Kingdom Mindset: Matthew 15

CIT: We must reject legalism in exchange for regeneration that brings about faith, holiness, and compassion.

The dangers of legalism

Our need of regeneration

What regeneration produces

The end of our regeneration

The dangers of legalism (Matthew 15:1-20)

Produces self-centeredness

Matthew 15:4-5 “For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,””

These verses tell us that a teaching from the elders began to overrule the teaching of the Law. The law is summed up in two ways, Love God and Love Others. Legalism however, teaches you to be self centered.

How so? Because in legalism you are constantly focused our your own self performance and are not looking to love others.

The fix for this is that as a follower of Jesus we should not be self-centered, but God-centered. This will then free us to obey his law and love others well.

Produces self-righteousness

Legalism also produces a self-righteousness because we think that we have accomplished the righteousness needed for salvation on our own effort.

Self-righteousness is deeply linked with pride and wrong worship. When we worship our selves, rather than God, we become prideful and think greater of our own works than the work of God, this is why someone who trust in a legalistic system will fall before the Lord because they have washed their outside, but not their inside.

Produces self-interest

For the Pharisees in this story their self interest, produced by these man-made laws that they taught, placed them into a position of power that they wanted to hold onto. this is why they were so resistant to the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus was showing them that the Word of God must be the foundation for our lives, and not a man-made, legalistic system, and when this happens our own self-interests must go by the wayside (Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”)

If someone is unrepentant of their legalism then their own self-interest will get in the way of true relation with God.

Produces false security

Finally, legalism produces a false sense of security of salvation.

Legalism: Do these things and you will go to heaven

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Why am I so passionate about us rejecting and repenting from legalism? Because I was raised in a legalistic system. One that taught me if I dressed a certain way, listened to a certain type of music, didn’t watch certain movies, and read the KJV Bible then that means that I am a Christian. This system that I was raised in was one that prized works over faith, and I have had to deconstruct this false doctrine over a number of years in order to see the beauty of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now, do not be mistaken, the pursuit of holiness in the life of a Christian is not synonomous with Legalism, we will see that in a moment, but when we seek to have a relationship with God based off of what we have done then we have drastically misunderstood the gospel and need to be regenerated in order to see clearly what the gospel means.

Our need for regeneration

Legalism cannot make us righteous

Matthew 15:7-11 “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.””

We need a work of God in our hearts

Ephesians 2:1–5 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

What regeneration produces

Faith (Matthew 15:21-28)

When we have been regenerated by the Spirit of God, faith in Jesus Christ is produced. We see that following Jesus is that best possible thing for our lives and will do whatever it takes to have a relationship with him. That is what we see here with this Canaanite woman.

Even though this woman, as a Canaanite, was an enemy of Israel, and therefore opposed to the People of God, she saw that Jesus, as the true Israel, was the best possible thing for her life.

Therefore, what was it that saved her daughter? Her faith! How did she receive this faith? Scripture tells us that through the regeneration of our hearts we receive faith in Jesus by the power of the Spirit of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Holiness (Matthew 15:18-20 *This text shows us what unholy living looks like)

When we have been regenerated and have received grace to place our faith in Jesus we begin to pursue holy living. Why? Because this is the outflow of Loving God. Loving God means living like God.

Galatians 5:16-24 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

1 Peter 2:9-11 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

Compassion (Matthew 15:29-39)

Finally, a regenerated heart produces compassion for others. We see this with Jesus and his actions towards the sick and hungry. Just like holy living is the outflow of Loving God, compassionate living is the outflow of Loving Others.

The end of our regeneration

A wedding feast

Foreshadowed

Matthew 15:32-39

Gentile people eating with the Lord and his Jewish disciples

Consummated

Revelation 19:6-9

People from every tongue, tribe, and nation feasting together with Jesus