Holiness Without Legalism
1 Peter 1:15-16,
Galatians 5:1
May 4, 2003
Introduction
Have you ever seen a proud legalist? I have. They wouldn’t necessarily call themselves a legalist, but they are.
They live their lives around making sure everything is just right so they don’t mess up with God or make other Christians think they’re not spiritual enough.
Legalism has been around since the time of Moses and before. It was a problem Jesus addressed at length.
Unfortunately, the problem didn’t end when Jesus was around. We still have it in the church, and it continues to be something that needs to be addressed.
What do I mean by legalism? Basically legalism is the imposing of rules and laws that people use to judge your salvation or your level of spirituality.
There’s probably a dictionary definition somewhere (like a dictionary, maybe?), but the bottom line is that legalism is a bunch of rules meant to run your life rather than let you enjoy your life in Christ.
In the Bible we are called to be holy. And that is a serious call. It’s not just a high ideal – it’s a command.
1 Pet. 1:15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
But in the effort to live a holy lifestyle, we can find ourselves becoming legalistic in our outlook and actions.
Today I want to help us look at how to avoid becoming trapped by legalism.
GAL 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
How do we live holy lives without being slaves to legalism?
1. Know the difference.
Legalism is based on human traditions.
Holiness is based on the Word of God.
Jesus really nailed this with the Pharisees. The Pharisees had come up with a gajillion rules designed to help them keep the law.
Pretty soon, however, the rules became the law. The religious leaders became more concerned with obeying the traditions and laws of men than they were with obeying the Law of God.
Jesus asked them, “Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your traditions?” The traditions of men had overtaken the commands of God.
The problem lies in the fact that the standards of men can change like the wind.
So the standard has to be something that doesn’t change with time. The standard has to be not the words of men, but the Word of God.
Holiness looks to the Bible. Next,…
Legalism seeks to gain acceptance by God.
Holiness is an outgrowth of our acceptance by God.
Legalism says, “if I just pray enough, or if I just read the Bible enough, or if I just go to church enough, or if I give enough money to church or charity, or if I buy tickets for the preacher to catch a Twins game, I’ll be accepted by God.”
Holiness says, “Because I’m already accepted by God, not because of anything I’ve done, I choose to allow God to work in me to live for Him.”
See the difference?
We can’t do anything to be accepted by God. We can only accept what He already did for us.
Our acceptance of what He did for us is the only criteria of His acceptance for us. The Bible says that the best we have to offer God is like filthy rags.
So give it up! Understand that your acceptance by God is not based on your performance. It’s based on His love for you.
And as you grow in Him, you will see His working in you, which is a sign, if you will, of His acceptance. You’ll see answered prayer, and you’ll have a sense of relationship with God that you just can’t get by trying to live up to someone else’s expectations of you.
Another way to tell the difference between legalism and holiness is that…
Legalism is an outward performance.
Holiness is an inward change, which manifests outward.
Legalism says, “If I do such and such, or avoid such and such, I’ll be accepted by other Christians, because they’ll think I’m doing what it takes to be accepted by God.”
Sometimes this is avoiding things that others you’re trying to impress think you should avoid.
Sometimes it’s doing more of something for the same reason. For instance, I believe you should have daily time in the Bible and prayer. But your salvation doesn’t hinge on it. And the length of time you spend in devotions is not something I can dictate to you.
There are some who will tell you that unless you spend an hour, or read x amount of chapters, or use their reading program, or whatever, then you’re not having real devotions.
Or maybe you’re not using the “real” Bible version. Whatever.
When the issue becomes, “what will others think of me,” or “will this make me look good to the ones who count,” you are in the trap of legalism.
Holiness, on the other hand, is outward behavior based on an inward change of heart.
When the Holy Spirit gets hold of you, and I mean down to the core, then our desire to please God becomes a part of who we are.
And we come to the point that our behavior changes, not to meet some artificial standard of acceptance by people, but because we know it will please God, and it pleases us to know we are pleasing Him.
We desire to please God, not out of fear, but out of love.
Before we move on to the next way to way to tell the difference between legalism and holiness, let me make something else very clear. If anybody from this church gives you the impression that you have to jump through a bunch of hoops to be accepted by us, then I want to know about it.
That’s not what we want this church to be about. We want to be about giving out the good news that Jesus is in the business of saving people from hell and transforming lives.
You don’t have to fit our definition of a “good Christian” in order to come here. That’s not to say we won’t address sin in this church. We do and we will continue. But we believe that real change only comes from a growing relationship with the Savior.
Jesus wants you just the way you are. He loves you too much to let you stay that way, but He takes you where you are, and helps you along to a life of holiness.
Fourthly,…
Legalism micro-manages life.
Holiness (generally) generalizes.
Micro-managing is when you feel that almost every detail of life has to be regulated, and there are others who will help you regulate and enforce the regulations with severe consequences for the disobedient.
Let me give you some examples.
There are some churches that teach that women should only wear dresses, no matter what. Now, that’s not where I have the problem. I can see where they might be able to get that from the Scriptures, at least the principle.
Here’s the micro-managing: some churches go so far as to have measuring sticks on the doorposts of the church to measure the hemline of the skirts and dresses. If it’s not long enough, you don’t get to go to church that day.
Another example centers around Bible translations. If you’re not using the “right” Bible translation, then you’re probably not even saved, according to some.
I might have use this illustration before, but that’s okay. Consider it “recycling” so you can feel good about conserving precious resources. Anyway, it fits real well right here.
I visited with a guy once (before I became a pastor) who got a new preacher at his church. He liked the new guy, but he had a problem because this new preacher used the New International Version of the Bible (gasp!).
He made a remark that I had to respond to: “I suppose some people have gotten saved using the NIV.”
I looked at him and said, “Yeah. You’re looking at one of them.”
The NIV says that you have to be born again, and that without Christ you’re going to hell.
It doesn’t say it as pretty as the King James, but hell isn’t pretty, either.
And if you are a King James Version lover, God bless you. I mean that. I think its fine. But don’t judge my salvation and my spiritual life on my Bible version. The evidence of a person’s relationship with God is in the fruits of the Spirit, not in the Bible version you use.
Having said that, let me say that there are some to avoid, and they are the Bible versions of the cults, such as the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and King James Bibles given out by the Mormon Church, because it contains a section by Joseph Smith telling us where Moses and the Bible folks got it wrong.
But translations such as the New American Standard, the New International Version, the New King James Version, and the New Living Translation are fine translations, all capable of being used by God to begin and enhance your relationship with God.
One more example of micro-managing. The Bible gives us the principle of not obtaining beauty from outward adornment, but rather from our relationship with Christ.
Some churches and individuals take this to mean that you can’t have any jewelry at all. This included wedding rings, and just forget about earrings.
Many people from holiness denominations like our own Wesleyan church come from a perspective that it was sinful to have gold wedding bands.
If you choose to not wear jewelry, then more power to ya. But don’t judge my salvation or spiritual maturity on my wearing a wedding band or watch.
Legalism micro-manages, but holiness generally generalizes.
What do I mean? Let me start with the first example I gave in this section.
The Bible has a general principle that guys should look like guys and ladies should look like ladies.
In other words, you should be able to tell if someone is a guy or lady just by looking at them. I think that’s the basis of 1 Corinthians’ discussions about long and short hair.
The general principle is that God knew what He was doing in making you a guy or gal. So dress like you agree with Him.
If you’re a woman and want to wear only dresses, go for it. Guys, you don’t have that option.
If you’re a guy and want to wear your hair long, then wear it in a way that tells everyone who looks at you that you’re a guy.
Personally, I think the easiest way to do that would be to somehow get yourself a big ol’ bald spot like mine.
But then you run into one of my own principles: bald guys should not have pony tails. It just looks goofy, in my opinion.
I know some will disagree with me on the issue of guys wearing their hair longer. But then the question becomes, “how long is too long?” Past the collar? Over the ears? Shoulder length? What’s the standard?
If I see the Spirit bearing fruit in your life, than I cannot judge you based on the length of your hair. Legalism judges these things, not Scripture.
There are other examples, but time doesn’t permit us to get into it right now. We need to move on. But if you have a personal issue you would like to discuss, then get hold of me, and we’ll talk.
The last difference between legalism and holiness is that…
Legalism is based on law.
Holiness is based on grace.
We’ve discussed this, but I want to just put it in a nutshell. A life of holiness is one that is lived in gratitude for the grace God has shown you.
Legalism looks at fulfilling the law, hoping to gain favor with God and men.
But before we move on, I want to address something. In the Wesleyan Church, we have some lifestyle requirements that some would feel are legalistic.
For instance, if you wish to be a member of the Wesleyan Church, you can’t drink, smoke, gamble, chew, or go out with girls who do.
So what’s the difference between our membership requirements and legalism? I think that’s a valid question that deserves a valid answer.
The answer lies in the fact that we do not believe these issues affect your salvation. In other words, you can drink, smoke, and gamble and still be a Christian.
But if you choose to identify yourself as a Wesleyan, you must choose to give these things up.
It’s an issue not of salvation, but of identification with our denomination.
No one can tell me that great men of God like C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer are in hell because they drank wine and smoked.
But they could not find covenant membership in the Wesleyan Church. Our leadership has chosen to make these an issue in our membership, and that is their prerogative.
But you’ll never hear from our leadership that these are salvation issues.
Are they good for you? Of course not. But I’m also convinced that as God works in you, you’ll want to distance yourself from activities like gambling that reflect negatively on you and your relationship with God.
We’ve spent a lot of time on this – we need to move on to the second step in avoiding the trap of legalism, and that is to…
2. Know the boundaries.
Two places to find the boundaries:
Specific Scriptural direction.
Some things are very clear: drunkenness, sexuality outside marriage between a man and a woman, stealing, etc.
We don’t need to spend a lot of time here. I think you get the idea.
General Scriptural guidelines.
• Parental structure.
The Bible says that children are to obey their parents in everything that does not directly contradict Scripture.
For example, if your parents tell you to rob a bank, you have the freedom in Scripture to tell them to jump in a lake while you call the police.
But if there is not a direct Scriptural command against what they are commanding, you need to obey.
And if you are a friend with someone who forbids them from doing something you are allowed to do, then you need to honor that parent’s wishes.
For example, I allow my daughter to listen to contemporary Christian music. My daughter has a friend whose parents do not allow her to listen to that kind of music. When that friend is at our house, our daghter is not allowed to listen to that music, because I want to honor that girl’s parents’ desire and restriction.
I like Christian rock, but not everyone does. I need to respect the wishes of others, especially brothers and sisters in Christ, who might not agree. And if it’s not an essential issue like salvation, I need to let it go.
Believe it or not, God has put parents in your life for a reason, and it’s a good one.
If you are under the roof of your parents, it is your duty and responsibility to obey them.
The next area of general Scriptural principals is…
• Avoiding offense, considering others.
Romans 14, p. 804
v.1 - Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
You have no right to look down your nose to those who don’t share your opinions on things that are not essential to salvation or a holy life.
This goes both ways – those who allow certain things and those who don’t.
v. 13 - Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Ahh, here’s an important principle. You have a responsibility to consider your brother or sister in Christ.
Let’s pick it up in verse 14.
vv. 14-15 – As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
Let’s take an example:
Maybe you feel it’s okay to have a beer with your meal. You don’t get drunk, but you don’t mind having a drink with your supper.
Yet if you are around a person whose faith is weak, or if he or she is a recovering alcoholic, and you knowingly continue this habit because you don’t like to rearrange your lifestyle to suit someone else, you are in sin.
Your “right” to exercise your freedoms ends with your responsibility to someone else’s well-being. Paul keeps going down in verses 19-21.
vv. 19-21 - Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
I have friends who feel it is wrong to eat pork, so when I am around them, I choose to not eat pork.
I don’t want them to feel that I have no disregard for their convictions.
So what if you don’t know about whether or not you should partake of a certain activity?
When in doubt, don’t. Let prudence rule. It’s better to “err” on the side of caution.
Caution: Don’t become a slave to your
freedoms!
Two reasons:
First, as I mentioned before, you may end up hurting someone else.
Second, it may hinder your own spiritual growth. Holding your freedoms too tightly says that you are more concerned with what you think you can get away with in the gray areas of life than you are about living a life that pleases God.
Conclusion
Bottom line: holiness begins with an act of God in our hearts. Legalism is an act of human effort based on human tradition.
If you are not struggling with legalism, then my prayer for you is that you will not fall into the trap.
It’s easier than you think, believe me. We need to constantly ask the Holy Spirit to show us when we are looking more to impress men and other Christians than we are to living to please God.
Maybe you are dealing with legalism in your life right now. I pray that you will let that go, and that you will let God show you the wonderful freedoms that are in the Bible.
And when you can throw off the shackles of legalism, there is a joy in knowing that not only are you free, but God is free to work and act in you like never before, because your attention is on God, not the rules.
In the introduction to the message I mentioned how some people’s lives are centered on making sure the outside looks good so others will think they have it all together with God and other Christians.
There is no freedom to fail or wonder about things.
Let me tell you something. That’s not the case here. We all want to love God more perfectly, and we all fall short at times.
I want you to know that if you are struggling with something in your walk with God, I want to know about it. I want to come alongside you and help you through it.
Maybe it’s a sin you just can’t seem to get victory over. Maybe it’s an attitude that’s in the way. Or maybe you’re even doubting your faith.
I promise to listen and to do everything I can to help you.
Legalism won’t help. The Holy Spirit can. And as He works His wonderful works in our lives, we can find strength, healing, holiness, and hope.
Allow Him to do it, won’t you?
Let’s pray.
