WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:11.119 I may have mentioned this to some of you before in casual conversations, but when my wife first introduced me to Aldi, the grocery store, I hated it. 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:14.080 Because I didn't know what to do. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.320 I didn't know all the rules when I went there, right? 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.160 There were so many rules that I saw. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:24.160 You couldn't uh initially you couldn't just grab the fruit and take it out of a bag. 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:26.399 You had to pay for the bag altogether. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:34.000 I had I had to find out that the hard way when I took some grapes out of a bag and I took it to the front, and the lady told me you have to buy the bag. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:35.920 I was like, Walmart doesn't do this. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.479 Walmart, I can just grab what I need, right? 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:42.000 So there were so many, so many, I would call bits at Aldi. 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:49.920 You would have to put a quarter in the in the uh machine, or it to get a cart, you would have to put a quarter in, and you had to bag your own groceries and everything. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:51.600 And I didn't really know the rules. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.799 I really don't like going places where I don't know the rules. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:57.759 I want to know what I'm supposed to do. 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:03.920 And the thing is with the Bible, the Bible is very clear what the Christian is supposed to do. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.640 It lays out God's law very clearly. 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:12.159 However, in the church, what we can sometimes do is muddle that clarity. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:17.280 We can make things that are clear, that are supposed to be clear, unclear. 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:23.280 We can confuse people, especially when we put in additional rules that are not in the Bible. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:34.560 As we come to the end of chapter 11, we will note that the scene shifts from Jesus teaching the crowd to being invited to a Pharisee's home for dinner. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:40.719 And there we have this confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisee about the washing of hands. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:47.519 But as we will see, all this does is give Jesus another opportunity to teach. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:52.239 This time, it is on the dangers of following the Pharisees. 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:56.079 So I titled this sermon, Are You a Legalist? 00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:00.560 I believe the passage shows us some marks of what we call legalism. 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:05.599 And as we go through the passage, we're going to better answer that question. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:10.240 First, let me define for you what legalism is. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:15.520 Maybe you've heard of that word and maybe you don't really understand what that means. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:31.919 Legalism is seeking, here's a working definition, legalism is seeking to establish our righteousness before God and others through human rules, outward performance, or obedience apart from faith in Jesus Christ. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:46.400 You know, as I was scrolling through social media this week, I came across a post from a podcaster slash pastor that said, I've never met an antinomian. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:48.560 So I'll explain what that word means. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:55.680 Antinomian basically means anti-law, gnomos, anti-nomos, anti-law. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:03.759 An antinomian is a theological word for someone who doesn't believe in, really who doesn't believe they need to obey God's law. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:19.759 There's kind of a version of Christianity out there that believes that you can say the sinner's prayer, you can repeat after me and say a prayer, become a Christian and go on your life, go on with the rest of your life without obeying. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:26.000 And again, this poster said, I've never met an antinomian before in my life. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:33.360 However, what the poster was overlooking was the spirit of antinomianism. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:40.960 I agree with him that there are not many Christians, or you won't find many Christians, who are going to say, you know, I don't believe we need to obey God. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.800 I don't believe we need to obey God's law. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:51.199 However, their lives and their teachings will prove otherwise. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.520 I believe that we can say the same thing about legalism. 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:10.080 You're not going to meet a lot of Christians who will say to you that we establish our righteousness before God by rule keeping or by outward performance. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:16.560 But their lives and their demands that they put on others will prove otherwise. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.079 So as we answer the question, are you a legalist? 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:26.160 Let us walk through the passage and point out some marks of legalism that will help us better answer that question. 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:27.920 And I want to point out these. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.839 The marks of legalism, number one, are fault-finding. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.279 Number two, man-made rules. 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:37.680 Number three, moralism. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:41.759 Number four, rules over righteousness. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:45.199 And number five, self-exaltation. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.959 So let's look at that first one from the passage. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:56.959 A first one that, first mark that I want to point out from the passage about legalism or of legalism is fault finding. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:58.319 Look at verse 37. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:06.000 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at the table. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:12.879 So while Jesus is teaching the crowd, a man comes to him and asks if he would be his guest for dinner. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:17.120 Now we're not told this man's name, but we are told that this man is a Pharisee. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:21.040 As we walk through Luke, we have seen this group before. 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:25.360 They're often a group who is antagonistic to the work of Christ. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:27.839 But who were the Pharisees? 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:35.920 Well, the Pharisees were a group of influential Jewish leaders, religious leaders, who zealously sought to preserve the law of God. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:42.079 However, they often added their own traditions to their interpretation. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.240 They were a well-respected group during this time in the Jewish community. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:53.120 They were seen by the people as serious and devout teachers of their religion, of Judaism. 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.000 This is one of the reasons why they opposed Christ so much. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.439 They didn't want to lose the influence that they had. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:06.079 They saw that Jesus was gaining quite a following and they didn't want to lose their following to this man. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:14.879 So being that they opposed Jesus so much, it's interesting that one of them asked him to his home for dinner. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:26.720 Maybe the invitation wasn't so sincere as the Pharisee quickly accuses Jesus of doing something that he shouldn't be doing, which was not washing before dinner. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.720 More on that in a moment. 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:37.360 For now, I just want to point out the seemingly insincere invitation to have Jesus over for dinner. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:45.759 The fact that the Pharisee quickly points out Jesus doing something wrong makes us believe that this was his intention all along. 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:56.720 Seems that the reason for the invitation was to watch and to see what Jesus would do or wouldn't do, hoping to find something that he could accuse him of. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:20.800 And this is the first mark that I want to point out on legalism from this passage. 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:33.920 It is looking to find the fault in other Christians or in others in general, waiting for people to do something against your own law or your own tradition. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:46.399 Now I think most of us have lived lifelong enough to know that you don't have to be someone in the church to have this type of, I guess what we would call, critical spirit. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:08:02.079 Because I think we all have friends and family members who are always looking for the bad in others, or always looking for someone to mess up or to slip up, someone who's always critical of others, looking down on them, judging them for their actions. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:06.720 And if we're honest, I mean we can sometimes find ourselves doing these things. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.199 This is why we need to guard our hearts. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:12.639 And here's where we want to be really careful. 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:23.839 When this type of thing is done in the church, it can often be an even more sinister thing than those doing it in the world. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:31.839 Because when Christians do this, it is often to assume a role that only belongs to God. 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:38.320 The unbeliever does it because that's who the unbeliever is. 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:45.840 They're sinners, they're prideful, they're spirited, mean-spirited, they're hateful, they're malicious, and so forth. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:53.200 All of that springs from their unregenerate heart, their unsaved heart, their sinful nature. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:09:04.320 But the Christian often does this, this fact, this fault-finding, in an attempt to sit in a seat that we don't belong in. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:09.440 James chapter 4, verse 11 tells us, do not speak evil against one another, brothers. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:16.720 The one who speaks speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:21.120 But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:23.840 There is only one lawgiver and judge. 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.480 He is able to save and to destroy. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.600 But who are you to judge your neighbor? 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:38.480 The reason a Christian would be looking to find fault in a brother or sister is to be the judge of the law. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:44.159 But as James says, when you do that, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of the law. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:54.159 You think that you are being a doer because you're pointing out everyone else's fault and how they're sinning and how much they are not doing the right thing and how much they're doing wrong. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:10:04.320 But you what you're really doing is acting as their judge, but there is only one lawgiver and judge, and it's not you, and it's not me, it is God. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:13.279 And you know what often happens when we're always looking for the fault in others or other people's flaws, we start overlooking our own. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:20.000 We're too busy examining him and examining her, and we stop examining our own life. 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:28.240 We're too busy looking into the hearts and the motives of others, and we overlook our own heart and our own motives. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:31.360 And look, here's where it can get tricky. 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:44.960 This is why every Christian needs to grow or must grow in discernment and spiritual maturity because we in the body do have a duty to watch over our brothers and sisters in some way, right? 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:50.000 The Bible calls us to admonish one another and to confess our sins to one another. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:53.519 Galatians 3 speaks of someone being caught in trespass. 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:59.759 I can go on and mention the church discipline passages of Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5. 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:07.919 Yes, the Bible teaches accountability toward one another, but it doesn't teach critical judgment toward one another. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.559 And you have to have a level of spiritual maturity to know the difference. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:23.679 And the spirit behind fault finding is the spirit of judgment and condemnation and being very critical. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:44.879 Here's the difference when you have that spirit to judge and to condemn and to be critical of someone's actions, you usually don't have any hope or any aim of that person repenting or restoring or restoring the fellowship. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:50.159 It's usually just to fault find and to point something out. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:55.440 But biblical accountability is the opposite of that. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:59.919 Biblical accountability seeks to keep a brother or sister from their fall. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:05.759 Fault finding and judging seeks to rejoice in a brother or sister's fall. 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:12.639 So we find ourselves often doing the latter, then we may be bearing the marks of a legalist. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:14.000 Let's look at a second one. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.519 Second mark, man-made rules, verse 38. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:25.679 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:32.879 And when most people think of legalism, I think this is probably the one mark that they're familiar with. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:43.200 To understand the context here, we need to know a little something about what made the Pharisee astonished or shocked that Jesus didn't wash before dinner. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:51.279 Because if we're honest, some of us are probably reading this and thinking, hey, I get a little shocked when I see somebody in front of me not washing before dinner. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:13:00.159 However, the washing here had to do more with a ritual cleansing than a hygiene issue. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:11.600 If you're familiar with the Mosaic Law in the Old Testament, you will know that there were several laws about various washings that were associated with ritual cleansing. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.960 And remember, the Pharisees wanted to keep all of these laws precisely. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.799 The problem is that they went far and beyond precision, precision. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:25.759 They started adding additional requirements to the law. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:32.080 And these requirements, they they they were compiled in this record called the Mishnah. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:35.519 This is a Jewish record of oral traditions. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.440 And that's really where the washings before dinner came from. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:44.080 It was more of a tradition, not an actual law of God. 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:48.159 And they had all these detailed rules about washing your hands. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:57.840 They would say that you needed to have the water reach this far, and they would tell you what to do if the water flowed back into the hands, and so forth. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:00.960 There were very meticulous rules on washing hands. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:08.399 It's been said that the Pharisees had over 1,01 additional extra biblical laws. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.440 So this is what astonished the Pharisee who was dining with Jesus. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:22.480 It wasn't so much, how can you eat with dirty hands, as much as it was, how can you eat while you remain ceremonially unclean. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:27.200 But again, Jesus wasn't breaking any part of the Mosaic law. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.799 As a spotless Lamb of God, he kept every part of God's law while he was here on earth. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:34.879 He kept himself clean. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:39.440 But what he didn't do is keep the law of the Pharisees. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.679 And that is what was so shocking and appalling to them. 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:48.960 Not that he was breaking one of God's laws, but that he was breaking one of theirs. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:53.360 They weren't used to people not following their man-made rules and traditions. 00:14:54.159 --> 00:15:08.000 And here's the thing that their rules by this time were so ingrained into Judaism that people really did believe that they were obeying God's law by obeying the traditions of the Pharisees. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.039 But of course, Christ knew better. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:16.000 He knew that God was the only true lawgiver, not man. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:21.360 And that following their rules and their traditions wasn't what God required. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.960 Neither would it give him any more favor with his father. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:28.960 And this continues to be one of the marks of legalism today. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:33.440 Making others follow man-made rules. 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:42.399 And sometimes these rules and laws can be so embedded into our church culture that we start to believe that these laws are truly from God. 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.039 This is truly what God requires. 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:55.360 I think I've mentioned this before, but the church I grew up in had a lot of these additional rules that they would call sin if you didn't follow. 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.519 Some would even say that Christians would be sinning if they went to six flags. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.440 They would call it sin flags. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:13.440 And if you've been in and around the church for some time, you would know, or you've probably heard or witnessed some of these rules before. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:17.360 You're sinning if you wear this or you wear that. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:21.600 You're sinning if you cut your hair like this or cut your hair like that. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:27.519 You're sinning if you get a tattoo, or you're sinning if you have a TV in your home, and things like that. 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:33.759 Now we can say it is possible to do some of these things with a sinful heart, right? 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:38.000 Everything that we do, even the good, can be done for the wrong reasons. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.960 You know, scripture talks about not doing things by faith. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:46.879 James 4, 1 talks, 4.17 says, whoever knows the right thing to do it and doesn't do it for him, it is sin. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:54.159 But we must be careful about dogmatically calling things sin that the Bible never does. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:00.080 And look, no Christian ever considers themselves a Pharisee. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:04.079 They know the Pharisees are the bad guys in the story. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:12.640 But by making up extra biblical rules for people to follow, we are doing exactly what the Pharisees did. 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.200 And the consequences are the same. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:23.920 What happens is people start feeling like they're falling short of pleasing God, that that like they're not measuring up to God's standard. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.160 But the problem is it's not God's standard that they they're falling short of. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:30.160 It's often man's standard. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.720 Mark 7, verse 6 says. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:43.920 And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, The people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:48.880 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:53.759 You leave the commandment of God and behold to the tradition of men. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:03.359 You know, we often define vain or vanity as that which you know is prideful. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:13.200 However, scripture often uses vanity in another way, describing things as fruitless or as useless. 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:15.200 And that's the case in this Mark passage. 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:28.240 Jesus is saying that the worship of these hypocrites is useless or without effect, because what they're doing is they're trying to worship God by the traditions of men, by their own traditions. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:31.279 And they're making other people do the same. 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:33.440 Now, all of our life is worship. 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:36.079 We we worship God when we follow and obey his word. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:42.160 But the problem is people make it seem like we worship God when we follow and obey their word. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:52.400 In Reformed theology, there is a heavy emphasis on what we call the law and the gospel distinction and the importance of not mixing the two together. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:57.039 We can't call the law gospel or gospel law. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:07.200 We need to know what is truly the gospel, and we need to know what is truly the law, and that way we can know how they function and what the purpose of the law is and what the purpose of the gospel is. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:19.039 And this was understandable for the reformers because remember, they were reforming the church away from the teachings of Roman Catholicism, which had many of these extra-biblical rules for people to follow. 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:26.720 And the Catholic Church was placing these burdens upon people, and they were saying, you must follow these rules or else. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:41.200 But the reformers in their writings made an effort to distinguish what truly was the law of God and what was it, what God truly required and what he didn't, or what the church required, the church of Rome. 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:50.480 And as they searched the scriptures, they found that God never required them to do many of these things that the Church of Rome was requiring them to do. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:55.839 And look, it's not that God does not require obedience. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.119 He does. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:04.000 The opposite extreme is what I mentioned earlier: anti-nominism, which is which is anti-law. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:07.440 Some Christians again think that they don't need to obey anything. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:18.319 I just I said I say my prayer, I re I the pastor told me to repeat after me, and I repeated after him, or I got into some water, and now I can live my life however I want. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.039 No, we want to obey. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.359 We just want to obey rightly. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:27.359 We want to obey the Bible, want to obey what God says. 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:30.559 And we don't want our obedience to be in vain. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:36.400 And that can happen when we obey man's law instead of God's. 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:37.519 Let's go on. 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:44.880 Let's look at another mark of legalism that I want to point out from the passage, and that is what some people call moralism. 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:47.440 Look at verse 39. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:57.119 And the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees, cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:20:59.920 But inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:06.799 You fools, did he who made the outside, did not he who made the outside, make the inside also? 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:13.119 But give his alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:24.079 So the Pharisees were so concerned with their outer appearance, how people saw them, and they paid very little attention to their inner self. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.799 And this is what Jesus is pointing out in the analogy. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:31.359 It's like washing only the outside of the cup while leaving the inside of the cup dirty. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:35.119 But God made both the outside and the inside. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:37.119 He made both the body and the soul. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:40.160 He made us physical beings as well as spiritual beings. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:45.359 And when it comes to cleanliness, that usually starts on the inside. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:50.000 This is why he says, give as alms those things that are within. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:55.039 In other words, let everything that you do come from the inside. 00:21:55.359 --> 00:22:03.680 Let those works that you do come from a pure heart, because when your outer deeds are Done from a clean heart, then everything else will be clean. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:12.799 The problem with the Pharisees is that they didn't, they they often only cared about their external works and they neglected the matters of the heart. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:24.160 They cared a lot about being seen as outstanding people in the community as good and righteous teachers in the Jewish community. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:29.200 They evalued how people saw them and how people perceived them. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:35.759 And this is one area of legalism that shows up a lot in our churches. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:45.759 Some people define it as moralism, which basically means over-emphasizing morality. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:54.720 And I know that might sound strange because you might be asking, how can we overly emphasize morality? 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:58.559 Isn't morality just having a good set of morals? 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.440 Isn't morality living a moral life? 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:02.880 Isn't that a good thing? 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:07.920 Why would we be afraid of people living good moral lives? 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:21.599 Well, the problem is that morality can often be deceptive because it can make people measure themselves before God by what they do or what they don't do. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:27.680 It can make people live out their Christian lives by how well they live out their lives before men. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:31.279 Again, you might be thinking, what's the problem with that? 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:37.279 What is the problem with people living as good and outstanding citizens? 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:40.000 The problem is it's often Christeless. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:47.599 The problem is that moralism deceives people into thinking that they are better than they truly are. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.119 You're not a good person that has it all together. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:03.519 The truth is you're a wretched sinner, saved by grace, who needs the power of God to sustain you every second of your life. 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.079 Moralism clings to the goodness of man. 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:11.920 True Christianity clings to the goodness of Christ. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:28.559 I can't tell you how many people go to church every Sunday and think that because they're not committing crimes or they're not cheating on their spouse or they're not addicted to a substance, that they don't really need God as much as the ones who are. 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:35.519 Here's the real difference between moralism and Christianity. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:41.200 Moralism prays, thank you, God, I'm not like that sinner. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:45.920 Christianity prays, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 00:24:46.480 --> 00:25:07.200 Colossians 2.20 says, if with Christ you die to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, referring to things that all perish as they are used, according to human precepts and teachings. 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:21.359 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and aestheticism, asceticism, and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:33.440 Paul had a concern that these Christians here in Colossae were submitting themselves to these man-made rules and regulations in order to justify themselves before God. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:39.599 And notice what he says: these have an appearance of wisdom and promoting self-made religion. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:43.359 In other words, yeah, on the outside, you look pretty clean. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:48.160 You're doing all of the things that make people say that right there is a good Christian. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:26:00.559 They're a devout person, they love their wife, they love their children, they work hard for God, but as possesses, they have no value in stopping the indulgences of the flesh. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:09.119 Because the only thing that stops that is not something that is working on in the outside, but something that is working in the inside. 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:13.920 Good works have never stopped anyone from indulging in the flesh. 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:21.359 And here's the thing: we see this play out all around us every single day. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:31.359 Just this week, I read a story about a pastor who had been praised in the past for his work in this nonprofit that targeted sex traffickers. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:37.759 All the while it came out that while he was traveling from city to city, he was soliciting women. 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:40.400 We see this in politics. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:54.079 We have all these politicians who are big on morality, traditional marriage, anti-abortion, let's put the Ten Commandments on the schools, but you're cheating on your wife and you're abusing your children in public. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:27:00.400 Morality is always seeking to look good on the outside. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:05.519 And morality is always looking to please people. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:11.519 Morality's main concern is how people will see them and what people will think of them. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.359 That's not Christianity. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:15.759 Christianity seeks to please God. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.319 Christianity asks, what does God think of me? 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:24.480 Not only when I'm in public, but when I'm also in private. 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:26.559 How does God see me? 00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.880 Moralism has never saved anyone from hell. 00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:32.880 Only Christ can do that. 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:47.519 Don't buy into the legalistic idea of moralism, believing that your relationship before God is all about how well you look on the outside, how well others perceive you, how well others think of you. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:49.759 Be concerned with the inside. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:53.279 And then the outside is going to take care of itself. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:28:00.880 Next, another one is another mark of legalism is what I call rules over righteousness. 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:09.839 Verse 42 says, But woe to you, Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.599 These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:20.799 Again, the Pharisees, they were very concerned about keeping every letter of the law. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:33.039 And since tithing, meaning giving a tenth of what they earned to God, was part of the law, they made sure that they gave a tenth of everything, even the smallest thing, even their herbs that were growing in the garden. 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:36.559 This is why they tithe mint and ruin every earth. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:40.960 But yet they neglected other parts of the law. 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:45.119 Yes, there were laws on giving, but there were also other laws. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:47.119 There were laws on doing justice. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:50.400 And of course, the greatest commandment is to love God. 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:54.319 The problem is that the Pharisees were neglecting these. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:29:00.480 This partly had to do with their, again, the perception they wanted to hold. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:03.759 They wanted people to see how devout they were. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:07.359 And it's easy to see when someone gives, right? 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.640 It's easy to see that. 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:11.039 They wanted other people to notice that. 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:23.279 So Christ pronounces this woe on them for doing this. 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:31.279 This is not so much a pronouncement of judgment as much as it is an exclamation of grief and of sorrow. 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:36.480 It's like someone, it's like seeing someone about to touch a hot stove. 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:40.480 Whoa! It was more of a warning. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:45.119 It's like saying, I feel sorry for what's about to happen. 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:49.359 And this is what Jesus is pronouncing on the Pharisees. 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:52.000 He can see their trajectory. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:55.839 He can see what's going to happen to them if they continue on this way. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:59.680 And he's saying, Whoa, what a terrible fate for them. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:04.000 Jesus saw their trajectory if they kept doing what they were doing. 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:07.759 He couldn't help but pronounce a woe. 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:15.200 And it's not that they shouldn't have obeyed God in their giving, as Jesus says, those you ought to have done. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:16.880 Jesus is not saying don't give. 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:19.839 In fact, he's saying you should continue giving. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.240 But you need not overlook these other matters. 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:29.920 Just because you're giving doesn't mean you need to, or it gives you permission to overlook these things. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:41.279 And the problem with the Pharisees is that they were focusing on the rules of giving instead of focusing on the righteousness of serving God. 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:47.359 And this is still the problem for those who are walking in legalism today. 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:53.839 Where Christianity becomes a checklist rather than a life to be lived out before God. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:31:01.759 Here's the thing: rule keeping Christianity is very neat. 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:08.720 Rule keeping Christianity is very clean and very tidy. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:16.880 But when one seeks to live a righteous life before God, it can get real messy. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:22.720 Because righteousness requires people walking like Christ. 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:25.599 Christ who came to serve, not to be served. 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:28.480 Christ who didn't have a place to lay his head. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:32.559 Christ who got on the floor to wash his disciples' feet. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:39.119 If we're honest, there's a lot of people whose Sunday suits are too clean for Christianity. 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:44.799 The Pharisees were too polished to serve their fellow man. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:47.119 They didn't want to get their hands dirty. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:58.240 They chose to live their life before Christ by rule keeping rather than by doing justice and by loving God. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:11.920 Micah 6.8 tells us, He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:19.440 Doing justice is seeking to do the good for your neighbor. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:23.359 And again, that takes effort. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:27.920 That takes work. 00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:32.559 That takes sometimes getting a little dirty. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:44.319 A lot of times, and let's just be honest, people think, oh, I'm doing justice because I go vote for the person who is against abortion. 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:51.279 Or I'm doing justice because I I retweet a pro-life or anti-sex trafficking thing. 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:53.519 That's clean. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:33:01.920 You can go and punch a ballot box and go back to your nice, shiny life without ever getting your hands dirty. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:05.759 Justice requires getting a little hands dirty because that's what Christ did. 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:09.599 Christ got into the messiness of people's life. 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:14.319 And again, that's just a little too messy for the Pharisee. 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:17.279 That's a little too messy for the legalists. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:26.799 The legalists would prefer to do things from afar, to live this private Christian life between him and God, so everything's neat and tidy. 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:32.799 But when you live out your Christianity amongst real people, again, it's gonna get it real messy. 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:39.680 It's not always going to be safe, it's not always going to be clean, it's not always going to be comfortable. 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:49.680 There are gonna be times when you're gonna need to make some sacrifices and serve and give and do things that your flesh won't want to do. 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:58.640 Like I want to go home and watch the cowboy game today, but a brother or a sister needs me. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:01.680 They need me to take them somewhere. 00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:04.960 They need me to go get buy them a meal, and guess what? 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:05.920 I'm gonna have to miss it. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:15.039 I'm gonna have to miss doing something that I want to do because I want to live my life before God and do things Jesus would do. 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:28.559 I want to live my life righteously and do some things that the flesh doesn't really want to do, but I know I should do because I love God first and I love my neighbor. 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:33.119 And since you are a follower of Christ, you want to walk as he did. 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:41.599 And he wasn't just concerned about checking things off the box and making sure that he had all these rules nice and tidy. 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:45.840 If that was the case, the Pharisees would have never called for his death. 00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:54.159 But he knew that true rule keeping didn't look like the way the Pharisees thought it should look like. 00:34:54.639 --> 00:35:07.679 That true rule keeping was obeying God, and that required him to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly before his father. 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:14.000 And lastly, the last point I want to point out about legalism is self-exaltation. 00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:24.000 Verse 43 Woe to you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:31.519 Woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves, and people walk all over them without knowing it. 00:35:32.639 --> 00:35:39.199 So when the Pharisees entered these synagogues, which were these pr places of worship in their day, they wanted the best of seats. 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:48.559 They also were out in the marketplace and they were looking, they wanted people to notice them, and they wanted people to greet them, they enjoy those things. 00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:59.039 And here Christ pronounces another woe on them, as he says, they are unlocked, they are like unmarked graves that people walk over. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:10.320 Now the Jews would make sure to carefully mark their graves, because remember, coming into contact with a dead body would make them ceremonially unclean. 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:17.679 So if you walked over an unmarked grave, you would walk over a dead body and you would be considered unclean. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:23.519 So Jesus is basically saying that these Pharisees are like that unmarked grave. 00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:25.519 They're like the dead body. 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:34.320 And those who come in contact with them, meaning those who follow them and follow their teachings, will become just as clean as they are. 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:42.559 The irony here is they sought so hard to keep themselves clean, yet they were the ones who were defiling themselves and others. 00:36:43.840 --> 00:36:54.159 All of the marks on legalism that I mentioned up to this point can basically be summed up in this one: self-exaltation. 00:36:55.199 --> 00:37:02.400 The reason people find fault or enjoy finding fault in others is to put others down so they can be lifted up. 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:10.800 The reason people make up their own rules is because if they made them up, they know they can follow them and they know others can't. 00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:22.079 The reason people love moralism is because they can show everyone how good they are before, and how better they are than others. 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:33.199 And the people, the reason people like rules over righteousness is because it's it's an easier way to point out how good you are and how better you are than others. 00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:42.239 You check all the boxes, you do all the right things, and again, all of this is wrapped up in self-exaltation. 00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:47.679 It's a desire to put yourself above everyone else. 00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:51.920 So let me close where I started. 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:56.719 Again, I don't think there are a lot of true legalists out there. 00:37:57.440 --> 00:37:58.400 There's some. 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:00.800 You'll run into some every once in a while. 00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:05.119 But most Christians aren't living, breathing Pharisees. 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:10.960 But the spirit of legal legalism is always alive and well. 00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:15.039 And it's always capable of creeping into our own hearts. 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:30.559 And here's one of the main ways it can do so: by having us think, I know I haven't arrived, Lord, but at least I'm not as bad as that guy. 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:39.280 Lord, I know I'm not the Christian that I should be, but at least I'm not like that Christian. 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:42.239 At least I'm not like them. 00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:49.840 And look, all of our concerns about other Christians could be valid. 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:58.159 And look, we all know there's a time and a place for correcting error and exhorting someone who's walking in sin. 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:10.800 But the legalist spirit appears when we start thinking, thank you, Lord, that I'm a little better than they are, when but for the grace of God we would be worse. 00:39:11.840 --> 00:39:27.199 1 Timothy 1.15 says, This saying is trustworthy and deserving of all full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of who I am the foremost. 00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:37.119 Paul doesn't say that he was who he was the foremost sinner or he used to be the foremost sinner. 00:39:37.280 --> 00:39:40.880 He says, I am the foremost sinner. 00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:45.199 And we read that and we say, Well, now wait a minute, Paul. 00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:49.599 Paul, you planted a lot of churches, you wrote most of the New Testament. 00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:52.639 I mean, you you died for the faith. 00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:55.039 You gave your life for the faith. 00:39:55.199 --> 00:39:59.679 How can you be the foremost or the biggest sinner that you know? 00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:04.559 Surely there are a lot worse sinners than Paul, than the apostle Paul. 00:40:04.960 --> 00:40:12.480 The reason Paul can say that he was the foremost sinner is because he knew himself more than he knew the others. 00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:18.960 He couldn't see the others' heart, he couldn't see into the heart of someone else, but he can see his own. 00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:23.920 And when he looked into his own heart, he was honest about it. 00:40:25.119 --> 00:40:31.679 So, in a sense, even unbelievers can have this spirit of legalism. 00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:44.880 Because if you're not a Christian, you can be sitting there thinking, nah, I know I've done some bad things in my life, but I'm not that bad. 00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:47.920 I'm not as bad as some people that I know. 00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:54.400 I mean, I even pray once in a while, and I have good thoughts when I think of Jesus, and I consider myself a good person. 00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:57.920 So I think I'm alright with God. 00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:01.360 No, only Jesus makes you alright with God. 00:41:01.840 --> 00:41:12.960 And until you see yourself as the sinner that you are, as the biggest sinner that you know, you will never see your need for Jesus. 00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:29.360 Not your need for him as a friend, not your need for him as a trusted genie who can you can call upon in prayer, but your need for him as your Lord and your Savior by saying, like Paul, I am the greatest sinner that I know. 00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:40.880 And Jesus, since you came into this world to save sinners, would you please have mercy on me and save a sinner like me. 00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:47.280 I titled this sermon, Are You a Legalist? 00:41:48.800 --> 00:42:15.519 And I believe only those who know that who they are before God and whatever they are before God is not in exalting themselves, is not in pointing out their position or their credentials or what they have done or how much they know or how much good they do, even they do for their neighbor. 00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:18.559 But it is in humbling themselves. 00:42:19.039 --> 00:42:28.639 It is by knowing their own heart and saying, Lord, I humble myself before you. 00:42:29.119 --> 00:42:34.480 I can cling to the work of Jesus Christ because my work is not enough. 00:42:34.719 --> 00:42:47.920 No matter how much praise man will give me for it, no matter how much people will say, look at how well they've done, I know that nothing will measure up to the work that Christ has done. 00:42:48.480 --> 00:43:08.800 Only those that can say everything that I am and all that I've done is on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ alone can truly answer the question No, I'm not a legalist. 00:43:09.199 --> 00:43:10.960 I'm just a follower of Jesus. 00:43:11.119 --> 00:43:12.320 And that's where we want to be. 00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:12.880 Amen. 00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:14.079 Let us pray.