Compliance is Not Faith

Scripture: Then Peter asked Jesus to explain what he meant when he said that people are not defiled by non-kosher food. Matthew 15:15

Observation: Years later, it will be Peter who gains a revelation about the worthiness of the gentiles to receive the good news of Jesus, and to be baptized into the Holy Spirit, through a vision ... it will be a vision of unclean, non-kosher animals, where the Lord tells him it is okay to eat them. He resists, yet the Lord will show him the vision three times.

While not a Pharisee, and perhaps not even greatly educated, Peter had a simplistic understanding of Hebrew law. He knew what he had learned about what it said, but not the meaning or heart behind it. This was, in fact, a flaw of the Pharisees as well, pursuing compliance instead of relationship. For Peter, stating that non-kosher food did not "defile" someone didn't make sense, for that was the seemingly the exact point of the food-related laws.

The Pharisees have been challenging Jesus in matters of legal compliance. Even when Jesus shows the flaw in their logic, the simplest of people still don't understand, for they cannot understand a way to appease God outside of legal compliance. It will be years before Peter truly learns that faith is - and always has been - the point.

Application: When I fail to avoid sin, the issue is not that I have violated a law, directive, or precept of the Lord, but rather than I have failed to have faith in the Lord. I have failed to believe that there is some other purpose, activity, or way of life that is better. I have failed to believe that the Lord is in control without my lies or manipulations or rash thought or covetousness.

The laws were never about behavior, but about trusting that there were bad actions, dangerous practices, and even disease-riddled foods ... and that God knew how to care for us enough to instruct us to avoid these things. It is by faith that I should observe those that apply to me, knowing that I will have a more fulfilling life as a result.

One of the high points of Peter's life would be entering a gentile's house and participating in their receipt of the Holy Spirit. He learned the law existed for good, and thus how to properly apply it to his faithful living. May I do the same.

Prayer: Lord, again today I ask for your forgiveness of my sins. Please keep me clean in your eyes. Moreover, may I be faithful toward you, trusting your teaching, and seeking wisdom in how it is applied to my life. Amen.