INTRO.- ILL.- A policeman pulled over a car, walked up to the driver’s window, and asked the man if he knew why he was pulled over. "No," the man replied.
"You failed to stop at the stop sign," the cop explained.
"But I did slow down!" the guy argued. The cop shook his head. "You are required to stop. That’s why they’re called stop signs." The man started to get belligerent. "Stop, slow down -- what’s the difference?"
The cop pulled out his baton or stick and said, "I can show you. I’m going to start hitting you with my stick. And you tell me if you want me to stop or slow down."
I think this story really applies to our town because I have seen more people drive through stoplights in our town than anywhere I have lived. And when people run through red lights it’s not because of road rage, it’s simply because they are in a hurry and they don’t care anybody else, AND THEY HAVE NO REGARD FOR THE LAW OR THE LAWS! But it’s not just the laws of the road that people break; it’s all kinds of laws.
I’ve heard it said that laws are made to be broken. Is that so?
Brothers and sisters, can you imagine what it would be like to live in Jonesboro, AR, with no laws? No traffic laws? No laws of any kind? It would be horrible to say the least. We would be afraid to leave our homes to do anything, knowing that anybody could do anything bad to us at any time.
And then if you were to magnify this lawless city throughout the entire Unites States you would have nothing but chaos. NO, WORSE YET, YOU WOULD SOON HAVE NOTHING. The people of the world would destroy one another.
The law is good. And God’s law is good. It was given for the purpose of restraining evil and commending good behavior.
Rom. 7:7 “What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet.’” The laws of God and the laws of man teach us what is right and what is wrong.
ILL.- Moms and dads tell their infant or toddler, “no, no!” And there is a reason for that. If mom and dad didn’t say “no” how would the child ever know if something was wrong?
I Tim. 1:8-10 “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.”
The law of God is good if used properly. And our man-made laws are good if used properly. Of course, there are those who are always trying to twist the laws in order to get around them or else benefit themselves.
ILL.- The application blank for a new driver’s license had the question, “Have you ever been arrested?” The applicant put down, “No." The new question was: “Why?” The applicant put down, “Never been caught.”
We all could fall into this category. I suspect if we were completely honest we would have to admit that we have broken some law and at some time in our lives.
PROP. - As we think about the law of God let’s consider two thoughts:
1- There is SOMETHING greater than the law
2- There is SOMEONE greater than the law
I. THERE IS SOMETHING GREATER THAN THE LAW
GT. What’s that? GT means greater than. And it’s been said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
ILL.- For example, a house is worth more than the value of the individual pieces of wood, sheetrock, drywall, wiring, etc.
A Rembrandt painting is worth far more than the canvas and the paint that were combined to make the picture.
A whole baseball team is more valuable than any individual team member. But in this text, it’s just the reverse.
We tend to think of God’s law as being the total of everything we are to do in life and nothing is greater. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING GREATER ACCORDING TO JESUS!
Matt. 12:1-4 “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath." He answered, "Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.”
What is greater than the law? Human need. In this case, hunger. Jesus and his disciples were hungry so they picked grain to eat. The Pharisees considered the picking of grain as a form of working on the Sabbath, which was against the law.
Of course, the Pharisees stretched the law to read into it things that were not there. They had all kinds of man-made laws and we often do the same.
ILL.- I was raised in Webb City, MO, next to some railroad tracks. Back in the 40’s and 50’s occasionally some old man would knock on our back door and ask for food. And mom would always fix them a plate of food. They would sit on the back steps and eat the food.
Now suppose this happened on a Sunday morning when we were about to leave for Sunday school and church. What should my mother have done? Should she have said, “I’m sorry but we have to go to church now. I’ll be back later and perhaps then I can feed you.” Or should she have immediately fixed a plate of food for the hungry man, knowing she was going to be late for church?
What do you think God thinks about this? I think He would have wanted mom to feed that starving man first, late for church or not. Human need is greater than the law or even what we consider to be the law of God.
ILL.- Suppose you knew of a family that lost their house in a fire and they had absolutely nothing but the shirts on their backs. And suppose some of the neighbors decided to take up an offering so they could buy some clothes for them. But one neighbor said, “Oh, I’m so sorry but I don’t have any money to give. All I have is my tithe money for the church but that belongs to the Lord and I can’t give that.”
Now what do you think God would think of that? I think He would at least frown because human need is greater than what some would consider to be the law of tithing.
Jesus gave us another example of something that is greater than the law.
Matt. 12:9-14 “Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.”
Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Doing good on the Sabbath was and is greater than strict observance of the Sabbath. Love is greater than the law.
Rom. 13:9-10 “The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Regardless of which day you honor as your sacred day, Saturday or Sunday, doing good from a heart of love is greater! LOVE IS GREATER!
Are there certain things we can do on Sunday and not offend God or sin against Him?
ILL.- Many people have seen the popular movie CHARIOTS OF FIRE of 1981, which received the “Best Picture” Oscar. It was said that Eric Liddell trained for months with the idea of winning the 100 yard footrace at the 1924 Olympics.
Many sportswriters predicted that he would win. He had already won the 100 and 220-yard races in Scotland, England and Ireland. He joined the British team for the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
When Liddell learned that the qualifying heats for the 100 yard dash were on Sunday, he dropped out of this, his best event. He believed he could not honor the Lord by running on Sunday. His fans were stunned by his refusal to run. Some who had praised him, now called him a fool. BUT ERIC LIDDELL STOOD FIRM.
Liddell entered the 400 yard dash but instead of participating in the heats, he preached a sermon at a Paris church. The 400 was not what he had trained for, but he ran anyway. He finished the race 5 yards ahead of his nearest competitor and set a new world record of 47.6 seconds! That was a victory that he attributed to the Lord.
Eric Liddell would not run on Sunday because of his Christian conviction that it was wrong to do so. WAS IT WRONG? For some it would be, for others no, it would not be.
Again, are there certain things we can do on Sunday and not offend God or sin against Him? What about work? Well, I work on Sunday and some people, of course, don’t have any choice. What about helping the sick?
ILL.- I got a call from a Dr. at 2:30 on Sunday morning telling me that my mother was dying and I’m the preacher! What was I to do? I said to the doctor who called me, “Doc, thanks for calling. After our morning worship service I will get in my car and drive to Joplin.” No, that’s not what I said. In 30 minutes time I got dressed, threw some clothes in my car and headed to Joplin, MO, which was 420 miles away.
My mother was dying. Do you think I cared about preaching that morning? Do you honestly think anybody cared?
I think God cared more about me trying to get to my dying mother before she passed away than preaching that morning. Human need is greater than the law. Love is greater than the law.
II. THERE IS SOMEONE GREATER THAN THE LAW
ILL.- In one “Peanuts” comic strip one of the female small fry came to Charlie Brown and said, “Yes sir, Charlie Brown, Abraham Lincoln was a great man. Charlie Brown, would you like to have been Abraham Lincoln?”
“Well, now, I don’t think so,” he replied slowly; “I am having a hard enough time being just plain old Charlie Brown....”
This is also true for us. We have a difficult enough time being who we are without trying to be someone else who may be far greater.
Lincoln helped to abolish slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential order in 1863 that proclaimed free the slaves in the Confederate States of America. It was not a law passed by a Congress but a proclamation written by the president alone based on the war powers given to the President by the Constitution.
In a sense, Lincoln was greater than the law in abolishing the slavery. And as great as Abe Lincoln was in the eyes of many, there is someone greater.
Some people today think they are greater than the law but there is only one person greater than the law and that’s the giver of the law!
Matt. 12:7-8 “If you had known what these words mean, ’I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and Lord of all. And He desires that we demonstrate love and not perfect sacrifice.
ILL.- An old gentleman was caught speeding by radar from a police helicopter in the sky. An officer pulled him over and began to issue a traffic ticket.
"How did you know I was speeding?" the frustrated old man asked. The police officer pointed somberly toward the sky. "You mean," he asked, "that even He is against me?"
Brothers and sisters, there is someone greater than the law itself but He is not against us!
ILL.- Max Lucado wrote: “Every day I have the honor of sitting down with a book that contains the words of the One who created me. Every day I have the opportunity to let him give me a thought or two on how to live.
“If I don’t do what he says, he doesn’t burn the book or cancel my subscription. If I disagree with what he says, lightning doesn’t split my swivel chair or an angel doesn’t mark my name off the holy list. If I don’t understand what he says, he doesn’t call me a dummy. In fact, he calls me ‘Son,’ and on a different page explains what I don’t understand. Remarkable.”
ILL.- An aged man over ninety years of age was asked by his pastor this question: “My dear aged friend, do you love Jesus?” His deeply-furrowed face was lit up with a smile that sixty-seven years of discipleship had imparted, and, grasping the preacher’s hand with both of his, said: “Oh! I can tell you something better than that.” The preacher asked, “What is that?” “Oh Sir!” he said, “It is that He loves me.”
God is love, if He is anything at all. As Max Lucado said, “Water must be wet. A fire must be hot. You can’t take the wet out of water and still have water.
“You can’t take the heat out of fire and still have fire. In the same way, you can’t take the love out of [God]... and still have him exist. For he was ... and is... Love.”
And because God is love, He is also greater than His own law. And there are times when we may break God’s law, but only because we demonstrate the higher law of love.
CONCLUSION--------------------------
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…”
Isn’t there a limit to God’s love? Max Lucado wrote, “Surely there has to be an end to this love. You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But David the adulterer never found it. Paul the murderer never found it. Peter the liar never found it. When it came to life, they hit bottom. But when it came to God’ s love, they never did. They, like you, found their names on God’s list of love.”
If there is a limit to God’s love we know nothing about it nor have we ever tasted of it. Likewise, there should never be a limit to our love. One of the greatest goals of our lives should be to love others without limit. Love does the most good in this world. Love goes beyond where religion might stop.
Love gives, demonstrates mercy, forgives, forbears, puts up with, ministers, blesses, heals, etc. Love is the fulfilling of the law and the exceeding of the law.
Eph. 5:1-2 “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
