Legalism (part 2)
Introduction. In the previous article we saw that the legalism the Lord condemned centered on the Pharisees desire to add further prohibitions to God’s laws. This is the real concern of legalism today. Even good motives did not keep them from the rebuke: “Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” (Pr. 30:6). Although these traditions were designed to keep them as far as possible from sin, Jesus condemned them: “in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Mark 7:7). God made His commands as clear as He needed them to be. Any additions were evil. The wording of each command is fixed. God doesn’t need our help either to strengthen them by adding additional commands of men or to loosen them by additional commands that set them aside.
Yet the charge of legalism, lodged today when a command is taken further than someone else believes it should be, can easily become lawlessness. While the Pharisees were guilty of legalism by carrying things too far, those who don’t carry things far enough are called lawless. Lawlessness and legalism are the two extremes of any law. Every law Jesus gave can be carried too far (legalism) or not carried far enough (lawlessness). This is the major reason why the way that leads to life is straitened and narrow. Every decision we make to serve the Lord is hemmed in by these two mandates. We must never go beyond what is written to the right hand or to the left.
Before we charge someone with legalism and dismiss them as fanatics, we must be absolutely certain the Scriptures are not being twisted (2Pet. 3:14-16). This was Jesus powerful warning to all His disciples at the end of the sermon on the Mount. Along with the two gates (narrow and wide) and two paths (difficult and broad) are the two teachers (false and true). Thus the gate we entered and the path we are walking are based on the teachers we selected. Jesus said “beware” because if our teachers are “legalists” or “lawless,” we entered the wide gate and are on the path to destruction. Remember, “If the blind lead the blind both will fall into the pit.”
Yet Jesus didn’t warn exclusively against legalism. He also warned that MANY today who call Jesus “Lord” are LAWLESS. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Mt. 7:21-23).
The greatest danger posed to those who call Jesus “Lord”, occurs when people contrast grace and law as though they are different. Grace does not remove the law of Christ. It only forgives us when we violate it, repent and confess our violation. The reason we need God’s grace is because of our lawlessness. God’s grace came to teach us to be obedient to Christ’s law, not to set it aside. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” (Titus 2:11-12).
Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their additions, but He never condemned them for their strictness in keeping Moses’ Law. Some today have twisted Jesus’ condemnation of their extremes to include even the good things they were doing. They like to contrast His grace with their law keeping. But Jesus never did this. When they quote: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God,” they stop too soon. They make it appear that Jesus was condemning their strictness of keeping the Law as another example of legalism. They contrast the tithing of small things and the keeping of justice and love, as an “either / or.” Either we seek to be saved by meticulously keeping law, or we seek to be saved by grace and mercy by seeking justice and love. But that is not what Jesus said. It is not “either / or,” it is “both:” “These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Actually far from condemning their strictness, Jesus commended them for it. (Lk. 11:42). They should have been tithing mint and rue and all manner of herbs. Jesus condemned them for leaving off justice and the love of God, but not for their tithing.
Jesus said that our love for Him and keeping His commands are on equal footing. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” (Jn. 14:21). The only way to abide in Jesus’ love is to keep His commands: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (Jn. 15:9-10). This passage is of the greatest importance to understand our relationship to His commands. He begins with the love God, the Father, has for Him because He kept all the commandments. The only way Jesus could be our sinless sacrifice was for Him to meticulously keep every command. Jesus then used a “just as” to equate how He kept His Father’s commands with how we should keep His. We can only abide in His love as we keep His commands. When we violate those commands without repentance and confession, the love He has for us remains unfulfilled. Not even grace can bring us back to Him without our godly sorrow, repentance, and confession. (2Cor. 7:8-11; 1Jn. 1:7-10)
Even friendship with Jesus is not based exclusively on God’s grace, but also in our keeping His commands. “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (Jn. 15:14). His laws were not meant to be added to (legalism) or taken from (lawlessness). Every command of Jesus has been taught to us by His apostles and we are expected to keep them. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
The apostle John who had been with Jesus from the beginning affirmed that anyone, then or now, who proclaims their knowledge of Jesus but doesn’t keep His commands is a liar! “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” He also revealed that there is no love for our brethren without keeping all Jesus commands. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1Jn. 2:3-5; 5:2-3)
To take the truth of “for by grace you have been saved through faith,” and twist it to allow the setting aside of ANY of Jesus commands only leads one to “turn the grace of our Lord into licentiousness (lawless insolence).” (Eph. 2:8; Jude 4). It was not legalism that led Adam and Eve into sin. It was lawlessness. They violated the only law God had given to them. Those who believe that the grace of God releases us from all law, and charge others as legalists when they explain the meaning of that law, are lawless. They are insolent and unrepentant, because as long as they take grace to this extreme, they will never see the truth.
Some cry legalism when Jesus’ own commands about baptism, worship, and other doctrines about the church are preached. But how can it be legalism to command baptism “before” salvation when that is where Jesus, Peter, Ananias, and Paul put it (Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38, 22:16; Rom. 6:3-8)? If we set aside this clear command of Jesus, we become lawless and truly enter the wide gate leading to destruction.
Conclusion. It is undeniable that there is a threat to God’s people posed by legalism. We must all be certain that our fear of God is not based on the commands of men (Isa. 29:13). But this is not the only danger! We must also fear that in calling someone a legalist for his scrupulous obedience to a command of God, we become lawless in not taking it far enough. Not every charge of legalism is fair or true. It is sad indeed to be following Jesus’ commands to the best of our ability, but while teaching others, we are dismissed as legalists. The pernicious use of grace to ignore a command of Jesus only twists grace to their own destruction. While it soothes the conscience of those who simply do not want to submit to Jesus, it is only done by “ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness (insolent lawlessness).”
Yet the charge of legalism, lodged today when a command is taken further than someone else believes it should be, can easily become lawlessness. While the Pharisees were guilty of legalism by carrying things too far, those who don’t carry things far enough are called lawless. Lawlessness and legalism are the two extremes of any law. Every law Jesus gave can be carried too far (legalism) or not carried far enough (lawlessness). This is the major reason why the way that leads to life is straitened and narrow. Every decision we make to serve the Lord is hemmed in by these two mandates. We must never go beyond what is written to the right hand or to the left.
Before we charge someone with legalism and dismiss them as fanatics, we must be absolutely certain the Scriptures are not being twisted (2Pet. 3:14-16). This was Jesus powerful warning to all His disciples at the end of the sermon on the Mount. Along with the two gates (narrow and wide) and two paths (difficult and broad) are the two teachers (false and true). Thus the gate we entered and the path we are walking are based on the teachers we selected. Jesus said “beware” because if our teachers are “legalists” or “lawless,” we entered the wide gate and are on the path to destruction. Remember, “If the blind lead the blind both will fall into the pit.”
Yet Jesus didn’t warn exclusively against legalism. He also warned that MANY today who call Jesus “Lord” are LAWLESS. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Mt. 7:21-23).
The greatest danger posed to those who call Jesus “Lord”, occurs when people contrast grace and law as though they are different. Grace does not remove the law of Christ. It only forgives us when we violate it, repent and confess our violation. The reason we need God’s grace is because of our lawlessness. God’s grace came to teach us to be obedient to Christ’s law, not to set it aside. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” (Titus 2:11-12).
Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their additions, but He never condemned them for their strictness in keeping Moses’ Law. Some today have twisted Jesus’ condemnation of their extremes to include even the good things they were doing. They like to contrast His grace with their law keeping. But Jesus never did this. When they quote: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God,” they stop too soon. They make it appear that Jesus was condemning their strictness of keeping the Law as another example of legalism. They contrast the tithing of small things and the keeping of justice and love, as an “either / or.” Either we seek to be saved by meticulously keeping law, or we seek to be saved by grace and mercy by seeking justice and love. But that is not what Jesus said. It is not “either / or,” it is “both:” “These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Actually far from condemning their strictness, Jesus commended them for it. (Lk. 11:42). They should have been tithing mint and rue and all manner of herbs. Jesus condemned them for leaving off justice and the love of God, but not for their tithing.
Jesus said that our love for Him and keeping His commands are on equal footing. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” (Jn. 14:21). The only way to abide in Jesus’ love is to keep His commands: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (Jn. 15:9-10). This passage is of the greatest importance to understand our relationship to His commands. He begins with the love God, the Father, has for Him because He kept all the commandments. The only way Jesus could be our sinless sacrifice was for Him to meticulously keep every command. Jesus then used a “just as” to equate how He kept His Father’s commands with how we should keep His. We can only abide in His love as we keep His commands. When we violate those commands without repentance and confession, the love He has for us remains unfulfilled. Not even grace can bring us back to Him without our godly sorrow, repentance, and confession. (2Cor. 7:8-11; 1Jn. 1:7-10)
Even friendship with Jesus is not based exclusively on God’s grace, but also in our keeping His commands. “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (Jn. 15:14). His laws were not meant to be added to (legalism) or taken from (lawlessness). Every command of Jesus has been taught to us by His apostles and we are expected to keep them. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
The apostle John who had been with Jesus from the beginning affirmed that anyone, then or now, who proclaims their knowledge of Jesus but doesn’t keep His commands is a liar! “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” He also revealed that there is no love for our brethren without keeping all Jesus commands. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1Jn. 2:3-5; 5:2-3)
To take the truth of “for by grace you have been saved through faith,” and twist it to allow the setting aside of ANY of Jesus commands only leads one to “turn the grace of our Lord into licentiousness (lawless insolence).” (Eph. 2:8; Jude 4). It was not legalism that led Adam and Eve into sin. It was lawlessness. They violated the only law God had given to them. Those who believe that the grace of God releases us from all law, and charge others as legalists when they explain the meaning of that law, are lawless. They are insolent and unrepentant, because as long as they take grace to this extreme, they will never see the truth.
Some cry legalism when Jesus’ own commands about baptism, worship, and other doctrines about the church are preached. But how can it be legalism to command baptism “before” salvation when that is where Jesus, Peter, Ananias, and Paul put it (Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38, 22:16; Rom. 6:3-8)? If we set aside this clear command of Jesus, we become lawless and truly enter the wide gate leading to destruction.
Conclusion. It is undeniable that there is a threat to God’s people posed by legalism. We must all be certain that our fear of God is not based on the commands of men (Isa. 29:13). But this is not the only danger! We must also fear that in calling someone a legalist for his scrupulous obedience to a command of God, we become lawless in not taking it far enough. Not every charge of legalism is fair or true. It is sad indeed to be following Jesus’ commands to the best of our ability, but while teaching others, we are dismissed as legalists. The pernicious use of grace to ignore a command of Jesus only twists grace to their own destruction. While it soothes the conscience of those who simply do not want to submit to Jesus, it is only done by “ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness (insolent lawlessness).”