Bible Study "Stay Free, Now That You're Free"

Legalism

Tonight I want to deal with the subject of legalism. Many of us have heard of this term or at least we understand that it has something to do with keeping the law or at least attempting to go by the statues and ordinances of the Old Testament. There is absolutely nothing in the world wrong with practicing holiness and righteousness, but the problem comes in when we attempt to make the keeping of the law a prerequisite for salvation.

This is absolutely what so many religious organizations and cults have done today. I want to encourage everyone to be especially careful about allowing people to convince you that the way you have been taught the gospel is wrong. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and the trinity is a doctrinal teaching of the Bible. The bible is the inerrant word of God, written by over 40 authors over a period of 1500 years. Jesus Christ was born by the Virgin Mary and He did die on the cross for your sins and my sins. He did get up from the grave and rose again. And He did ascend into heaven, sitting at the right hand of God. And He is coming back for all faithful believers one day.

Any belief or religion that preaches that salvation is achieved by what the individual does as oppose to what Jesus did is constructed on the premise of legalism. Let’s be careful not to get caught up and persuade to leave what we have been taught in order to go back into bondage and attempting to fulfill something that even God knew we could not fulfill which is the Law.

Synopsis

The belief that salvation demands or depends upon total obedience to the letter of the law. Examples of legalism include an excessive concern for minute details of the law coupled with a neglect of its funadmental concerns, and a preoccupation with human legal traditions.

Pocket Dictionary of Ethics Legalism

Religious legalism focuses on obedience to laws or moral codes based on the assumption that such obedience is a means of gaining divine favor. See also formalism; good works.

PART ONE: LEGALISM IS NOT THE WILL OF GOD

Legalism represents a fatal misunderstanding of the purpose of OT law

When Jesus came among the Jews. The scriptures say He came among His own but they received Him not. Their problem with Jesus was that He was not pushing them to do good works, but He was pushing them to accept the finish works on the cross that he would do.

The law is our road map of sin. Its’ purpose is to show us what we should not do. But it was never to become our means for salvation.

This texts is clearly telling us that no one is justified with God by keeping the law but one is only justified if he lives by faith. The text also says everyone who does not continue do all the things written in the law is cursed. No one can do all the law. Jesus was the only one who could fulfill the law because He was the only one who knew no sin. Once you get started with trying to be a commandment keeper, understand if you do continue, you will be cursed. There’s no need for that.

References:

Ro 9:31–32

Romans 9:31–32 (NKJV) — 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

See also Ro 3:20; Ga 3:10–11

Romans 3:20 (NKJV) — 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Galatians 3:10–11 (NKJV) — 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

Legalism is contrary to the gospel

When you think about it legalism and the gospel that Jesus and the Apostles taught is diametrically opposed to one another. The Pharisees taught others to do what they were not doing themselves. I’m remind of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. They were all so eager to condemn the woman, but Jesus said, “let him among you without sin, cast the first stone,” and all of them had to throw down their stones and walk away. The gospel is about forgiveness. The gospel knows that all have sinned and come short of the glory.

References

Ga 2:16

Galatians 2:16 (NKJV) — 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

See also Mt 23:13; Mt 23:15; Ro 3:20–24; Php 3:8–9

Matthew 23:13 (NKJV) — 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Matthew 23:15 (NKJV) — 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Romans 3:20–24 (NKJV) — 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Philippians 3:8–9 (NKJV) — 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Paul: example of a Jewish legalist

Php 3:4–6

Philippians 3:4–6 (NKJV) — 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

See also Ga 1:14

Galatians 1:14 (NKJV) — 14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

The ugly effects of legalism

In our nation we have come to experience racism and hatred on a scale that’s unbearable. But the real issue is that the extremist are claiming to be Christians and the terrorism that they are perpetuating, they say they are doing it in the name of the Lord. This hurts the entire Christian body all over the world, because it depicts God as being a violent God and an evil God, ready to destroy everything not like Him and we know that’s not true.

Practicing legalism has it’s effects but most of all it promotes pride and self-righteousness.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tried to show us all the right way was to love thy neighbor and to do unto to others as we would have them to do unto us.

I think we need to be very careful about nationalism and only being concern about ourselves. And saying we are Christian makes it even worst.

Lack of love

Mt 23:23 Legalism actually contradicts the spirit of OT law.

Matthew 23:23 (NKJV) — 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

See also Ho 6:6; Mic 6:7–8; Mt 23:14; Lk 10:31–32; Jn 7:49

Hosea 6:6 (NKJV) — 6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:7–8 (NKJV) — 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 23:14 (NKJV) — 14 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.

Luke 10:31–32 (NKJV) — 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.

John 7:49 (NKJV) — 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

Spiritual pride

Lk 18:11–12

Luke 18:11–12 (NKJV) — 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

See also Mt 6:1–2; Mt 6:5; Mt 6:16; Mt 23:5–7; Lk 16:15; Ro 10:3

Matthew 6:1–2 (NKJV) — 1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:5 (NKJV) — 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:16 (NKJV) — 16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 23:5–7 (NKJV) — 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

Luke 16:15 (NKJV) — 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Romans 10:3 (NKJV) — 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

Formalism

Formalism is another issue we must contend with practicing legalism. What is formalism?

Formalism is the elevation of the outward form to the neglect of the inward substance; the reliance on the outward rituals practiced by a community with little regard for the values to which the ceremonies are intended to point. Ethical formalism, in turn, views the ethical life as the performance of outward forms, such as obedience to laws, legal stipulations and prescribed duties, without giving due heed to the cultivation of proper inner dispositions. In the Bible, formalism often takes the form of legalism, which religious leaders, especially Jesus, condemned.

Grenz, S. J., & Smith, J. T. (2003). In Pocket Dictionary of Ethics (pp. 43–44). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

References:

Is 29:13

Isaiah 29:13 (NKJV) — 13 Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

See also Mk 7:6

Mark 7:6 (NKJV) — 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

Degeneration into man-made rules - In other words man’s rules and organization policy become more important than the word of God

References:

Is 29:13

Isaiah 29:13 (NKJV) — 13 Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

See also Mk 7:7–8

Mark 7:7–8 (NKJV) — 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

PART 2: WARNINGS AGAINST LEGALISM

Hypocrisy

Mt 23:27–28

Matthew 23:27–28 (NKJV) — 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

See also 1 Sa 15:19–22; Mt 15:3–9; Mt 23:25–26; Jn 7:19

1 Samuel 15:19–22 (NKJV) — 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

Matthew 15:3–9 (NKJV) — 3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

Matthew 23:25–26 (NKJV) — 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

John 7:19 (NKJV) — 19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

Spiritual blindness

Jn 9:16

John 9:16 (NKJV) — 16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

Warnings against legalism

Mt 16:6

Matthew 16:6 (NKJV) — 6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

See also Mt 16:12; Ga 4:10–11; Ga 5:2–4

Matthew 16:12 (NKJV) — 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Galatians 4:10–11 (NKJV) — 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

Galatians 5:2–4 (NKJV) — 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

The burden of legalism

Ac 15:10

Acts 15:10 (NKJV) — 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

See also Ps 130:3; Jas 2:10

Psalm 130:3 (NKJV) — 3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

James 2:10 (NKJV) — 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

The answer to legalism: the grace of Jesus Christ

Ac 15:11

Acts 15:11 (NKJV) — 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

See also Mt 5:17; Ga 3:13; Ga 4:21–31; Eph 2:8–9

Matthew 5:17 (NKJV) — 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Galatians 3:13 (NKJV) — 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

Galatians 4:21–31 (NKJV) — 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.” 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV) — 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.