Classic Christianity – Our Attitude Towards Legalism Part 3 (03-27-19)
Bob George continues sharing a lesson on our attitude toward legalism from the example of Jesus in Matthew 23. Follow along as Bob provides insight into the seven woes Jesus had spoken to the legalistic Pharisees in his day. Jesus spoke this way because he loved them enough to tell them the truth. Would you speak truthfully to legalists in today’s world? Are we blind to our own weaknesses and need someone to speak truthfully to us? Let us learn from the Spirit so we can have the same attitude toward legalism as Jesus.
Bob George then explains the condition of all our hearts. Are we not also inconsistent, smiling one day and cursing another? Can you be kind and nice one day, but honk your horn in anger at the one who cut in front of you on the freeway? Do you see the internal attitude of your own heart? Do you see that in your heart you committed murder by the hate inside you? Do you see only the exterior of the law, and think yourself as being okay. So you say you have never committed adultery yet you have looked lustfully in your heart at a girl? The real problem of the legalist is he does not see his own sinfulness. Do you see your own? And if you cannot see yourself as a person born as a sinner in this world, how then can you see your need of a savior from sin and death. Jesus came full of grace and truth. Jesus spoke harshly to the Pharisees for they needed to be woken up to their condition of spiritual death. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, His people who had been given all of the law and the prophets, that they may recognize him when he came, and then come to him for new spiritual life.
Jesus attitude is one of love and compassion. Man’s real problem is he is born in this world spiritually dead already. God knew this and that is why He sent His Son into this world. Jesus entered humanity to take upon himself the entire sins of the world, not just the sins of the Pharisees, but yours and mine as well. He came to deal with sins once and for all. He came to judge sin by dying on the cross and meeting the just requirements of the law, which is death.
Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is death.
2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus came to give new life to man. The only reason he was doing what he was doing and saying what he was saying was in order to touch the heart of the self righteous person so they would turn to Him. Who is the self righteous person? Those who think they are right before God by what they do or what they see as their obedience to the law. Is he not like the legalist? But sin was already in the world before the law was ever given. What was the purpose of the law. The law was added so man might recognize their condition of spiritual death and seek a Savior. Jesus was heading to the cross in order to die to take away the sins of the entire world. If a man refuses to recognize himself as a sinner then why would he come to Christ for forgiveness? He would see no need of forgiveness. Yet man has a bigger problem than forgiveness of sin. Salvation is not coming to get your sins forgiven but coming to Jesus for spiritual life. Jesus came to cure the wages of sin which is death. The only cure for death is life. That is why Jesus was resurrected.
Now that we have Christ, do we need the law as a measuring stick to determine how well we are doing? No, the measuring stick is the love of Jesus. Is the love of Jesus poured into your heart? New spiritual life is far superior. Law is just an instrument of death so you may see your need for new life. As a child of God, you have the very life of Jesus Christ living in you, leading you in the way of love. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Live in relationship with the living God who dwells in you, letting Him instruct you. If the Spirit of the living God is not in you, then you do not have life and you are still dead in your sins and in need of new life, His life to be lived in you and through you.
Matthew 23:33-36
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[Psalm 118:26]”
What do you think His ultimate heart attitude was at the end of all this? An attitude of weeping. Here are God’s people, a people to whom were given God’s commands, a people whom God had set apart from the rest of world, as representatives of the one true God. He longed to gather them under His wings. His attitude was of love and compassion. Why is your heart so hard that you will not listen to truth? Don’t you see your own hypocrisy? Why was Jesus doing that? The only reason he was doing what he was doing and saying what he was saying was in order to touch the heart of the self righteous person so they would turn to Him to receive new life. Jesus was heading to the cross in order to die to take away the sins of the entire world. If a man refuses to recognize himself as a sinner then why would he come to Christ for forgiveness? He would see no need of forgiveness. Yet man has a bigger problem than forgiveness of sin. Salvation is not coming to get your sins forgiven but coming to Jesus for spiritual life. Jesus came to cure the wages of sin which is death. The only cure for death is life. That is why Jesus was resurrected.
John 12:24-25
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Jesus came to die for you. He entered this world of humanity and took upon himself the entire sins of the world. He came to deal with sins once and for all. He came to deal with sin and judge it. With a law, there is also a necessary punishment for violations of the law. Jesus fulfilled all the just requirements of the law that we could never pay. That is what Jesus did on the cross. He died to pay the price of death for sin.
How is a man going to appreciate that unless they know they are a sinner. The Pharisees thought they were so wonderful. Before you came to Christ, how did you see yourself? Did you see yourself as so wonderful but failed to see yourself as God see you in your sinful state?
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The Pharisees did not see their own sinfulness. They were blind guides, being blind to their own state of spiritual death. The only sin they see is the filthy five and the nasty nine. God looks on your heart. That is why Jesus said what he said to them. He is looking at their heart.
Matthew 5:27-28
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[Exodus 20:14] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
He had to show us the attitude of the law. The law was given by God to show us our sinfulness. What is the purpose of the law? Is it to show us our righteousness? No.
Galatians 3:19-22
19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
The law shows us we can’t so we can turn to the one who could. We are buried under the law. The law exposes the attitude of the heart, that there is something wrong with me. Our own hearts convict us. We know we can grin at church and yet be mean as a hornet on the way home. We are a walking variable. There is no consistency with you and me at all. That is why we need a Savior.
Romans 7:10-12
10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
Bob said he woke up every morning, as a minister of God since 1969, thanking God every morning God for His mercy. He does not wake up and say, “Thank God you have me”. When I think of what I am capable of thinking in my heart, I have nothing to thank but the blood of Jesus. I have no righteousness to plead to him. All I have to present to Him is my relationship with His Son.
To the legalistic Pharisees, who trusted in heir own righteousness, boasting of being the descendants of Abraham, the man of faith, Jesus had strong words to say. Paul, in speaking to the Romans, speaks of Abraham’s faith.
Romans 4:13
It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith
Romans 4:3
What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Consider what Jesus spoke to the Jews and then to the Pharisees.
John 8:31-47
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They [the legalistic Pharisees] answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
What is your attitude to legalism? Do you tolerate it, saying it is not so bad. Do you listen to teachers of the law and say, “They are pretty good?” That is not what Jesus said. He told them that their father is the devil. I do not even want to hear teachers of the law, for they are hypocrites. The law kills but the grace of God gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:6
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
We are not to be proclaimers of the law but proclaimers of Him.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
That is what we should be proclaiming. When you see His attitude, that He came to do something that man could never do, to give life to the dead, to take away the sins of the world and to free man from the law that kills so they can be led by the Spirit that gives life.
What do we normally do? Do we use the law as a measuring rod? What does scripture reveal.
Hebrews 7:11-12
11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood — and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood — why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.
With a change in priesthood there must be a change in the law.
Are you still under the Levitical priesthood? No, and I never was, for I was never a Jew.
Who is your priest? Jesus
If there is a change in the priesthood? Yes.
What is the change of the law?
You are no longer under the Mosaic law but under a brand new one, the law of love.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I function under the law and the law of love helps me keep the 10 commandments”. How many times did you hear that? He did not help you to do anything. He came to give you a new life. A new life to be led by the Spirit of God, internally by Him. You are not led to compare yourself with the law to measure how you are doing according to the law.
Is that how you live your life, by the law? No!
Did Jesus come to help you keep the 10 commandments? No! Do you live your life comparing yourself with the law as a measuring stick. Your measuring stick is not the law of Moses. Your measuring stick is the love of Jesus. If I am wondering how I am doing, I need to compare myself with the love of Jesus. Am I allowing the love of God to control your life or are you measuring yourself by how you are doing according to he law? What is Jesus attitude toward the law? Forget it. You are not under the law. You are under something far greater and that is Him. Is there anything wrong with the law? No.
Romans 7:10-12
10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
The problem is not the law, but me. There is something wrong inside of me. What is the problem with the law? It cannot give life. When it flows through me it kills me. It is an instrument of death. The only reason I see it as an instrument of death is so I may recognize I was born in this world dead already so I may turn to the one who can give me life, and that is Jesus.
Romans 7:13-17
13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me
Romans 7:24-25
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
What was Jesus final words to the Jews before going back to His Father? What heart of love and sacrifice for us!
Luke 13:35
Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Jesus will come again, on the mount of olives, and he will say, “Look on the one you have pierced”. On that day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
John 19:36-38
36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[Exodus 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psalm 34:20] 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[Zech. 12:10]
Acts 1:11
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Romans 14:11
It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
When you see the reality of your depravity, look to Him for your sufficiency.
