Luke 6:6-11 NKJV

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

God instituted the Sabbath Day in the Old Testament times in order to give his people Israel a day to rest from their labors. Under the New Covenant God did away with the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. But when Jesus lived on the earth, the people of Israel were still under the Old Covenant, although Jesus was already moving them toward the New Covenant in his teachings. But the scribes and the Pharisees had the wrong perspective of what the Sabbath was created for, for it was not to punish the people.

So, Jesus posed the question to the scribes and Pharisees, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” Good question! And this goes right back to what Jesus said about the Sabbath when he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (see Mark 2:27-28; also Luke 6:1-5). For the Sabbath was not created to punish the people, but it was something intended for their good, to give them rest from their labors, not so they will ignore the needs of the people.

And there are still “the religious” today who hold on to Old Covenant liturgical laws and who feel compelled to force them upon those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, even at the cost of not demonstrating the love of God to the people. They are more concerned with externals and rituals which have nothing to do with our salvation from sin and eternal life with God than they are with living holy lives, pleasing to God, in submission to his will and purpose for our lives. We call them the legalists who will attack people for not keeping rituals while they themselves sin against God and other people.

Are we, as followers of Jesus Christ, to obey our Lord and his New Covenant commands? Absolutely! But we are not bound by legalistic requirements that God does not require of us which have nothing to do with holy living and spiritual maturity and loving the people of the world. And God does NOT require of us that we attend services at a building once a week called “church,” and sing some songs, and listen to a sermon, then go home, live however we want, and then repeat the same routine the next week. He requires we die to sin and obey him in living holy lives, pleasing to God.

And, as far as us gathering together as the church, the body of Christ, the Scriptures teach that we are to do this daily, but not in any one specific location or day of the week or time of day, and not necessarily with all the same people every time, either. And the location doesn’t even have to be physical. For we are to worship God in spirit and in truth anywhere. So it could be a gathering with other Christians via a phone call or texting or video conferencing or on internet discussion sites where we have the freedom presently to share our faith and to encourage one another.

But we have Pharisees living among us today who believe if we are not in a building called “church” every Sunday morning, going through their routines, that we must be out of God’s will, or we must be backslidden. And they will condemn us and even snub us for being “unchristian” by their perspective. But the Scriptures teach that we are to gather daily, and for mutual edification and encouragement, and where we can utilize our spiritual gifts and serve in our “body parts” assigned us by God. And for me, that has been the internet, which is where God sent me nearly 22 years ago.

Obey God and his commands? Yes! Live holy lives pleasing to God? Yes! Turn from your sins and now serve the Lord with your lives? Yes! But don’t get caught up in legalism and having to go through certain ritualistic routines and then totally miss the purpose for the church. For we the people of God are the church, and we are to gather together so we can minister to one another and to help one another to follow the Lord and obey his commands and to not fall into sin or be led astray by people in their deceitful scheming. So go where God sends you where he can use you in other people’s lives.

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

The Peace of Christ

Based off of Colossians 3:1-17; Ephesians 5:19-20
An Original Work / October 31, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Let the word of Christ dwell in you,
As you teach with all wisdom,
Teaching one another to not
Think on earthly things;
Think instead on things above,
Where Christ sits with God, in love,
Saving us from all of our sins,
Cleansing us; made new within.

Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts,
As you sing songs unto Him;
Speak to one another with psalms,
Hymns, and spir’tual songs;
Always giving thanks to God,
In the name of Christ, His Son,
Who gave His life up for us all,
And gave us eternal life.

Let the love of Christ within you
Rule in your hearts; grace within,
Purifying you from your sin,
Make you whole within.
Forgive as the Lord forgave.
Show His kindness ev’ry day.
In word or deed, whate’er you do,
Glory give to Jesus Christ.

Love Instead of Legalism
An Original Work / May 10, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love