Welcome to Day 2143 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Gospel of John – 11 – A Picture Of Legalism – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 04/03/2022 The Gospel of John – Part 3 Authentication Of The Word – A Picture Of Legalism Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. In addition, we are beginning the third significant section of John’s Gospel, which is the Authentication of the Word.  We now shift scenes to different snapshots and stories in today’s passage, John 5:1-18, located on pages 1654-1655 in the Pew Bible.  I will read the passage as we go through the message, so keep your Bibles open to follow along.   To review John’s Good News up to this point, the Lord’s ministry began well. A bold announcement by John the Baptizer immediately yielded five disciples with an unreserved commitment to following the Son of God. His turning water into wine strengthened His disciples’ faith. Flash forward three years to cleansing the temple. He taught Nicodemus, performed signs in Jerusalem, redeemed a Samaritan town, and healed the royal official’s son, resulting in multitudes from every quarter of Israel trusting Jesus as Savior. While the Lord’s ministry had not been without conflict, the general response to the Word had been belief. Then, something changed, like the first winter chill on an autumn breeze. Not everyone believed right away. A few began to oppose Him openly … followed by more. The Son of God came to shine the light of truth, yet some minds remained darkened. Instead of uniting Israel, the Word began to create sharp divisions. With Jesus being the very embodiment of the Word, we should not be surprised as we read in Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.   This passage explores how subtle and insidious legalism is, even in our age. The classic legalists of Jesus’ day were the Pharisees, a brotherhood of experts in religion, considered ‘the separated ones.’  Paula and  I grew up in churches that tended to be somewhat legalistic, where a list of do’s and don’ts reflected how spiritual you were. While these churches provided a reasonably solid teaching environment, we could not continue to raise our children in that environment.  Because legalism is a subtle, silent killer, it gradually robs you of being immersed in God’s grace. We need to understand this enemy before confronting it. We need to know what it is, how it appears, and why it is wrong.   What is legalism? Legalism is based on lists (legalists love their lists!). If you keep every item on the list of dos and don’ts, you’re deemed spiritually acceptable. In some ways, following a list of rules is more straightforward than allowing the Spirit to lead you through God’s Word. But if you don’t follow the prescribed standard, you are judged unworthy of God’s favor and others’ approval. So naturally, legalists always think they know how God judges, and they are more than willing to act on His behalf. How does legalism appear? Legalism that we personally were most familiar with was a list including being at the church every time the doors were...