Sermon Brief
Date Written: July 29, 2009
Date Preached: August 02, 2009
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Murder and Robbery in the Fellowship!
Sermon Title: The Legalist!
Sermon Text: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 [NLT]
Introduction:
This morning I am sure you have looked at your bulletin and wondered, “What is Bro Bobby going to say today?” Well I am beginning a series that deals with those in the church… those professing believers whose actions and attitudes steal the joy and kill the fellowship of a congregation.
However, before we move into the realm of what is BAD for the fellowship, let’s look at what Scripture says the believer is SUPPOSED to look like… let’s look at who we are SUPPOSED to be in Christ!
Turn with me to Galatians 5:22-23 and let’s look at what God is saying should be a picture of a full devoted follower of Christ who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and allowing Christ to rule and reign in their lives…
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
The believer is called to a life that goes against human nature and human frailty… After Christ indwells our hearts, the Holy Spirit should produce the following characteristics in our lives that MUST be unmistakable and obvious in our daily lives… to NOT have these characteristics is to NOT know Christ!
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit brings about 9 different fruits into the believers life, and these 9 fruits are manifested in our day to day living. What many people misunderstand about this list is that it is NOT a list of Spiritual gifts… but a list of fruit borne because of the presence of the Spirit in our lives!
All 9 should be present in our lives… not only the ones we believe we think are our strong suit… Paul teaches us that we become a ‘new creature’ in Christ… and this is what we are to become! Let’s briefly look at what these 9 characteristics of the Spirit are…
1st is Love… agape love is described here where the believer has a unconditional love for their Savior and for all those in the fellowship of Christ PLUS all those who do NOT have Christ in their life! Paul teaches us that we can have all the talent and gifts in the world but if we don’t have LOVE… we are nothing more than a wind bag… a useless NOISE…
2nd is joy, which is NOT the same as happiness. Joy comes from a deep seated contentment that occurs when our focus is in the proper place. Paul taught us that we are to be content with where God has placed us and serve Him from whatever situation we find ourselves. This doesn’t mean we cannot strive for better, but it means that our service to God cannot be determined by the circumstances of our life… Our Joy is based on our relationship with Him!
3rd there is peace, it is a peace about our circumstances and what is happening in the world. Jesus tells his disciples that he did not come to bring the peace that the world knew, but that His brings a peace that only God could provide… Paul describes this Peace… it is the ‘peace that surpasses all understanding…’
This dovetails with the joy that comes in serving Christ in all situations. The world will not understand how we can have joy and peace in the struggle of life, but in Christ we can!
4th is patience which is described in many translations as ‘long-suffering’ or putting up with others when they are going against God and His plan. God was patient with us, He is patient with this world and we are to be patient with those who are OUTSIDE of Christ, but also we must be patient with each other. Love of each other helps in this situation… without love there can be NO patience!
The 5th characteristic is kindness, and this is one we fall short on quite abit as believers. We simply find ourselves being HONEST to the point of brutality at times… when kindness is warranted. What we need to understand is that Kindness of the spirit does NOT accept the wrong doing but merely reveals the love of Christ. In John 8 Jesus reveals this kindness when dealing with the woman caught in adultery.
The 6th characteristic is goodness. Paul uses the Greek word, [ah-gath-oh-soon-ay] which is a form of the Greek word [agape] which is unmerited or unconditional love. Which translates to mean that we are to be good, even when those we are dealing with are not worthy of us being good to them… it means that we do good when good is not the warranted thing! This takes a great deal of reliance on the Spirit, but it IS a fruit that we must bear!
The 7th characteristic of the indwelling of the Spirit for the believer is faithfulness. This is a form of the word used in John 3:16 where Jesus tells us that ‘whosoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life…’
That saving faith in Christ is where this word finds its roots, and this ‘faithfulness’ that Paul speaks of here means to have a strong conviction and belief that Jesus is the Messiah [the Anointed One], through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God… our faith in Christ cannot waiver… and with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we WILL NOT waver in our faith in Christ as our Savior…
The 8th characteristic of the Holy Spirit in our lives is gentleness. Now this term has been misrepresented over the years, and many have believed that because we are believers that we cannot ‘stand up’ for ourselves but must be ‘gentle as lambs’.
This characteristic is the same characteristic that Jesus trumpeted in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, “Blessed are the meek…” this does not mean, “Blessed are those who allow themselves to be trampled…” but meekness is power UNDER CONTROL.
Gentleness here means that we keep our cool and stay under control even when the difficult times come and even when it seems we are being trampled. This characteristic means that we can face these times, and forge forward without sin… because we maintain our composure and Christ-like manner.
The final characteristic described by Paul here is self-control and this dovetails with ALL of the above… it can be translated at temperance, but basically mean that we are able to control our baser desires… things like sexual immorality, anger, fear, and the sense of ‘getting even’. These can be controlled by the indwelling of the Spirit, we cannot do this on our own, but in Christ we can have success and victory in these areas!
In looking at these 9 characteristics that come as part of the salvation process… why is it then that we have so many people who profess Christ as their Savior who live lives that fly directly in the face of these Spirit indwelled characteristics?
Why is it that we have FAR too many believers who:
Do NOT love as they should,
Do NOT reveal the JOY of Christ in their lives,
Do not have peace or try to keep peace in their lives,
Do not have ANY patience for sinners or other believers OR God for that matter…
Do not show the kindness that should be shown…
Do not show the goodness that should be there…
Are not gentle in their demeanor or actions toward others…
OR finally have absolutely no control over their base desires to get their own way… they have no self control…
Have you ever asked yourself?
Why is it that so many hurtful things happen within the body of Christ?
Why is it that we have SO many believers who seem to have the ability to STEAL or ROB the joy of a congregation…
Why is it that we see so many cases of professing believers doing things that KILL or MURDER the fellowship of any gathering of believers?
Over the next few weeks I want us to take a very introspective look at ourselves… a soul searching look that seeks to see what we may not want to see!
I challenge you to clean up, what God reveals to you so that we can become the fellowship and body of Christ that God can use to touch and reach this community… to see the kingdom of God grow and multiply here at Oak Park!
Are you willing to take that look with me? Are you willing to be honest with yourself and before God and when God reveals something to you, that you will lay it at His feet, asking His forgiveness and strength to live as you are called to live… I know that I am!
I know that in preparation for this series I have been convicted of many things and God has taken me to the woodshed over my reluctance to admit them… but I am ready… I have given them to God… Are you ready to do so as well?
Let’s get started! Today I want us to look at a passage from 2 Tim 3 where Paul is relating to Timothy that there will be believers who SAY they are believers but their actions will defy that claim… Paul tells us that if they persist in their actions that we are to have NOTHING to do with them…
Well the question that I want to pose here is WHO is Paul speaking about when he say have nothing to do with ‘them’… who are ‘them’? I propose to you that the people Paul is speaking about can be identified and over the next few weeks we are going to spotlight several ‘members’ who fit this bill…
Understand that I am not speaking of anyone personally, so don’t think I am pointing fingers this morning, but I am speaking truthfully and all I can say to you is that if the shoe fits… then it is time to challenge yourself and look in the mirror and go to God. I realize the sensitive nature of this subject, but it has to be addressed if we are to grow as a fellowship!
The first ‘member’ who fits the bill here described by Paul is the member I would call the Legalist… or those who are sticklers for the LETTER of the law and entirely miss out on the spirit of the law!
Look with me at 2 Tim 3:1-5 [NLT] as we read what Paul has to say…
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
Here we find Paul sharing a list of 18 separate characteristics of the ungodly person! And when we begin to break this passage down we can come to the easy conclusion that Paul is painting a pretty grim picture! However, as believers we would be naïve to think that these types of people DO NOT exist in our churches.
I want us to look this morning toward those in our churches who have elevated themselves above everyone else and have become the LEGALISTS that steal the joy and kill the fellowship of whatever congregation they are a part of…
What is a legalist? How is it defined? Webster’s Dictionary defines a legalist as “strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, esp. to the letter rather than the spirit.”
How does that translate to the church? Well we see many examples of legalism played out by the religious leaders of the day when Jesus ministered here in this world.
One term that has become synonymous with a legalist is the term Pharisee… these were the religious leaders for the Jewish nation, those people steeped in religious training and knowledgeable in the Law of Moses.
These men were regarded as knowing what was right and what to do… but over time these priests had evolved into an elite group of legalists who had taken the Laws given by God to Moses… and had expanded them to the point where it was not POSSIBLE to serve God, and it brought nothing but burden on the people of Israel, and Jesus revealed this burden and the WRONGNESS of it…
The 1st four (4) on the list focus in on the selfishness of the ungodly person… which relate directly to the Legalist that we are looking at today. The legalist is a prideful and boastful person who lifts themselves up because they ‘follow’ the rules and point out where others fall short. They love themselves and their possessions just like the Pharisees of the NT did… they are fully focused on making themselves look better!
These people say they ‘care’ about their church, but their actions reveal that they care only of themselves… like in v.2 where Paul tells us…
2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud…
Today in our churches we have those who believe it is their duty to point out who falls short and where the letter of the law is being broken but not only that they attempt to also become judge and jury as well.
Scripture teaches us that we are FREE in Christ, but it is careful to warn us that just because we are free in Christ… we CANNOT live as we please! Scripture teaches us that the believer must be guided by the Holy Spirit and by those characteristics (fruits of the Spirit) that come with it… when led by God the believer is free, but chooses NOT to partake of things that take him or her away from their witness and from their walk in Christ.
But the sad fact is that today’s Church is filled with these self appointed ‘judges’ that seem to find great joy in casting of dispersion and dissention within the fellowship based on THEIR own judgments and not that of Scripture.
Loving themselves and their position and power and believing that somehow they stand ABOVE the others in the fellowship. They are boastful and proud of the fact that they judge others…
These self appointed ‘judges’ attempt to base their judgments on Scripture, but theirs is a flawed logic for Scripture clearly states that Christ and Christ alone is our judge! Also, their logic is flawed because Scripture also brings out in no uncertain terms that judging is NOT what we are called to do… in fact it is forbidden, unless we ourselves wish to be judged in the same manner!
Now does this mean that when we see a fellow believer living a life that is not godly… that we turn our head and ignore it? NO! As Paul would say, “May it NEVER be!” However, judging them in ‘open’ or public court or even in our hearts is wrong!
Scripture dictates how believers are to approach believers who have strayed. Jesus Himself describes this method in Matthew 18. Many call this the chapter on Church discipline, but what they miss here is that it is focused on reconciliation and repentance… NOT retribution and rebuke!
The next 2 characteristics that Paul mentions are destructive by their very nature as they tear others down… usually to lift the one saying them up! Look again at v.2 with me
“…scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents…
Now Paul mentions here they are scoffers of God, tearing down Scripture by mutilating it with their own traditions and interpretations.
The term Paul uses, “disobedient to parents” may seem a bit childish and irrelevant here but it is important from 2 very distinct perspectives. 1st a disobedient attitude or lifestyle reflects a rebellious heart and a rebellious heart cannot be used by God… God can only use a heart that is broken and submissive to His plans!
The 2nd distinctive here is that a child’s relationship with his/her parents was always viewed in the 1st century as a picture of God and God’s followers…and if you are disobedient and rebellious to your parents…there is NO way you can be a follower of God because you are rebellious toward Him as well.
Paul moves on with his list here in the last of v.2 and the beginning of v.3 as he address the next 4 on his list… they are 4 UN-words… The legalist in the fellowship falls into the category Paul describes in v.3 of our passage of Scripture this morning…
Ungrateful; Unholy; Unloving and Unforgiving…
“…and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving;
Ungrateful could be described as their unwillingness to acknowledge the forgiveness of God by living a forgiving lifestyle… they refuse to forgive and the jump to judgment because they are not truly grateful for the mercy and grace Christ has shown them in forgiving and saving them!
Holding nothing sacred is when they depart from what is godly and begin to cast dispersions on fellow believers and tear down the fellowship… a fellowship that Jesus prayed would be UNITED and a beacon to the world. The selfish attitude of the Legalist, spits in the face of God’s desire for the fellowship and pushes forth his own agenda!
Unloving can simply be described as NOT having love… not revealing the love that should be evident in the life of a believer. The legalist does not show the love of Christ because they are UN-forgiving in their hearts and they rush to judgment when it come to anyone who has fallen short!
Now what Paul teaches here is a description of someone who deliberately avoids and skips the reconciliation we are called to… and they go straight for the rebuke of the fellow believer! This attitude and action is wrong and Paul tells us not to tolerate it because it is NOT Christ like!
The next 4 terms Paul uses focus on the speech and behavior of the ungodly, as well as the BRUTALITY of their attitude and actions toward those in the fellowship of the saints! In v.3 Paul continues…
“…they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
The term ‘slander’ is a malicious use of our speech toward others. The Legalist rushes to judgment and judges those who have fallen harshly, and they tend to do so in an open forum where ALL can hear and see their rebuke!
This type of approach is slanderous to that believers persona and is debilitating to the fellowship of the believers. And to go along with that it seems as if the Legalist cannot control themselves because it matters NOT to them WHO is doing it… they are going to flaunt their judgment before any who will listen to them!
This type of attitude and action is what Paul describes as CRUEL… and it tears at the very fabric of fellowship in the body of Christ. This is NOT for the good of the body, but actually is a bad thing because it is UN-healthy for any fellowship of believers to be at one another’s throats… it is bad for their walk, but it is also a terrible witness for Christ!
But preacher, I understand that is bad, but can you tell me just what is considered to be a Christlike behavior? Well Paul shares with us in 2 Cor 5:18 that we are all called by God to reconcile to God and to each other…
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
We are ALL called by Christ to be reconcilers…not rebukers!! God calls us to enable others to come to repentance…He has NOT called us to be the instrument of retribution! Called to be gentle and kind, not harsh and cruel.
The legalist in the fellowship has established in his or her mind that they are the judge… that they know God’s mind and how God will judge… they couch their criticism in Scripture… but in reality they are FAR from where God wants them to be!
The legalist causes the body to suffer because they tear down the body from within! They are like a cancer that can spread and destroy a fellowship!
Are YOU a legalist today? Do you find yourself judging others in your actions? In your words? In your thoughts and attitudes? Yep… I said thoughts and attitudes too! If you judge others in your mind, you are like the person who lusts after another in their mind… they are guilty of adultery of the heart… and you are guilty of judging in your heart!
Paul closes his list in v.4 with 4 very general characteristics that generally apply to all pagans… this was directed at the false teachers of his day, but applies to those in the church who tear down the body by stealing their joy and murdering their fellowship!
4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.
First Paul shares that these ungodly people are treacherous… and they betray those they have called friends. They can and will turn on you in a moment’s notice to make themselves look better… they rush to judgment about anyone, all to make them look more and more pious.
These people are rash in their actions, there is truly no rhyme nor reason for their actions or even their attitude other than their own selfish agenda to gain favor in the sight of others. They are rash in their actions and it is revealed in their acting without any regard or thought for others or for the possible consequences of their actions and words!
These people are self absorbed and Paul says, “puffed up with PRIDE and love pleasing themselves MORE than pleasing God” Which is the ultimate in betrayal… they are betraying the God who has died for them… the God to whom they have claimed a relationship thru His Son Jesus Christ… they have betrayed His mercy!
In John 17 Jesus prayed that we would be ONE as the body of Christ, but the legalist excludes themselves from being one… they betray ANYONE who disagrees with them and they are reckless in their approach and methods.
The legalist is filled with a prideful spirit that they are living RIGHTLY and their hearts are consumed by the love of their accomplishments or perceived accomplishments… they are not driven by Kingdom goals or Kingdom work, but their focus is on themselves as they want the attention back on them… look what Paul says in v.4…
These words from Paul are harsh, but accurate of those who ‘pose’ as being a believer in the church. So here is the very tough part about today’s message…
ask yourself the question, “Am I a legalist? Am I hurting our fellowship with my actions, attitudes, or words?”
5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
The legalist will profess their faith in Christ openly and publicly. They will do all the outward things necessary for others to “see” them as holy and a follower of Christ! Their outward actions and words will however, be betrayed ultimately by their heart…
As a pastor I can tell you that these types of church members are very difficult to see and identify, mainly because they can disguise themselves well within the framework of the church.
Their deception is that they blend in…they have a front about them that makes them look like and sound like a true believer, when in reality their lives and actions openly reject the very power that would bring true Christ like righteousness into their lives!
Now I want you all to understand that I am not standing here today saying this to point out any one particular believer or even a group of believers! I am here to bring this to the forefront and to let you know that as wonderful as we believe our fellowship is… we still have our problems in this area!
But I don’t bring this up only to leave you there…as that would be a terrible thing to do! It would be like a shepherd leaving his sheep in the dangerous place after he has shown them the wolf and the danger!
Now this morning you are probably sitting there thinking one of 2 things…
You may be saying to yourself, “Hey Bro Bobby, this is good stuff, I hope old so and so is here and actually awake and listening to you!”
OR you could be saying to yourself, “I can’t believe Bro Bobby is preaching about me like this, I only point these things out because these people are wrong and it hurts the church’s witness for them to do what they do…”
But if you fall into either of those camps… you are still out of the picture when it comes to the Love of Christ and how you should be living as a believer!
But maybe…JUST MAYBE you have come to another entirely different 3rd conclusion… MAYBE you are sitting there and you have realized that this IS an area of struggle in your walk! Maybe God has convicted you that this is an area where you have stumbled and has caused harm and difficulty within the fellowship… if so I want you to know that there is hope!
And as your pastor, my voice of concern is NOT to say, “I told you so!” … I am not here to point the finger of blame at anybody! My desire is for our fellowship to reflect what Jesus prayed for in John 17 and that reconciliation in the fellowship and repentance of the saints is our goal!
It is my sole desire for all here struggling with this spiritual malady to turn it over to the Lord and come to a clean and fresh start in your walk with Christ! In Lamentations the Bible teaches us that God’s mercies are NEW every day… that means that God is a God of forgiveness and cleansing and that we can know His mercy!
But preacher, that sounds great, but I am struggling with this issue, and I want to know just how can I know that God is going to forgive? How can I experience the grace, mercy and freedom we are all promised in Christ?
Well the 1st thing you have to do as a believer to experience the wondrous mercies of God, is that you must come to the realization that you have been legalistic in your thoughts, attitudes, actions and words… you must admit or confess your sin to God and seek His forgiveness.
This is not a new idea as we can read where God has told us in 1 John 1:9 that He [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive our sin if we will but admit and confess them to Him! But here is the wonderful part of God’s mercy…not only does He forgive…HE cleanses us… wipes us clean… clears the slate… He wipes it from our record and we have a fresh new start! So the 1st thing is that you must admit and confess your sin of legalism to God.
“Well preacher that is not hard, I can do that!”
Well hold on because I’m not done, you see the next thing is a bit harder for us! That is because what comes next goes against all of our human senses AND it flies in the face of society and our culture… But not only that what I am about to tell you also wreaks havoc on our pride and the enemy uses that to pile on the guilt to make us miserable!
You see, the 2nd thing we must do is… WE must go to the person OR persons that we have judged and we must confess to them our sin and seek their forgiveness as well! But we should NOT worry about this, for Scripture has shared with us that when a brother comes to us with a broken heart we are to forgive them, so you who have been judged… it is YOUR duty to forgive!
Now for those of you who are dealing with this problem, the enemy will work very HARD on you to skip this step… he wants you to ignore this very vital part of your cleansing and healing, but it cannot be skipped!
If we cannot forgive or seek forgiveness of our fellow believers, our fellowship will falter and stagnate and will NOT grow! But if we are open, transparent and forgiving to others as we have been called to be… we can flourish as a fellowship!
We are each others support and encouragement… and when a brother comes to you with a sin, and asks forgiveness, it is incumbent upon you to forgive him or her… as Christ has forgiven YOU for all your sin!
Legalism is a cancer that can and WILL destroy any fellowship. We cannot fall prey to the temporary euphoria of being in line with tradition and some manufactured set of rules and regulations. As Baptist we have long stated that we have NO creed but Christ… no counsel but God’s word!
If that be the case, let us stop judging others to standards even God does not hold us to! We are called to love and support each other…let’s be about unity and love…not rebuke and separation!
As bro steven comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation there are many of you here who have made decisions to ‘make things right with God’ in this area… I issue you this challenge… come today, confess to God in front of all your fellow believers… and let them know… let God know that you are serious in your desire to change. Step out as the music begins to play and make that step toward a new cleansing in Christ! Come as Bro Steven leads us!
