Evening Sermon

April 27, 2008

Legalism

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I have received some rather significant positive feedback from each of the past three sermons on Colossians, and I'm very thankful for that. I am human, and in the flesh I clearly appreciate any praise and honor that comes my way, but quite honestly, that's not why I am grateful for the response to those sermons. It's not about me at all, nor about any pride or sense of accomplishment I might have. Though I can't claim to be entirely rid of such sins, I have learned fairly well not to be distracted by those sorts of things. After all, if I gain my sense of success from the approval rating of the audience, then I will just as quickly lose that confidence when negative ratings come in. Ultimately, therefore, if I am devoted to seeking the favor of men, "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."

So your positive comments are encouraging to me in many ways, but most importantly, my gratitude for the recent words of appreciation is because those three sermons all set the context for what Paul has to say to this Colossian church in our text tonight. Those three sermons, rightly understood, are the foundation upon which the application of the gospel is proclaimed here. So let me review ever so briefly the gist of those last three sermons. First, from,

Col. 2:8 "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."

Your completeness, your identity is in Christ. What a gloriously encouraging message that is. What you are and what you were created to be are established by your relationship to Jesus Christ. And "in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form."

Then, your union with him, symbolized by circumcision in the Old Covenant and baptism in the New. You were circumcised in Christ, died with him and raised with him. And thirdly, last week, the work of Christ, canceling the debt of your sin,

v.14 "...having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

That was the triumph of Jesus Christ, satisfying the justice and wrath of God which you deserved, by paying the penalty in full.

So now, with all of that as a background, we come to the subject of legalism. Legalism is a much over-used and frequently misused word, but I use it this evening as the opposite of all that we have studied these last three weeks. Paul's burden for the Colossians was the influence of legalism, and it is just as clearly a burden in the church yet today. So what is it? What is,

I. THE DEFINITION OF LEGALISM. Simply put, legalism is,

A. Subjecting yourself to the doctrines and commandments of men. Subjecting yourselves, putting yourself under the authority, of rules made up by men, by creatures. So we read in,

v.20 "...why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations."

But what kind of regulations? Those which are... v.22 "...according to the commandments and doctrines of men."

The contrast is, of course, with the commandments and regulations of God. One of the ways that the word legalism is misused is to identify any exhortation to obedience as legalism. Sometimes, even when there is a call to obey God's law, the charge and accusation of legalism is leveled. As a preacher, I have certainly heard that accusation. But the obvious error of that definition of legalism is made clear by the simple reading of Scripture. The Bible calls you to obedience. Obedience to the law, so much so that love for God and obedience to God are defined in terms of the other. To love God is to obey him.

1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

Paul writes to the Romans, Rom. 6:12 "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."

And lest you think that this call to the righteousness of obedience somehow denies the gospel of grace, Paul goes on,

Rom.6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."

So because you are not under law but under grace, you are exhorted to obey. And having been set free from the power of sin, you become slaves of righteousness. So a reference to obedience to the law can't be legalism! Indeed,

Ps. 119:97 "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day."

Thus subjecting yourself to the doctrines and commandments of God is actually the very definition of freedom. As Christians, the law of God is our joy and delight!

Ps. 19:7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes...10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

Legalism, on the other hand, is substituting the commandments of men, or even adding the commandments of men to the laws of God as the burden to which you are required to obey, for conscience sake.

Those human regulations come in two forms, either forbidding you from something that God has not forbidden, or obligating you to something that God has not required. Let's look first at the legalism of,

B. Subjecting yourself to the call to abstain from things God has not forbidden. v.21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle."

For example, do not play cards. Do not go to movies. Those were from a previous generations. Do not drink alcohol. Do not wear pants, do not wear shorts, do not cut your hair, do not go to college. Do not eat meat. Do not eat sweets. Do not drink coffee. Don't weigh any more than what a doctor puts on his chart as the ideal weight. Then there are all sorts of legalistic rules that we establish these days regarding courtship and dating, rules that actually go beyond Scripture. The list could go on and on.

Now, surely Scripture does specify things that are forbidden.

1 Thes. 4:3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God."

Well, that's clear, and needs to be proclaimed clearly. But there are all sorts of rules and regulations that can be added to that biblical standard. Same thing with Peter's admonition to women,

1 Tim. 2:9 "...in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing."

Does that mean you have to dress like the folks at the LDS ranch in Texas? Women wear dresses down to their ankles and hair wrapped up in a bun on top of their head. Plain colors, only skirts and jumpers. What a danger in going beyond what the Scripture requires, and all too often we are prone to do that very thing. "...As though living in the world, ... you subject yourselves to regulations."

There is an obvious judgment upon the hearts of those who impress their own human commandments and regulations upon others, and a judgment upon those who think themselves more mature, more spiritual because of those human regulations. It is called pride. According to verse 18, they are guilty of "taking delight in false humility." Self-abasement. Boasting of your humility. Proud of your ability to abstain. Proud of your outward evidences of self-control.

Paul mentions "worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen," as if this pride extends to spiritual things. With the plain judgment, such a person is "vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind."

But, on the other extreme, there is also the danger of,

C. Subjecting yourself to obligations to things God has not required. Instead of the commandment, "You must not...", here it is, "You must do this..." You must homeschool. That's a big one today. Churches have split over that issue. But the Bible doesn't lay that obligation upon every family. Parents are given the obligation to watch over and care for their children, but we ought not to make a requirement that goes beyond Scripture, as if that were the norm or duty. There is only one infallible rule of faith and practice, and that is the Bible!

You must dress according to a prescribed code. You must conform to a certain set of outward standards. You must do certain things. v.16

Food and drink. Jewish ceremonial regulations. How about holidays today, even Christmas and Easter. We aren't compelled to the obligation to celebrate Christmas and Easter. But, equally so, the Bible doesn't forbid us from such a thing.

Paul mentions "a festival or a new moon." And sabbaths, not referring to the weekly sabbath rest prescribed by the fourth commandment as a day of joyful delight in the Lord, but the multiplied sabbaths of the Old Testament. The seventh year, the fiftieth year of jubilee, even the specific requirements established outwardly by the general principle of the 4th commandment.

Do not subject yourself to obligations that God has not required! Our confession of faith puts it this way: "God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men...So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also."

Implicit faith is the Roman Catholic idea that you have to do whatever the church says, you have to believe whatever the church says. Such that if the priest said your penance was to jump up and down 35 times, reciting the phrase, "I love the Pope," then that is exactly what you would have to do. Quite to the contrary, our Form of Government says this, "All church power is only ministerial and declarative, for the Holy Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. No church judicatory may presume to bind the conscience by making laws on the basis of its own authority; all its decisions should be founded upon the Word of God. "God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men."

This idea of Christian liberty is a crucial component of biblical teaching. In the practice of living our lives, we are free to do or not to do whatever it is that God has not specified. And in those areas, we might well differ from one another. And that is fine!

Rom. 14:1 "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."

That's legalism. And how should we evaluate it? Simply, as empty.

II. THE EMPTINESS OF LEGALISM. Vain. Useless. Emptiness in terms of no lasting benefit. Particular, no eternal consequences. You see,

A. Human traditions have no eternal benefit. Holiness does have such a benefit. Godly obedience to the commandments and laws of God shall be openly acknowledged at the day of judgment. Remember,

Rev. 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."

And, 1 Cor. 3:13 "...each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward."

But keeping human traditions? Subjecting yourself to the doctrines and commandments of men? They have no benefit whatsoever. They are empty, useless to you on the day of judgment as you stand before the Lord.

As Paul says, "they perish with the using." v.22

You observe certain regulations imposed by the will of men? Those commandments will perish with you. Sincerity is not enough. Your own self-imposed religion, according to verse 23, is not enough. Your will-worship, that service you offer to God as determined by your own will, will perish with your mortal bodies. It will not survive the judgment to come.

Those legalistic regulations are but a shadow, according to verse 17, a shadow of things to come. And what is a shadow, but something that disappears the moment you try to grasp it. A shadow is an empty, content-less representation that might reflect the original, but ultimately is nothing at all. A shadow is nothing at all, the children's story of Peter Pan notwithstanding.

When you grab your shadow, it just goes "poof." Such is the duty and obligation of those whose exercise of religion is but a commitment to their own man-made rules. Rules of no eternal benefit.

To take the idea of shadow one step further, the idea is not simply that a shadow is empty but that its emptiness is actually shown forth by the fact that you have missed the reality. If the shadow of your friend was with you, not only would it be empty but it make you long for the presence of your friend! So the religion that is but a shadow is actually an empty reflection of what is true. So it becomes tantalizingly troubling, because you want the real thing.

Surely it is the case that many legalists, many people whose religion involves a whole host of doctrines and commandments of men are actually seeking the true religion. But they have been deceived.

B. Human traditions are but an empty shadow of true religion. And being empty, useless! It's useless to conform yourselves to outward standards of men, no matter how sincere you might be. It grieves my heart to see pictures especially of the mothers and children from that ranch in Texas, because among them you gain the general impression of sincerity. Trying to do what's right. And the children, that's all they know! They are polite, peaceable and respectful.

But the greatest sadness isn't that they are now in the legal protection and custody of the state of Texas. As sad as that is for those children, the greater sadness is that their religion is totally and completely empty.

I would say the same of the more mainstreamed Latter Day Saints, Mormons. Empty tradition. Good family values. Good moral regulations and rules. But ultimately, nothing but the emptiness of human traditions.

And, therefore, as a shadow, missing the reality. v.17

That's what legalists miss. They miss Christ. Those who subject themselves to the doctrines and commandments of men miss Christ. They miss what it means to be saved by grace through faith in Christ. They miss what it means to be united with Christ. They miss what it means to be adopted as brothers and sisters of Christ, children of God the Father. They miss what it means to be the beloved bride of Christ, or what it means to be set apart in Christ, dead with Christ, or raised with Christ. They miss what we have focused upon the last three sermons. They miss the meaning of,

Col. 1:17 "And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."

That, most obviously, brings us to,

III. THE DANGERS OF LEGALSM. Surely, missing Christ, is a grave danger. Grasping to the shadow while missing the true substance reflected in that shadow, is a grave danger. And notice how Paul describes those dangers, v.18

Cheated out of a reward. That's what legalism does for you.

A. You will be cheated out of true spiritual benefits. You will be defrauded. Beguiled. Duped. Hoodwinked. The prize will be stolen away from you, by deception and fraud.

You see, you think you are doing something good. You think you are advancing toward the goal, to win the prize. But no, nothing of the sort. Simply put, there is no spiritual benefit to subjecting yourself to the doctrines and commandments of men. And those cause you think that there is are cheating you.

So beware. Especially of the false humility and of those who present a form of spiritual advancement in their vain pride, the empty boast of outward conformity to the traditions of men.

A second, related danger.

B. You will miss the edification of holding fast to Jesus Christ. In other words, if you hold fast to human traditions and commandments of men, you lose the glorious benefits of being united to Jesus Christ. If your religion consists of submission to those external regulations, the outward appearance of what seems to be good and right in the eyes of the world, then by definition, you lose the benefits of what it means to hold fast to Christ. v.19

You see, your real progress in religion, your real progress in faith and godliness, comes as a member of the church of Jesus Christ, which is his body. You are built up in the faith as part of that body, which is the body of Christ. You are not built up in the faith by subjecting yourself to your own individual or man-centered rules.

God makes the body grow. God nourishes and knits together the body. God puts the joints and ligaments together to hold the bones and muscles in place within the body. And Jesus Christ is the head of that body. Not me. Not the Elders. Not the pope, nor some famous televangelist or author. Jesus Christ is the head, and you are his body. Only in that context will you grow up in the faith.

One final danger, sadly the most ironic of all. This is especially clear with reference to those people who subject themselves to abstain from things God has not forbidden, as a measure of godliness and spiritual maturity. It might be food. It might be drink. It might be physical fitness. It might be the foolish vow of chastity, taken by Roman Catholic priests as if that qualifies them to be holy. Anything such regulation that is but a doctrine or commandment of man will ultimately become a curse, because, you see, those laws of men have no power by which you are enabled to obey them.

Simply put, if you are fond of laws and regulations as the focus of your religion, then,

C. You will not be enabled to put sin to death. v.23

So you take a vow of chastity, a vow never to get married, and become a priest. Does that take away the lusts of the flesh? Just look at the horrible and despicable sins of so many priests over the last few decades.

Subject yourself to all the external rules and regulations of the LDS ranch near Waco, and guess what? The lusts of the flesh are not put to death, but flourish, polygamy chief among them. Their rules were of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Take the false religion of Islam. Consider all the prohibitive regulations concerning the appearance of women, completely covered from head to foot. And guess what? Those regulations have no power to mortify the corrupted and wicked desires that arise from with the heart of sinful men.

Consider the whole foolishness of the prohibition movement. Was the law-enforced prohibition against the consumption of alcohol of any value against the flesh?

No, beloved. The way to avoid drunkenness is not by the human regulation of forced abstinence. The way to avoid sexual immorality and even lust in the heart is not by a strict and oppressive dress code. The way to subdue the indulgences of the flesh is not to be found in the way of human regulations and the doctrines and commandments of men.

Legalism promises you something that ends up being as empty as a shadow. And then rather than actually bring about the godliness and righteousness that might be intended, it actually stimulates the flesh. So beware.

People of God, beware of legalism. Therefore, the main, obvious application of this text is that you must learn to make distinctions, between the true and legitimate laws and commandments of God, and to the contrary, those doctrines and commands of men. You must learn to separate the two, because ultimately the one brings life and the other brings death.

So study the law of God, so that you will know what it says. And treasure that word in your hearts, because the word of God, including the law, is alive. It is a living word, with power.

Heb. 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Col. 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom," so that you can know and love the laws of God given for your well-being and liberty. And know when you are being subjected to the doctrines and commandments of men. Let the word of God be your guide, and do not go beyond what is written.

Don't make up extra regulations to help you keep the laws God has given. Don't impose upon yourself or let others impose upon you any duty that God himself doesn't lay upon you, for only God is the law-giver. And he is inherently, essentially, necessarily good.

This is such an ongoing matter for the church of Jesus Christ, for we so often err on one side or the other, either disregarding and disparaging the laws that God has given, or we assume as our duty more obligations than God has required.

People of God, v.16 "...let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility..., vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,...20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- 21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," 22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."

Beloved, v.19 "[hold] fast to the Head [who is Jesus], from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God."

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