I was recently asked, by a family member, if, during my preaching, I ever “get ornery?”. That was sort of an interesting question and I wasn't quite sure how to respond. I think the person was wondering if I every say things that may offend someone. If that was the question, I know that I have offended people with what I have said from the pulpit and I have done this more than once. I suspect that, for however long God has me as a preacher, I will say offensive things.
This is a delicate topic. As your pastor, I never want to be offensive for the sake of being offensive. But if the Word of God, and my accurate exposition of it, offends someone while I am preaching, then I have no problem with that. If, however, I offend someone due to an inaccurate interpretation of the Word, then I am in the wrong and would need to repent and correct that error. And, there have been times when I have felt that I didn't handle a passage as well as I should have and, therefore, corrected my error in next sermon or lesson.
But when my family member asked that question, I thought for a moment and responded with these words, “I really try not to be ornery in my preaching. But the good news is that I don't have to be because Jesus is ornery enough without my adding to it.” My family member heartily agreed with that statement. Indeed, as we have been observing and learning over the past few weeks, Jesus did not shy away from saying very pointed and harsh words to His listeners. Here are two examples from the past two weeks:
· Luke 11:23; “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
· Luke 11:29; And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet....”
Indeed, these are less than gentle words. The passage that we are studying this week is even more divisive and “in your face”. The Lord Jesus had no problem in confronting people with their sin and need. And, as God incarnate, He knew exactly how to address those to whom He spoke. In the passage that we are examining this week, Jesus is confronting the Jewish religous leaders, the Pharisees and Jewish legal law experts, with their legalism and hypocrisy. He was confronting people who believed that attaining eternal life and righteousness in God's sight was by keeping certain rules and regulations. A legalist is someone who attempts to gain favor with God or to impress his fellow man by doing certain things (or avoiding other things), without regard to the condition of his heart before God.
Someone might accuse another of being a legalist because he tells him that he ought to obey God's Word. That is not legalism because most every book of the Bible says to obey God's Word. Parents setting curfews and other rules is not legalism. Churches deciding to conduct themselves in certain ways and with certain standards is not legalism. But if we obey commands in the Bible or any other set of rules thinking that this makes us right with God without dealing with our inner man problem of inborn sin and need of forgiveness, which can only be remedied by regeneration and faith in the person and work of Christ, then we are legalists.
It is these types of people that Jesus is confronting in the passage before us. And He confronts them in a rather “ornery” way. My friend Steve Cole makes these observations about Jesus' confrontation of legalists, “When you study the life of Christ, it is noteworthy how He deliberately did things to provoke the legalists. He could have healed people on any other day of the week, but He often did it on the Sabbath. He could have been more discreet in violating the Pharisees’ rules, but He did it openly. When a Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner, He could have gone along with their elaborate hand washing custom, but He deliberately ignored it. When they questioned Him about it, He could have been more polite, but He blasted them for their hypocrisy. When a lawyer pointed out that Jesus had offended them as well, He didn’t say, 'I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you good folks.' He said, 'Woe to you lawyers as well!' Jesus confronted legalism as sin.” (Steve Cole, Sermon on Luke 11:37-54, http://www.fcfonline.org/, 04/11/1999). So let's look at Luke 11:37-54 and see how Jesus describes these legalistic religious leaders with whom He is confronting.
And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. “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. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.” Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.” And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.
Because pursuing God's righteousness by legalistic works is fruitless, deceptive and vehemently condemned by Christ, we should pursue righteousness by faith in Christ alone which manifests itself in deep love for God, His Word and others.
Jesus' Seven Descriptions of the Legalist:
1. The legalist moves in the wrong direction ~ vv. 37-41
As we move into this next narrative, we see immediately Jesus' disdain for legalist thinking. He is invited by a legalistic Pharisee to eat a meal together and the first interation between the two of them is marked by hostility. This Pharisee invites Jesus to a meal and the Lord, it appears, very intentionally flaunts the ritual hand washing that was expected. The Pharisee “marveled” at this omission of protocol, meaning that he was offended by it and thought lowly of the Lord because of it.
This ritual hand washing was simply a man-made tradition which, in the mind of the Pharisees, set one a part as holy. It modeled what surgeons do before they operate on someone. It appears to have come about as a response to the possibility of having had contact with someone or something less than holy while going about the day. Thus, if by chance, the Pharisee had unknowingly come in contact with anything or anyone that would have defiled him, this elaborate hand washing would have taken care of it. And, as we can see here, it was expected that righteous men would be involved in such hand washing rituals.
Perhaps you are aware of www.despair.com. It is a website that sells “demotivational” slogans and posters. For instance, they sell one poster that shows a beautiful picture of a sunken ship with only the bow, or the front, of the ship sticking out of the water. The word below the picture is “Mistakes” with this description; “It may be that the only reason for your existence is to serve as a warning to others.” This company also has produced several videos, one having to do with keeping a healthy separation between management and the employees. In this video, it is recommend that the boss keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer with him as he greets employees around the building. Upon shaking hands with one of the employees, the boss is to sanitize his hands in front of that employee so as to maintain that healthy separation between the management and the employee.
That is a funny example of the absurdity of such thinking. But, in reality, the Pharisees of Jesus' day actually believed that by engaging in this elaborate hand washing ceremony, it actually set them apart as holy and separate from other men. This ritual made them righteous in the sight of God, so they thought.
How did Jesus view such thinking? He attacked this thinking with “both barrels”, so to speak. The word picture is quite clear. You wash the outside of the dish without cleaning the inside. Now this rarely happens in my home, but picture in your mind finding that tupperware dish at the back of the bottle shelf of the refrigerator and realizing that you have no idea how long it has been there nor what it contains. Ladies, I'm sure that has never happened to you. But now imagine very fastidiously washing the outside of that container and placing it on the table for dinner. How disgusting would that be! This is how Jesus is describing these Pharisees. The outside is clean...by all appearances, they are holy and righteous. But the inside is disgusting. Their hearts are full of sin and wickedness. In this case, pride, which God hates. They think that they are better than others. Jesus clearly states here that the inner man issues of sin and depravity need to be handled. In fact, Jesus indicates in verse 41 that they need to first deal with the inner man issues and then everything else will take care of itself. This issue of “give alms of what you have” is somewhat obscure, but it is indicating that you need to deal with who you are first and then the outer manifestation of who you are will become clear. J. C. Ryle explains it this way, “Give first the offering of the inward man. Give your heart, your affections, and your will to God, as the first great alms which you bestow, and then all your other actions, proceeding from a right heart, are an acceptable sacrifice, and a clean offering in the sight of God” (Quoted in Cole, Sermon on Luke 11:37-54, http://www.fcfonline.org/, 04/11/1999).
These Pharisees moved in the wrong direction. They felt that dealing with outside ritual made a person right on the inside. Jesus, on the contrary, says deal with the inside first and then the outside stuff will take care itself. And this is how salvation and sanctification work in our life. First and foremost, we must deal with the issue of indwelling sin which leads to righteous judgment and, thus, condemnation from God. No ritual or hand washing will take care of that. Only the work of Christ can deal with our sin. 1 Peter 3:18 states “...Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,...” The only way that the inner man can be changed is by God which will result in saving faith and a heart that loves God and lives in thankfulness for His work. Don't you move in the wrong direction.
2. The legalist makes mole hills out of mountains ~ v. 42
In verse 42, Jesus pronounces the first of several “woes” against these religious leaders and experts in Jewish law. This word “woe” is a proclaimation of denunciation and rebuke, but it also connotes heart-break and pain. Jesus is both declaring that they are in spiritual danger and also His own heart-break at their spiritual condition. Jesus is concerned for their souls as well as warning them of their future. We do well to keep this in mind as we engage with the lost of the world. Are we genuinely concerned for them as well as being aware of their lost state and destiny in hell?
The issue that Jesus addresses with these men is their emphasis of minor issues over the major ones. These Pharisees are very exacting in how much they give and what they give. Note that Jesus states that they give of the tiniest, most insignificant herbs. And that they give a tenth...the tithe. This would indicate that they are very diligent in making sure that they are living in “over the top” obedience to the Old Testament tithing laws. They are annually giving that 23-25%, which is what God required of all Israelites in the OT...two tithes plus a third of a tithe every year...of all their produce and income. But notice that Jesus says that they neglect justice and the love of God. Note how Jesus describes this problem in another place: Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
So what Jesus is saying here is that the tithe, or in our day, giving, because we are no longer under the tithe system, is comparatively less important than loving God and loving others. The weightier matters are justice, love of God, mercy and faith. The Pharisees are taking the mountain...love of God and others...and making it a mole-hill. By their actions, they are saying that love of God and others, which is of far greater import than the tithe, is less important than fastidiousness in tithing. Jesus says hogwash. Emphasize loving God and others and also, as a secondary issue, pay the tithe.
Dear friends, be sure that your inner man is in love with the Lord and what He accomplished for us in the gospel. And also make sure that you care deeply about others when you give of your resources. Make sure that your giving is directed and motivated by love and not legalism. It is easy to put a check or cash into the plate here on Sunday mornings. It is hard to faithfully serve others. It is easy to justify ourselves by giving a lot without deeply contemplating the status of our hearts before the Lord. Don't fall into this. Look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” It is very possible to give greatly and sacrificially but without love. That is legalism and Jesus condemns it soundly. Listen also to these words of Jesus in Matthew 6:1-4:
Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds (“giving to the poor” in the NASB) before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Your giving should never be done to impress people. This concept of not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing means that you yourself should forget and not dwell on how much you have given because in so doing you may think of yourself better than you ought. Note also that if we draw attention to our giving, God says that we have our full reward in so doing. So, if I go to you and say, “Hey, look at how I give, what do you think of that?”, and you say, “Wow.”, that is my full reward, right there. But note also that when we give sacrificially, joyfully and secretly out of a deep love for God and others, God will reward us openly. I want God to say “Wow” when I give, and no one else.
These Pharisees made a mole-hill out of the mountain of loving God and others and they made a mountain out of the mole-hill of tithing. Make sure that when you give, which you should, you are giving out of a deep love and thankfulness to God for His work in saving you and out of a desire to bless others with the same gospel message. If you want to avoid legalism, make sure you keep mountains, mountains and mole-hills, mole-hills.
3. The legalist emphasizes reputation over quiet service ~ v. 43
In verse 43, Jesus again highlights another aspect of legalism. The legalist values men's opinions and reputation as more important than quiet service. Notice that the Pharisee loves these things. He wants to be seen and heard and made much of. Jesus has little patience for this. The legalist wants to be the center of attention, and wants to people to admire and respect him.
But what does Jesus feel about this type of attitude? He declares the proper attitude that we are to have in this regard. In Matthew 20:25-28, we hear these words,
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus again emphasizes the proper attitude in regard to others and ourselves:
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then in Philippians 2:3-4, Paul writes these words, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
These men emphasized their reputation over humble, quiet service. What do you emphasize and why? Are you willing to sacrifice reputation and worldly adulation for a quiet place of service, trusting that God will lead you where He wants and do with you as He knows best? Do you love lifting others up or do you want others to lift you up?
In verse 43, Jesus again highlights another aspect of legalism. The legalist values men's opinions and reputation as more important than quiet service. Notice that the Pharisee loves these things. He wants to be seen and heard and made much of. Jesus has little patience for this. The legalist wants to be the center of attention, and wants to people to admire and respect him.
But what does Jesus feel about this type of attitude? He declares the proper attitude that we are to have in this regard. In Matthew 20:25-28, we hear these words,
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus again emphasizes the proper attitude in regard to others and ourselves:
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then in Philippians 2:3-4, Paul writes these words, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
These men emphasized their reputation over humble, quiet service. What do you emphasize and why? Are you willing to sacrifice reputation and worldly adulation for a quiet place of service, trusting that God will lead you where He wants and do with you as He knows best? Do you love lifting others up or do you want others to lift you up?
4. The legalist, by his legalism, deceives himself and harms others ~ v. 44
This “woe” is one of the most damaging effects that a legalist has. Not only is the legalist deceived, he negatively impacts other's walk and relationship with God. Jesus ups the intensity of the rebuke here when he adds the word “hypocrites!” And then He clearly states that the Pharisees not only don't know the Lord, they cause others to be rejected by God also, and that unknowingly. The reference to the unseen graves comes from Numbers 19:16, which says, “Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” Jesus' application is that, by your legalist traditions, you are making people unholy and hindering their own walk with the Lord.
This is fairly obvious in how it works itself out. If someone believes that being right with God is all about doing certain things instead of paying attention to the inner man issues of love for God, forgiveness and faith in God's work on behalf of them, then that person will not be able to be of true spiritual benefit to others. If one believes that baptism is required for salvation, then that is what they will teach and that will hinder others from coming to saving faith.
Another issue is how legalism can hinder even a genuine believer's walk with God. Does any one know what Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, D-Martyn Lloyd Jones and C.S. Lewis all had in common? Yes, all of them were noted theologians and, except for Lewis, were outstanding preachers. Although there may be various opinions on their pa
rticular positions on certain issues, no evangelical Christian would ever deny that these men were godly, holy men. They had something else in common. They all smoked. Spurgeon was particularly fond of his cigars. Don't get me wrong, with our additional understanding of the medical effects of smoking, we now know that smoking is bad stewardship of your body and you should definitely consider stopping if you are and don't start if you are not. But please don't think for an instant that smoking renders it impossible for someone to know and follow God in a faithful and holy way and be used mightily by Him for the furtherance of His work.
I was once sharing the gospel with a plummer who was working at our home and he clearly stated that a baptist church he had visited had not welcomed him because he smoked. Friends, I don't want to be someone who keeps another out of heaven due to some man-made law or tradition. I don't want to be one who makes another unclean by trying to look good on the outside without dealing with the inside. Make sure that your attitudes are not leading others to the grave all the while feeling that you are helping them.
5. The legalist hypocritically doesn't keep his own rules ~ v. 46
In verse 45, a lawyer who is an expert in Jewish traditional law, states that Jesus is reproaching them also. The word for “reproach” here is the same word found in Luke 18:32-33 where Jesus declares that at His death, He will be turned over to the gentiles (Romans) and they will “insult” Him. From that, we can gather that this lawyer was highly offended by these words of Jesus. Did Jesus back down or lessen His words? Nope. But He goes after the legalist lawyers with the same energy and aggression that He had for the Pharisees.
In this case, Jesus attacked the lawyers for stacking minute laws onto God's declared law. So for instance, according to the 4th Commandment, the Jews were not to work on the Sabbath. It was to be a day of rest and refreshment and worship. This is a good command of God and the principle of taking a day to worship the Lord is good and right. We honor the principle by gathering together for worship on Sunday mornings. This brings glory to God and benefits us tremendously. So out of love and thankfulness to God, we consistently gather for worship, not to earn salvation, but because salvation is given. The Jews were to have a similar mentality. Because God had saved them from slavery in Egypt, they were to thankfully honor Him by keeping the Sabbath holy.
But the lawyers here piled additional laws onto ones like this. For example, they stated that one could not tie a knot in a rope on the Sabbath because that was work. But a woman could tie a knot in her girdle rope. Thus, if one needed some water, they weren't allowed to tie a rope to a bucket to lower it down into the well. But a woman could tie her girdle rope to the bucket, and thus get water. (William Barkley as quoted in Cole). The implication from the Lord here is that the lawyers would tell the common man that he couldn't get water from the well on a Sabbath, but for himself, he would have his wife get the water.
The point is obvious...a legalist will load down others, but view themselves as above such things and figure out a way around them. But something we must keep in mind is that it is impossible for anyone to be justified by keeping any law, biblical or otherwise. And this is because we are sinful in the inner man. We must be changed by God from the inside out, not by ourselves through reformation or work. Just try keeping any law perfectly, even for a day. At the very least, you will violate it in your own mind and more than likely you will violate it in practice. Therefore, don't try to point others to law keeping as a means of salvation or even sanctification. Rather, you look to the cross and point other to it also.
6. The legalist hypocritically hates the Word of God and those who proclaim it ~ vv. 47-52
In verses 47-52, Jesus declares that these legalists proclaim love for the Word but, in reality, they hate it. What Jesus is saying is that this essential concept of love for God and His grace and mercy has been proclaimed from the earliest days onward. These lawyers claim to love the prophets by building tombs or monuments to them, but they do not heed the Word the God. Thus, outwardly, as with all these other issues Jesus attacks them for, they appear to honor the prophets. But inwardly, they hate that for which they stand. In verse 51, Jesus brings to mind the blood of Abel. Abel loved God from the heart. His brother Cain simply wanted to appease God and not have to love or care for God and His ways. Thus, when confronted with Abel's holiness and love, Cain killed him. And this pattern repeated itself through the history of Israel, all the way to the last Jewish prophet-martyr, Zechariah, who was killed by Joash as he called him to repent in 2 Chronicles 24.
The indictment that Jesus is making against these men is that not only do you have the entire Old Testament declaring that God desires truth in the inner man and not outward ritual, these men also have the accounts of how these prophets were killed. Therefore, their responsibility is greater. Not only that, it was these men would stand by as Christ was killed and approve of it. Therefore their responsibility was huge. They hated the Word because it spoke to the need of repentence in the inner man. The legalist doesn't want to be troubled with such things but rather would simply keep his ritual and appearance of righteousness.
In verse 52, Jesus declares that they have everything they need to understand who God is through His Word, but they reject it and hinder and stop others from embracing it because of their legalism.
Friends, do you embrace what God's Word says to your heart? When David writes in Psalm 51:6, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”, does that make sense to you? Do you want God to cleanse and purify the inner man. Or would you rather simply do some duty to appease God and yet give the appearance that you are a Christian? If so, you may be a lost legalist.
Do you treasure the Word and Jesus and what He accomplished for you? Do you view the Word as necessary to your spiritual health and joy? We, again, have so much more than even the people of Jesus day. How much greater will our neglect of the Word be if we reject it? The writer to the Hebrews indicates this in 10:28-29, “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” Don't let that be you. Don't hate the Word of God and those who proclaim it.
7. The legalist refuses to repent when confronted with his legalism ~ vv. 53-54
Lastly, look at how these men respond to Jesus' rebuke. They attack the Lord. This is clear indication of a legalistic mentality. When confronted with wrong thinking, the legalist self-justifies and begins to attack the one who addresses him. There is no self-examination, no willingness to consider the worthiness of the rebuke, no thinking along the lines of Proverbs 17:10 which states that, “Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool.” Nope, none of that. Only defensiveness, anger, and attack. Jesus' desire for these men is nothing but good. He is striving to wake them out of their self-induced spiritual stupor. And they attack Him.
Don't let that be said of you. When rebuke or correction comes, let it have it's redeeming, correcting work in your life. When the Word of God confronts you with your corrupt heart, submit to it's cleansing power. Don't refuse to repent when confronted with your legalism or other sin.
Conclusion:
All of us, throughout our lives, are going to struggle with incorrect and inaccurate understandings of God and His word. It is the reality of who we are. But one thing we really can't get wrong is the concept of how one is made right with God. We have to understand that God works salvation in the inner man through changing us, regenerating us, cleansing us of sin and unrighteousness by the blood of Christ.
The one place that we must constantly look is the cross. If we have our eyes fixed there and are striving to live in light of that event and all that was accomplished there, then all of our misunderstandings and weaknesses will continually be brought to light and rectified. The place to do away with legalism is the cross. No man can truly look to the cross and place any faith in himself for righteousness. Nor can any man truly look to the cross and feel that they have anything to offer anyone else except to point them to that wonderful event in which all that was needed for life and godliness was accomplished. Are you looking to the cross? Are you directing others to look to the cross? Are you living in light of God's finished work of redemption and forgiveness that was accomplished on the cross? Are you believing, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for forgiveness of sin and eternal life?
Because pursuing God's righteousness by legalistic works is fruitless, deceptive and vehemently condemned by Christ, we should pursue righteousness by faith in Christ alone which manifests itself in deep love for God, His Word and others.
Discussion Questions:
· What are some warning signs that a Christian may be falling into a legalistic attitude?
· It is legalistic to obey God's Word when we don't feel like it?
· How does the cross impact your motivation for obedience to the Word?
· When you are confronted in sin, how should you respond? What is indicated if you respond defensively or with anger?How should you go about confronting someone who is caught up in legalism?
This “woe” is one of the most damaging effects that a legalist has. Not only is the legalist deceived, he negatively impacts other's walk and relationship with God. Jesus ups the intensity of the rebuke here when he adds the word “hypocrites!” And then He clearly states that the Pharisees not only don't know the Lord, they cause others to be rejected by God also, and that unknowingly. The reference to the unseen graves comes from Numbers 19:16, which says, “Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” Jesus' application is that, by your legalist traditions, you are making people unholy and hindering their own walk with the Lord.
This is fairly obvious in how it works itself out. If someone believes that being right with God is all about doing certain things instead of paying attention to the inner man issues of love for God, forgiveness and faith in God's work on behalf of them, then that person will not be able to be of true spiritual benefit to others. If one believes that baptism is required for salvation, then that is what they will teach and that will hinder others from coming to saving faith.
Another issue is how legalism can hinder even a genuine believer's walk with God. Does any one know what Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, D-Martyn Lloyd Jones and C.S. Lewis all had in common? Yes, all of them were noted theologians and, except for Lewis, were outstanding preachers. Although there may be various opinions on their pa
rticular positions on certain issues, no evangelical Christian would ever deny that these men were godly, holy men. They had something else in common. They all smoked. Spurgeon was particularly fond of his cigars. Don't get me wrong, with our additional understanding of the medical effects of smoking, we now know that smoking is bad stewardship of your body and you should definitely consider stopping if you are and don't start if you are not. But please don't think for an instant that smoking renders it impossible for someone to know and follow God in a faithful and holy way and be used mightily by Him for the furtherance of His work.
I was once sharing the gospel with a plummer who was working at our home and he clearly stated that a baptist church he had visited had not welcomed him because he smoked. Friends, I don't want to be someone who keeps another out of heaven due to some man-made law or tradition. I don't want to be one who makes another unclean by trying to look good on the outside without dealing with the inside. Make sure that your attitudes are not leading others to the grave all the while feeling that you are helping them.
5. The legalist hypocritically doesn't keep his own rules ~ v. 46
In verse 45, a lawyer who is an expert in Jewish traditional law, states that Jesus is reproaching them also. The word for “reproach” here is the same word found in Luke 18:32-33 where Jesus declares that at His death, He will be turned over to the gentiles (Romans) and they will “insult” Him. From that, we can gather that this lawyer was highly offended by these words of Jesus. Did Jesus back down or lessen His words? Nope. But He goes after the legalist lawyers with the same energy and aggression that He had for the Pharisees.
In this case, Jesus attacked the lawyers for stacking minute laws onto God's declared law. So for instance, according to the 4th Commandment, the Jews were not to work on the Sabbath. It was to be a day of rest and refreshment and worship. This is a good command of God and the principle of taking a day to worship the Lord is good and right. We honor the principle by gathering together for worship on Sunday mornings. This brings glory to God and benefits us tremendously. So out of love and thankfulness to God, we consistently gather for worship, not to earn salvation, but because salvation is given. The Jews were to have a similar mentality. Because God had saved them from slavery in Egypt, they were to thankfully honor Him by keeping the Sabbath holy.
But the lawyers here piled additional laws onto ones like this. For example, they stated that one could not tie a knot in a rope on the Sabbath because that was work. But a woman could tie a knot in her girdle rope. Thus, if one needed some water, they weren't allowed to tie a rope to a bucket to lower it down into the well. But a woman could tie her girdle rope to the bucket, and thus get water. (William Barkley as quoted in Cole). The implication from the Lord here is that the lawyers would tell the common man that he couldn't get water from the well on a Sabbath, but for himself, he would have his wife get the water.
The point is obvious...a legalist will load down others, but view themselves as above such things and figure out a way around them. But something we must keep in mind is that it is impossible for anyone to be justified by keeping any law, biblical or otherwise. And this is because we are sinful in the inner man. We must be changed by God from the inside out, not by ourselves through reformation or work. Just try keeping any law perfectly, even for a day. At the very least, you will violate it in your own mind and more than likely you will violate it in practice. Therefore, don't try to point others to law keeping as a means of salvation or even sanctification. Rather, you look to the cross and point other to it also.
6. The legalist hypocritically hates the Word of God and those who proclaim it ~ vv. 47-52
In verses 47-52, Jesus declares that these legalists proclaim love for the Word but, in reality, they hate it. What Jesus is saying is that this essential concept of love for God and His grace and mercy has been proclaimed from the earliest days onward. These lawyers claim to love the prophets by building tombs or monuments to them, but they do not heed the Word the God. Thus, outwardly, as with all these other issues Jesus attacks them for, they appear to honor the prophets. But inwardly, they hate that for which they stand. In verse 51, Jesus brings to mind the blood of Abel. Abel loved God from the heart. His brother Cain simply wanted to appease God and not have to love or care for God and His ways. Thus, when confronted with Abel's holiness and love, Cain killed him. And this pattern repeated itself through the history of Israel, all the way to the last Jewish prophet-martyr, Zechariah, who was killed by Joash as he called him to repent in 2 Chronicles 24.
The indictment that Jesus is making against these men is that not only do you have the entire Old Testament declaring that God desires truth in the inner man and not outward ritual, these men also have the accounts of how these prophets were killed. Therefore, their responsibility is greater. Not only that, it was these men would stand by as Christ was killed and approve of it. Therefore their responsibility was huge. They hated the Word because it spoke to the need of repentence in the inner man. The legalist doesn't want to be troubled with such things but rather would simply keep his ritual and appearance of righteousness.
In verse 52, Jesus declares that they have everything they need to understand who God is through His Word, but they reject it and hinder and stop others from embracing it because of their legalism.
Friends, do you embrace what God's Word says to your heart? When David writes in Psalm 51:6, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”, does that make sense to you? Do you want God to cleanse and purify the inner man. Or would you rather simply do some duty to appease God and yet give the appearance that you are a Christian? If so, you may be a lost legalist.
Do you treasure the Word and Jesus and what He accomplished for you? Do you view the Word as necessary to your spiritual health and joy? We, again, have so much more than even the people of Jesus day. How much greater will our neglect of the Word be if we reject it? The writer to the Hebrews indicates this in 10:28-29, “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” Don't let that be you. Don't hate the Word of God and those who proclaim it.
7. The legalist refuses to repent when confronted with his legalism ~ vv. 53-54
Lastly, look at how these men respond to Jesus' rebuke. They attack the Lord. This is clear indication of a legalistic mentality. When confronted with wrong thinking, the legalist self-justifies and begins to attack the one who addresses him. There is no self-examination, no willingness to consider the worthiness of the rebuke, no thinking along the lines of Proverbs 17:10 which states that, “Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool.” Nope, none of that. Only defensiveness, anger, and attack. Jesus' desire for these men is nothing but good. He is striving to wake them out of their self-induced spiritual stupor. And they attack Him.
Don't let that be said of you. When rebuke or correction comes, let it have it's redeeming, correcting work in your life. When the Word of God confronts you with your corrupt heart, submit to it's cleansing power. Don't refuse to repent when confronted with your legalism or other sin.
Conclusion:
All of us, throughout our lives, are going to struggle with incorrect and inaccurate understandings of God and His word. It is the reality of who we are. But one thing we really can't get wrong is the concept of how one is made right with God. We have to understand that God works salvation in the inner man through changing us, regenerating us, cleansing us of sin and unrighteousness by the blood of Christ.
The one place that we must constantly look is the cross. If we have our eyes fixed there and are striving to live in light of that event and all that was accomplished there, then all of our misunderstandings and weaknesses will continually be brought to light and rectified. The place to do away with legalism is the cross. No man can truly look to the cross and place any faith in himself for righteousness. Nor can any man truly look to the cross and feel that they have anything to offer anyone else except to point them to that wonderful event in which all that was needed for life and godliness was accomplished. Are you looking to the cross? Are you directing others to look to the cross? Are you living in light of God's finished work of redemption and forgiveness that was accomplished on the cross? Are you believing, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for forgiveness of sin and eternal life?
Because pursuing God's righteousness by legalistic works is fruitless, deceptive and vehemently condemned by Christ, we should pursue righteousness by faith in Christ alone which manifests itself in deep love for God, His Word and others.
Discussion Questions:
· What are some warning signs that a Christian may be falling into a legalistic attitude?
· It is legalistic to obey God's Word when we don't feel like it?
· How does the cross impact your motivation for obedience to the Word?
· When you are confronted in sin, how should you respond? What is indicated if you respond defensively or with anger?How should you go about confronting someone who is caught up in legalism?
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