“You have cancer.” A statement that many people in this country will hear and none of them want to. It’s hard news to hear and so much uncertainty resides in it. Is there a cure or is it by a rule one of those that “can’t be cured.” Church it’s time to face the fact that we have cancer. You may be asking yourself “what is the cancer that we suffer?” Simply put, the cancer that the church suffers is legalism. The concept of “boxing” God into self-serving theological concept that has no biblical basis or balance” [1]. In the broader sense legalism is the concept that salvation depends on the total obedience to the letter of the law—one such example is the excessive concern for minute details of the law, neglecting the fundamental concerns and preoccupation with human legal traditions. [2] Pastor Max Lucado states “A legalist believes the supreme force behind salvation is you.”
To the believer, legalism represents a fatal misunderstanding of the purpose of the law. People who are legalistic in their teaching, show a major misunderstanding—one that ancient Israel was dependent upon for salvation. Romans 9:30-32 what shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” When Paul wrote these words, the Judaizers were stating that one has to follow a standard set of rules and regulations to be saved. They were boxing God into a self-serving concept; thereby becoming dependent upon their own good to be saved. At the Council of Jerusalem, it was said
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29)[3]
For Paul adopting these laws may have been the maximum which was required to be adopted into the religious community of the 1st Century. For Peter, this would have been the minimum. He would have probably hoped that believers would have seen this as an open door to become followers of the Torah. This is honorable; and as far as I know many people don’t have a problem with this understanding. Granted the one quote people use to justify their actions of legalism is:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20) [3]
Jesus did not come to this earth for the purpose of acting as an opponent of the law. His goal was not to prevent its fulfillment. Rather, He revered it, loved it, obeyed it, and brought it to fruition. He fulfilled the law’s prophetic utterances regarding Himself (Luke 24:44). Christ fulfilled the demands of the Mosaic Law, which called for perfect obedience under threat of a “curse” (Galatians 3:10, 13). In this sense, the law’s divine design will ever have an abiding effect. It will always accomplish the purpose for which it was given. [4]
To keep the law in its legalistic form means that you must remain dead to Christ. The Farm and Ranch Review reports that a London young woman was wrongly identified “as a drowning victim and declared dead at the inquest.” How does she now react to the decision? The coroner declares: “Once a verdict is recorded it can only be altered by the High Court, and until they quash the verdict you must remain legally dead.” In the law alone, we will remain dead to the Lord and on judgment day the Lord will find that “the high court” hadn’t switched or altered the verdict; yet through Christ, who is our bondsman and ransom, the verdict is changed and we gain life.
I do not write this to discourage people from following the Laws of Moses, but rather to recognize that legalistic following leads to nothing more than death. The Law was sent to show us how Holy God is and how wretched we are in our human nature. Rabbi Sam Nadler states “Objective reading of the Scriptures makes it plain; the Law reveals our sinfulness and not our righteousness. The Law is like a perfect mirror that can only reveal our flaws, but can do nothing to improve them…As we read the actual Scriptures, as opposed to the rabbinical traditions concerning the Law, we face a holy and yet loving God. Before Him we fall morally short, but we also see the One who has provided the promise of forgiveness and life to all who will trust in His Word.” [5]
Resources:
1) Olford, Stephen F. and David L. Olford. Anointed Expository Preaching, p 31. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.
2) Manser, Martin H. Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser, 2009.
3) The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Ac 15:28–29. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001. All scripture taken from this version, unless otherwise stated.
4) http://www.gotquestions.org/abolish-fulfill-law.html
5) Nadler, Sam. The Messianic Answer Book, p 22-23. Charlotte, NC: Word of Messiah Ministries, 2004
Encouragment from the Bible 