PREACHED:OL,2-21-05,BIBLECLASS,AM

“WHAT LEGALISM IS”

INTRODUCTION:

I. AN VITAL THEME

A. We have always tried on lectureship Sunday to deal with themes that are particularly relevant to contemporary needs in the church.

1. Our focus for today’s study is such a theme. We are going to focus our time today on the oft-misunderstood and oft-misapplied concept of religious legalism.

B. To say that the subject has generated a great deal of interest and often heated discussion, both in the churches of Christ and the broader scope of denominational churches, is an understatement.

1. In my preparation, I did a computer search and discovered thirty-four pages of written discourses, and the mention of over a thousand related sites.

2. Even in the church, articles date back as far as 50 years on the subject. One article from the Gospel Advocate by Brother G.C. Brewer was written in l955. Six other articles by Dr. J.D. Thomas were published in the Firm Foundation, in the 60’s.

C. We can readily see that the discussion of legalism, what it is and what it is not, as well as the relationship between grace, faith and salvation are long-standing issues that have been debated for years and even centuries.

1. The ardent student of the New Testament does not have to search through the gospel or the epistles for long without seeing evidence of the theme, though the word “legalism” itself is never found in the Bible.

D. Brother Olan Sawey wrote an article in the Firm Foundation, dated, Dec.20, l977 (That just happened to be my 36^th birthday), and expressed quite well the growing battleground of legalism in the churches of Christ:

1. “The dichotomists, those who insist that law and grace are antithetical to one another, are with us again (or still?), making imaginary distinctions and, especially, insisting that law and grace are ‘mutually exclusive’.”

II. A REALITY, BUT A DANGER

A. It is a fact that there are those among us that could be accurately described as either liberal or legalist.

1. But there is also a danger in doing so without careful examination of their position in light of scripture.

a. We may extend all kinds of labels—liberal, legalist, conservative, fundamentalist, right wing extremist, etc.

1) Unfortunately, these labels are often attached unfairly in terms of “my position” on a particular issue. One person satirically said that a liberal is anyone to the left of me and a legalist is anyone to my right.

B. The two extremes—liberal and legalist—DO EXIST and must be determined by scripture and not by personal opinion.

1. The Bible describes a liberal mindset, as one that goes beyond God’s Word in teaching and practice.

a. The liberal has concluded that he is not bound by what is expressly authorized in scripture.

1) If scripture does not expressly forbid a particular practice, then he is free to do it.

2) The apostle John, however, warned “the elect lady and her children” and each of us:

a) 2 John 9-11. “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teachings of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked work.”

b) An example of a Christian greeting would be John’s greeting to the elect lady in v 3: “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.”

c) In fact, the King James Version talks about not bidding the person “God speed.” They should bestow

not even the slightest sign that they wish God to bless their efforts of false teaching.

2. But what is unique about the legalist? Who is he? How do we identify him?

a. Legalism must be more just a statement of derision against someone who is more conservative in belief and practice than I am, or who disagrees with what I consider to be my more progressive, enlightened or self-supposed superior understanding of the spiritual. It must also be more than just the parroting of the term without a full understanding of its meaning, to make me appear to be on a higher spiritual plane than he or she.

b. And so we request, “Will the real legalist, please, stand up!!” Show us your true colors.

III. OUR PURPOSE IN THE FIRST LESSON

A. In our first lesson, then, we will be attempting to identify what truly fits the definition of legalism. And we will try to expose it by scripture.

B. It might be said regarding the basic nature of legalism, that it is a trust in a legal code of morals and practice. By its very nature it demands a trust in self and human achievement and ability to bring about righteousness and acceptability with God.

C. What are the identifying marks of legalism?

DISCUSSION:

� A Deification of the Divine Law and not the Law Giver -

A. To put it another way, it is making our object of worship the Bible rather than God, who gave us the Bible.

1. It is an emphasis on the laws and principles of the Bible while de-emphasizing the Divine purpose of God, in Christ, revealed in the Bible.

B. In the early days of our country, some, but not all, of our founding fathers identified themselves as “Christian Deists.”

1. They believed in God, as a superior creator but not necessarily the God of the Bible.

2. They did not believe Christ to be the Son of God, but admired and often rigidly followed his teachings as their guide for life.

3. Jefferson, for example, pasted together what he called, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. It became his “Bible” that he read every day.

a. He did not include in his pasted-together version any of what he called the, “supernatural accretions that undermine Jesus’ moral witness.”

b. But in spite of his rejection of the supernatural, including Christ’s virgin birth, he described himself thusly: “I am a real Christian, that is to say a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”

c. Jefferson believed in the moral teachings of the Jesus, but not necessarily the redemptive purpose of the Christ.

C. In truth, however, the purpose of the entire Bible, delivered by the Holy Spirit, is to reveal for us the will

and purpose of God for our lives, and lead us into faith and a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ

and his redemptive work on the cross.

1. Paul wrote in Gal 3:8, 9: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, ‘In you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

k An emphasis on the letter of the law and a neglect of the spirit of God’s law -

A. True Christianity manifests itself not only in action but in attitude.

1. In Acts 2:28, Peter quoted David in Psalm 16:11 to describe the joy of the resurrection: “You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”

B. Paul spoke of a true Jew when he said in Rom 2:28, 29, telling them that true Christianity was more than observance of externals, but an inward transformation and manifestation, when he said, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

C. He reminded the Corinthians, that the message of God had to be internalized and then externalized in their lives, as they visibly manifested the written message in their lives: “…you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of fleshly hearts. Such is the confidence that we have

through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in

ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor 3:3-6)

l A Seeking for Justification from sin by law keeping and not by grace-

A. The theme of the entire Galatian letter is apostasy from the gospel of God’s grace to a return to a belief in justification by circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses.

B. He told the brothers who were being led astray by legalistic Jewish converts (or they might be called “coverts”) to Christianity who were still insisting and teaching that Gentiles must keep the Law to be saved:

1. “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” Now, it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather, “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the laws by becoming a curse for us—for it is written cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles…” (Gal 3:10-12)

C. Jesus reminded the Pharisees, that they did not understand the purpose of the law.

1. It was meant to reveal him, not serve as a means, in and of itself, to give them eternal life.

a. John 5:39, 40. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness of me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

1) Sadly He adds, “I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name and you do not receive me.” (V 42)

D. This premise is based on the view that we can be good enough through our good deeds and works to be saved without the grace of God.

1. Paul, spent much of his time in the Roman letter establishing the fallacy of that concept.

a. Though we do not have time to read the entire text this morning, I would encourage you to take the time to read Romans 3:9-23.

E. I had a personal acquaintance with one deacon of a church in West Texas who firmly believed in the warped legalism that if his good deeds were more in number or more in quality than the bad things he had done, he would be saved, but if the opposite were true, he would be lost. Now, that, brothers and sisters, is probably the sad, sad position of many. Not one time did this brother ever stop to think that if his position was true there was absolutely no reason why Jesus had to die! Calvary was a wicked, cruel divine farce on the part of the Heavenly Father toward His Son if this man’s concept were valid.

1. Isaiah 53:10, 11. “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the

Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted as righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

m A reliance on legal loopholes to pursue personal likes, agendas and preconceived prejudices -

A. Sometimes the loophole may not be Bible, but human tradition that we use to justify our sinful desire.

A. Jesus indicted the Jews because of their legalistic attempt to relieve themselves of responsibility to take care of the needs of their aging parents, and to Keep the money they might otherwise have used to do so, for themselves.

1. They created a legal loophole, a Rabbinic interpretation of Moses’ teaching to honor father and mother, that allowed them to dedicate their money to God and thus have use of it and be freed from an obligation to care for their parents.

2. “Legally” they considered themselves right and thus they felt themselves still in good standing with God.

a. But Jesus said, they were “rejecting the commandment of God…” or “making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down…” (Mark 7:8-13)

B. In the Old Testament, the prophet Balaam demonstrated the spirit of a legalist.

1. God told him he couldn’t curse Israel for Balak,

king of Moab, and he reluctantly conceded.

2. He fulfilled the letter of the law, but tried to circumvent God’s prohibition by advising the Moabites to entice the Israelites into fornication with their women, who in turn enticed the Isralites to sacrifice to their God, Baal of Peor.

a. God struck down twenty-four thousand Israelites for their sin.

3. Balaam’s plan worked, but it cost him his life!

a. The book of Joshua records that later, when Reuben fought and defeated Midian as a part of claiming his allotted territory given by God, among those killed was, “Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination…” (Joshua 13:23)

C. Legalism is wrong among other things because it places man in the position of authority and deciding what is important and essential and not God.

1. This false view puts man in a position of determining which of God’s commands and teachings are “salvation issues,” as they like to call them, and which are not.

a. This is also one aspect of legalism that ironically is found among liberal brethren who want to make their own new rules and

practices for the church to counter what they consider to be legalism.

b. Their manmade edicts are such statements as:

1) “Thou shalt not judge others,” “Thou shalt seek unity in diversity,” “Thou shalt believe in baptism is important, but not bind it as

essential to salvation,” “Thou shalt be able to observe the Lord’s supper on a week day, rather than on Sunday or in addition to Sunday, even though there is no specific authority for it.”

2. They are legalistically binding law because they will not have fellowship with or consider as faithful Christians anyone who does not adhere to their views of tolerance and broad fellowship.

a. Now, that’s an ironic “legalism,” isn’t it?

n Strongly insisting on the minutiae of Bible commands and teaching, while selectively fogging or ignoring weightier principles that instill heart and soul into God’s commands -

A. In Matthew 23, Jesus gave a scathing denunciation to scribes and the Pharisees that he repeatedly referred to as hypocrites. Among his condemnations was their nitpicking, microscopic approach to little things in the law, and their neglect of what he called the “weightier matters of the law.” (Vs 16-24).

1. As a result of their ungodly attitudes and practices he asked, “…how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (V 33)

B. The Church in Ephesus was hard working and serious about obeying God’s Word.

1. But Jesus said about them, “I have this against you that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first…” (Revelation 2:2-7)

o Measuring faithfulness to external obedience only, without regard for the heart -

A. Legalism emphasizes the work or act to be done, without regard for the faith that should motivate it.

1. Jesus, again, condemned the Jewish scribes and Pharisees for this:

a. “Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and plate, that the outside may also be clean. Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like white-washed tombs, which outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:25-28)

p A reluctant obedience motivated by fear and duty, without love and gratitude -

A. Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15).

B. John apostle of love repeatedly taught that love and obedience were inseparably linked. (1 John 4:16-19, 5:2, 3)

D. Paul revealed that his entire ministry and life were controlled by the love of Christ, II Cor 5:14.

1. He also spoke of the spiritual emptiness and lack of profit in things such as eloquence, powerful teaching, deep understanding and insight, great knowledge, even the most powerful faith that

could even move mountains, and a willingness to

make the ultimate sacrifice if they are not accompanied and motivated by love. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

E. We should never lose our sense of awe and “Godly” fear, but we should not be motivated in our work for the Lord by the ungodly terror that He has us dangled over the fires of hell by a single thread and is just waiting for us to make a mistake so that he can cut it and plunge us into the abyss.

F. We’ll have more to say about grace, faith, works and salvation in our third lesson.

q A magnification of what we can’t do, while restricting the freedom Christ gives us within the discipline of his Word.

A. The legalist often tries to micro-manage the conduct of others with little concern, love or sensitivity.

B. The emphasis is more on power or manipulation rather than loving direction, encouragement and correction.

1. That’s why Paul said that the spiritual should restore the soul “caught in a transgression” because they will do it with a spirit of gentleness. (Galatians 6:1, 2)

C. Paul warned the Colossian church not to let legalistic teachers to lead them back to the law or into a false asceticism that was intended make the holy, but disconnected them from a loving, obedient relationship with God. (Colossians 2:16-23)

CONCLUSION:

I. It would be impossible to completely exhaust the nature of legalism in the few minutes that we have studied in this lesson.

A. But basically we have disclosed that legalism is a mindset—a mindset that places trust in man and law rather than in God and grace.

B. In our next lesson we will attempt to clarify some false ideas and show from scripture, what it is NOT.