Having discussed how our victory over the power of sin and the temptations to sin provided by the flesh, the world and the devil in our daily lives has been provided for through Christ death, burial and resurrection; Paul now addresses three subtle detours that can get the child of God. These detours can get the Child of God off track in their daily walk of victory and cause us to “get stuck” spiritually by turning our daily walk with Christ into a practice of religion rather than a personal relationship. Let’s look at Paul’s three warnings:
1. Don’t be detoured by legalism - vs. 16-17
Legalism is the practice proving one’s spirituality by keeping rules and regulations rather than on the basis of relationship. This approach to living the Christian life results in judgmentalism (v. 16).
“Why do you stare from without at the very small particle that is in your brother’s eye but do not become aware of and consider the beam of timber that is in your own eye?” - Matthew 7:3 (Amplified)
Why? Because the focus is always on being better than others in the effort to prove one’s worthiness and godliness. This causes the legalist to do two things:
A. The legalist does not look at themselves in the mirror.
The legalist must convince themselves that they are keeping all the rules, and in order to do that, they simply choose to not take a serious look at their own flaws.
For example, I figured out years ago that the way for me to win the “battle of the bulge” was to get rid of the bathroom scale.
So the legalist engages in self deception in order to not focus on the fact that they are seriously coming up short when it comes to keeping the rules. This was a problem that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.
In the Gospels, we read about the Scribes and Pharisees. What was their relationship? The Scribes committed themselves to interpreting how one should live in order to fully obey the Mosaic law; and the Pharisees committed themselves to living by the rules of the Scribes.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” - Matthew 23:23-26 (NIV)
Paul said of those who took a legalistic approach to Christian life:
“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” - 2 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)
Instead, we need to seek to see ourselves as God sees us and then ask for his guidance in addressing our short-comings.
“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” - Psalm 139:23-24 (Amplified)
B. The legalist looks at others through a magnifying glass.
Like a bully, who picks of those weaker than themselves in order to feel strong, the legalist picks on their perceived faults of others in order to make them feel spiritual. Paul cites two examples:
1) Diet - v. 16a
In Paul’s day, the Judaizers contended that good Christian observe the Mosaic law, including the dietary restrictions, which categorized foods as clean and unclean (see Leviticus 11:2-20). Now, there were health reasons for these laws, which Dr. S. I. Macmillen explains in his book, None of These Diseases. But there were also spiritual reasons, for the distinctions between foods were meant to familiarize God’s people with the idea of purity and impurity.
But when Jesus came, those dietary laws were abolished.
“’Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)” - Mark 7:18-19 (NIV)
2) Days - v. 16b
Today, some Christians observe Christmas and others don’t. Some observe Passover, others don’t. Some churches have services on Saturday in addition to Sunday, is this wrong? Nepali Christians worship on Saturday, not Sunday because Saturday is the national day off from work. If they insisted on having Sunday off in that Hindu country, it would result in persecution. So they worship on Saturday instead.
Paul says we shouldn’t get hung up on these things. But we are to focus on the reality of Christ that the things of the law only foreshadowed. Don’t get detoured and stuck spiritually by legalism.
2. Don’t be detoured by mysticism - vs. 18-19
Mysticism focuses on one’s experiences. It is the effort to prove one’s spirituality by means of the number of their spiritual experiences.
Now, to be sure, God is real, so we can have very personal experiences and encounters with our living God. But one must be careful that our focus stays on our God and not on experiences. For if we aren’t careful, we can come to measure our spirituality in terms of the number of our experiences rather than our intimate knowledge of God.
Rather, one must maintain their connection with the head of the body, Jesus. Our focus must be on a growing daily love relationship with Him, not what experience we might have with Him. As the old saying goes, “We must be careful to seek God’s face, not just His hand.”
The purpose for our experiences with God is to help us grow in our love relationship with Him and enable us to live obedient lives, not to prove our “spirituality.” The correct focus must always be on God, not on me.
Too many can tell about their mystical experience while not displaying any godly obedience. Be careful not to be detoured by mysticism and seeking our next “big experience” with God.
3. Don’t be detoured by asceticism - vs. 20-23
Asceticism seeks to prove one’s spirituality through their sacrifice. The religions of the world say that the way of acceptance with God is to prove ones devotion through their sacrifice. Religion says that man, through his efforts must reach up to God.
But the Good News of Christianity is we are accepted, not by works we do, but by the work God has done through Christ. Christianity says that God, through His efforts in Christ has reached down to us.
Yes, the Christian life will involve sacrifice and self-denial, but not because we’re trying to gain acceptance, but because we are accepted; not because we’re trying to earn forgiveness, but because we are forgiven; not because we’re trying to win the victory, but because we already have the victory!
We need to be careful not to be detoured by asceticism. We’re not to be willing to “deny ourselves and take up our cross daily” (Luke 9:23) in order to gain something from God, but because we have been given everything by God.
Conclusion: What’s the proper path to walking with God? The old hymn, “In the Garden” gives us the answer:
And He walks with me - Focus daily on the presence of God;
And He talks with me - Focus daily on prayer with God;
And He tells me I am His own - focus daily on the promises of God.
In other words, focus daily on God, not on yourself!
The problem with the Christian detoured by legalism is they’ve turned from focusing on God and have forgotten His grace.
The problem with the Christian detoured by mysticism is they’ve turned from focusing on God and have forgotten His glory.
The problem with the Christian detoured by asceticism is they’ve turned from focusing on God and have forgotten His greatness.
“And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus . . .” - Hebrews 12:1b-2a (NLT)
