leader uses a pitch pipe to get the key to the song.

 

Reasons for This Failure

 

1. Because it is easier to deal with the little things than the significant matters in life.  It is easier to put a hubcap back on the tire than it is to deal with an injured man.  It is easier to put a band-aid on the wound than it is to clean and dress the wound.  It is more comforting to say, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace.  It is easier to blame the poor for being lazy than it is to sacrifice and share with them.  It is easier to come to church, than to change your life and be a Christian.  It is easier to dress up and look religious than it is to change the heart.  Circumcision of the flesh is easier than the circumcision of the heart.

 

2. Because we actually value the insignificant things over the more important.  Could it be that the Pharisees actually valued the gold covering the wood, than the temple itself?  Could it be that we cherish our little synagogues and churches over the Lord’s spiritual body?  After all, the Kingdom of God cannot be seen with physical eyes.  (Luke 17:21.)

 

3. Because we like to think that when we do these insignificant, unimportant things that we thereby justify ourselves.  We do not need the grace of God, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for our salvation.  The Jews, who rejected Jesus, failed to obtain unto righteousness because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the deeds of the law.  (Rom. 9:30-32.)  Paul wrote, “If righteousness come by the Law, we frustrate the grace of God and make vain the death of Jesus.”  (Gal. 2:21.)  Having rejected the righteousness of God, we go about trying every method under heaven to establish our own righteousness. (Rom. 10:3.)  Can you imagine thinking that you have justified yourself by breaking off every 10^th leaf of your spice plants in your garden??  By being physically circumcised?

 

4. Because we want to justify our petty divisions in religion.  The only way to do that is to convince yourself that you are keeping more accurately the details of the law than others.  All the while they deny the principle of justification by faith, which excludes boasting.  (Rom. 3:27.)  “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”  (John 17:20-21.)