Victory Over Legalism

Introduction

Last time we were here in the book of Acts we looked at how we are to deal with false doctrine. This evening we are going to examine the false doctrine that was being promoted in greater detail and then see how it was ultimately defeated and the ramifications of this defeat.

You and I can clearly see that salvation is entirely independent of the law of Moses because we have a broad spectrum of scripture that clearly states this fact.

, , - law schoolmaster

The term that we would used today for the false doctrine that the church was struggling with here is legalism. The problem is that there are many today who have a misconceived idea as to what legalism is. In fact there are many today that would have us believe that those who promote biblical convictions and godly standards are legalistic. This is simply untrue.

Legalism (Vs. 19-27)

Legalism is when we add some other qualification to salvation outside of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is exactly what had taken place in the early church. There was a sect of believing Pharisees that were promoting the idea that in order for a Gentile to be saved they must be circumcised and adhere to the law of Moses.

“Trouble not”- add extra difficulty- James was intent on keeping salvation simple the way God always intended for it to be by grace through faith.

Legalism in any form is to be wholeheartedly rejected regardless of what the demands being made. - another gospel

There is only one way of salvation and it is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

James and the entire congregation of the Jerusalem church now determine that the error that has been promoted in their name must be swiftly corrected.

A letter is drafted and sent with Paul and Barnabas and men are selected from the leadership of the Jerusalem church to testify to the validity of the letter being sent.

This helps us to understand how seriously the church handled the issue.

Legalism must still be rejected today. The issue is that many have come to equate legalism with the promotion of convictions and standards in a church.

This is where there has been a serious error in many churches today. They have rightly rejected legalism but they have gone too the other extreme and fallen into license.

Liberty (Vs. 28-35)

Christian liberty at the most basic level is the idea that our salvation is not dependent upon our keeping of the law.

- stand fast a be not entangled again

There is a wonderful freedom in knowing that we are not under the law but under grace.

There is joy in knowing that we are not required to keep some set of standards in order to be saved or in order to remain saved. All the work necessary for our salvation was carried out by Christ and we are saved by our faith in Him.

The danger is that we begin to use the liberty that we have in Christ to indulge our flesh and to engage in carnal pleasures.

Paul recognized this danger as he wrote concerning Christian liberty to the church at Galatia.

- use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh.

This was a distinct reality for the church at Antioch. When the church at Judea declared that circumcision and the keeping of the law were not required for salvation they also set forth some necessary standard for the promotion of unity and holiness in the Gentile believers. (Vs. 28-29)

There were some things that were common among the Gentiles that would cause serious offense to the Jewish believers and thus the Gentiles were encouraged to abstain from these activities so as to promote unity in the church.

There were also some sins that were common among the Gentiles (fornication) that must be forsaken for the promotion of holiness in the church.

We ought to take special notice of the response of the church at Antioch to the letter when it was read.

The letter included the setting forth of some standards of conduct and yet they rejoiced and were encouraged. They knew that those in positions of leadership had set forth these standards for their benefit.

It is troubling that there are many today who react strongly to biblical standards being set forth in the church.

Why is it that so many reject the standards set forth by those whom God has placed in positions of leadership in the church?

Standards are not requirements for salvation. We ought never to look down upon others simply because they may not meet the standards we have, yet we also must never come to the point of altogether rejecting biblical standards.

We must realize they are set forth to promote unity and holiness in the church. Don’t get upset if there is a particular standard of dress required to serve in ministry positions. Don’t become angry because there are standards for music in the church. Don’t be annoyed because there is a code of conduct you must adhere to as you serve in ministry.

Instead recognize that these standards are in place for good reason to protect your testimony and the testimony of the church.

The church at Antioch was glad to receive instruction and were not rebellious or angry because there were standards set forth.

We can be sure this short listing is but a small glimpse of the standards that were promoted by Paul, Barnabas, and Silas as they taught these believers the Word of God and helped them to apply it to their personal lives.

So many today would say: How dare you tell me what I can watch, how I should dress, what I should listen to, the people I should associate with, etc…? This was certainly not the mentality of the Antioch church. They were more than happy to receive instruction and follow the standards that were set forth by those in positions of spiritual authority over them.

We must embrace grace and Christian liberty but we must also recognize the danger of liberty turning to license.