The Dangers of Legalism Matthew 23:13-39

Intro:

Jesus Revolution Movie

Asbury Revival

Jesus’ ministry on earth

People will bash anything God does because it exposes their spiritual state

A.W. Tozer once said, "If the Holy Spirit left the church today 90% of churches wouldn't notice”

That would describe the Pharisees

They were legalistic and found their worth in their lists of do’s and don’ts

Today Jesus shows us 8 dangerous traits of legalim

Read Matthew 23:13-15

Transition:

No one in Scripture is more condemned than the religious charlatan who teaches and practices falsehood.

God’s most furious wrath is reserved for those men who parade themselves as His servants but who are servants only of evil and falsehood

Many religious leaders supposedly offer spiritual provision for those in their care but are themselves spiritually shabby and starving.

Such were most of the Jewish religious leaders in New Testament times.

Many Christians today are greatly concerned about the rising influences of communism, humanism, secularism, and social injustice.

Yet those evils, great as they are, do not together pose the threat to Christianity that false shepherds and legalistic Christians do

Within the church, many ideas, teachings, and philosophies that are little more than thinly veiled paganism have become popular and influential.

As in ancient Israel, the further God’s people move away from the foundation of His Word, the more false religion flourishes in the world and even in their own midst

In Matthew 23:13–33 Jesus relentlessly condemned the false spiritual leaders of Israel, in particular the scribes and Pharisees

In this final public message, the Lord wanted to draw the people away from those false leaders and turn them to the true teaching and the godly examples of His apostles

A person who speaks too harshly against a false religion or unbiblical teaching or movement is considered unkind, ungracious, and judgmental.

Jesus’ indictments in Matthew 23, as well as in other parts of the gospels, are so inconsistent with the idea of Christian love held by some liberal theologians and Bible scholars, for example, that they conclude He could not have spoken them.

Exclusive vs. 13

The first trait we see in legalistic person is that they are exclusive

Legalists like to set themselves apart from the masses

They elevate themselves by their acts of self-righteousness and exclude others for not measuring up

The Pharisees prevented people from seeing Jesus

They weren’t even open to it themselves

The unbelieving scribes and Pharisees pretended to know God but did not, pretended to be His spokesmen but were not, pretended to be in His kingdom but were not

Luke 11:52 ESV

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

They themselves were the doorkeepers of the kingdom

The picture Jesus gives here suggests the idea of the scribes and Pharisees standing just outside the gates of the kingdom and slamming them shut in the faces of those who were about to go in.

As soon as a Jew showed interest in the gospel, the scribes and Pharisees would step between that person and Christ, as it were. Tragically, they succeeded in turning many seekers away.

In their spiritual darkness they confused merely knowing the law with keeping it, and merely knowing about the light with living in it.

The false leaders took away the key of knowledge by misinterpreting the Word of God, by denying the Messiah, by denying the need for repentance, and by denying salvation by grace

That is why the greatest battle in the world is not against communism or humanism or secularism or social injustice. The greatest battle by far is the battle for men’s souls

The great challenge of the church in our day is to clearly and boldly articulate God’s truth and just as clearly and boldly to expose Satan’s falsehoods.

When men’s eternal souls are at stake, the church cannot be passive and indifferent.

Nor can it hide behind false humility that fears being judgmental or behind false love that fears offending

Take Advantage of Vulnerable vs. 14

The second trait we see in a legalistic person is that they take advantage of the vulnerable

In many translations of the Bible this verse is not included or in the margin. Even if it does not belong in Matthew 23, it is certainly present in the Mark 12 and Luke 20 passages.

Matthew 23:14 NKJV

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

Using clever and dishonest dealing, the scribes and Pharisees stole widows’ houses – careful to cover it up in the name of good business or stewardship.

Their long, falsely spiritual prayers were used to build a spiritual image, often for the sake of big donations.

The greatness of their sin demanded a greater condemnation than others will endure.

Under this concept we can say that no one will have it good in Hell, but we can trust that some will have it worse than others will.

Titus 1:10 ESV

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.

Lead Astray vs. 15

The third trait we see in a legalistic person is that they lead people astray

Their zeal in evangelism did not prove they were right with God.

These religious leaders went to great lengths to win others, but they brought people to darkness, not light.

“The word proselyte is an English transliteration of a Greek word proselutos, which means one who has approached or drawn near.

The proselyte was the full convert who had accepted the ceremonial law and circumcision and who had become in the fullest sense a Jew.”

Through their great energy they could win some, but to no lasting good to those who were won.

Live by Double Standards vs. 16-22

The fourth trait we see in a legalistic person is that they live by elaborate double standards

Out of obedience to God’s Word they refused to swear by the name of God (as commanded in Exodus 20:7).

Yet they constructed an elaborate system of oaths, some of which were binding and some were not.

It was a way of making a promise while keeping fingers crossed behind one’s back.

Here Jesus emphasized that the altar itself is greater than the sacrifice made upon it.

The altar is the established meeting place between God and man, and our altar is Jesus Himself and His work on the cross.

Jesus reminded them that every oath is binding and God holds the oath-maker to account, even if they excuse themselves.

Matthew 15:14 ESV

Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Obsessed w/ Trivial vs. 23-24

The fifth trait we see in a legalist is that they obsessed with the trivial

Their tithing was meticulous and noteworthy; but hypocritical because it served to sooth the guilt of their neglect of the weightier matters of the law.

It is both possible and common to be distracted with relatively trivial matters while a lost world perishes.

Jesus illustrated their folly with a humorous picture of a man so committed to a kosher diet that he would not swallow a gnat because it was not bled properly in accord with kosher regulations.

Yet the same man would swallow a whole camel instead.

Hosea 6:6 ESV

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Full of Self-Indulgence vs. 25-26

The sixth trait is that they are full of self-indulgence

You cleanse the outside of the cup: The scribes and Pharisees were satisfied with a superficial cleansing and the appearance of righteousness.

Inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence: While greatly concerned with their outward appearance of righteousness, they were unconcerned with an inside full of sin and corruption.

First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also: Jesus did not call them to choose between outer righteousness and inner righteousness.

He called them to be concerned with both, but to first address the inside. True outward righteousness starts on the inside.

Mark 7:4 ESV

and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)

Dead Inside vs. 27-28

The seventh trait is that they are dead inside

You are like whitewashed tombs: It was the custom of the Jews of that time to whitewash the tombs in the city of Jerusalem before Passover so that no one would touch one accidentally, thus making themselves ceremonially unclean.

Jesus said these religious leaders were like these whitewashed tombs – pretty on the outside, but dead on the inside.

You also outwardly appear righteous to men: Men might see them as righteous, but God did not.

God is never fooled by what we show on the outside.

He sees what we actually are, not what we appear to be to other men.

Reject the Living vs. 29-36

The final trait is that they reject the living by worshipping the dead

They reject what God is doing right now because they worship the past

The Pharisees made elaborate tombs for the prophets who had died

They concocted ceremonies to honor the past

All the while they wouldn’t listen to those who God sent for that moment

John the Baptist was a classic example

He came preaching repentance and the people flocked to the wilderness to get baptised

The Pharisees came out to inspect and condemn

John called them a brood of vipers

You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous: They professed to venerate dead prophets but they rejected living prophets.

In doing so they showed that they really were the children of those who murdered the prophets in the days of old (you are sons of those who murdered the prophets).

Serpents, brood of vipers: This phrase has the idea of “family of the devil.”

These religious leaders took an unmerited pride in their heritage, thinking they were spiritual sons of Abraham.

Instead, they were more like sons of the devil, not of Abraham.

From the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah: Jesus here spoke of all the righteous martyrs of the Old Testament.

Abel was clearly the first, and in the way that the Hebrew Bible was arranged, Zechariah was the last.

2 Chronicles is the last book of the Hebrew Bible, and Zechariah’s story is found in 2 Chronicles 24.

If we are always comparing the present to what happened in the past we will miss God move

I don’t know how many Calvary Chapel history experts I’ve met

They all know what went down under the tent

A lot were upset at the movie because it didn’t highlight Chuck’s verse by verse teaching

The Jesus movement didn’t happen because of his teaching

It happened because of the music from groups like Love Song

Young people flocked to Saturday night concerts and then came to church to be taught

You have to be careful in your expectations of how God is going to work

Asbury has no high tech

It’s just a guitar and a piano and people are flocking from all over the world

Asbury

In two weeks people from all over the world flocked to a tiny town in Kentucky hungry for Jesus

Yet there are thousands of people condemning it

That is a pharisee spirit

Acts 7:51 ESV

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.