"The Bondage of Legalism" | Pastor Steve Gaines

take your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew chapter 12 please Matthew chapter 12 well just a minute we'll read verses 1 through 2 and I don't have this ready on the screen but I'd like to just read the entire text and then talk to you a little bit about the bondage of legalism I'll tell you what legalism is and we'll look at the scriptures and see what Jesus says about it Matthew chapter 12 do you remember church before screens you can have church without screens you can have church without electricity just let you know that but let's let's look there in the Bible at that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grain fields and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat but the Pharisees saw it they said to him behold your disciples do what is not lawful on a Sabbath but he said to them have you not read what David did when he became hungry he and his companions how he entered the house of God and they ate the consecrated bread which was not lawful for him to eat not for those nor for those with him but for the priests alone there's the question we're looking at the questions that Jesus asked finding answers in those questions verse 5 or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests and the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent there's another question but I say to you that something greater than the temple is here but if you had known what this means and he quotes from the Old Testament Hosea 6:6 I desire compassion and not a sacrifice you would not have condemned the innocent for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath let's say that last part together for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath I had a man probably about four or five months ago stopped me in the grocery store in Kroger and I was just minding my own business and he stopped me and I thought it was a peaceful little talk there you know he's a pastor I have a question for you and boy he doesn't I tell you that guy lured me in to what he wanted to be an argument but I didn't participate you know if you don't participate it doesn't turn into an argument does it so he had a theological point to make and he said what do you think about the Sabbath and so I talked him a little bit about that he said well what do you think about why we worship on Sunday the first day of the week instead of on the Sabbath why are we not still worshiping on Saturday the Bible says and he started quoting from the Ten Commandments you know don't desecrate the Sabbath and all that and he wanted an argument and I wouldn't give him one but I shared with him this text and I said you know the Lord said that he is Lord of the Sabbath and I talked to him and explain to him what that meant I want to explain it to you tonight there's a lot of people that might come up to you and say why do we not worship on Saturday why do we you know and don't just give me this thing that Jesus rose from the dead there's got to be more to it than that and there is and I'm gonna share it with you tonight why we do not worship on Saturday but rather we worship at the first day of the week I want to talk to you about that let's talk tonight about the bondage of legalism number one legalism tries to condemn us with sin legalism is adding to Scripture say that with me adding to Scripture and when somebody starts adding to Scripture they tried to condemn you for not obeying their addendums I like to say their agendas to go along with Scripture and that's exactly what took place look at verse one at that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and his disciples became hungry so they began to pick the heads of grain and eat but notice they were always watching when the Pharisees saw this they said to him look your disciples do what it is not lawful to do on a Sabbath now in the world they were doing is going through a grain field they picked some kernels of wheat and they ate it that's all they did huh your disciples are breaking the law oh Jesus we condemn that as sin in Jesus day the Jews rested on the Sabbath Judiasm judaism said that means above all else cease all work all forms of work on saturday the seventh day of the week resting on the sabbath was for the jews one of the three pillars the three main Old Testament commands the other two were circumcising they're boys on the eighth day of their lives and men obeying the Jewish dietary laws so as long as you would rest on the Sabbath be circumcised in your flesh and obey the Jewish dietary laws they felt like man you're good with God you're a righteous Jew if you'll just do those three things the fact that the grain was right tells us enough that if it was ripe enough to pick and eat it was springtime probably not long after the Passover the text does not tell us why Jesus and His disciples were traveling on a Sabbath doesn't tell us where they were going but it does tell us that they had some spies looking at them some legalistic spies and they were watching for Jesus to try to trip him up and sure enough Jesus disciples plucked some grain and ate it and the Pharisees who seemed to be ever-present or watching and they brought alleged charges of transgression against Jesus and His disciples they accused basically of Jesus disciples of reaping grain on the Sabbath now the law permitted a small amount of reaping on the Sabbath but the Jewish oral tradition that had been added to the law prohibited the Word of God said it was okay but the law of man said it's not okay I mean that's read to in Moses what he said in Deuteronomy about picking grain on the Sabbath and he set this forth four times like this Deuteronomy 23 verses 2425 when you enter your neighbor's vineyard then you may eat grapes until you're fully satisfied I want to say this to you that wouldn't take me very long I'm not a big great guy all right but you shall not put any in your basket what are you saying there is if you want to pick some grapes and either eat those along the way that's fine but don't get a basket and go out and pick grapes verse 25 when you enter your neighbor's standing grain now this is exactly what Jesus and His disciples were doing then you may pluck the heads with your hand exactly what they did but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor's standing grain so they had not broken the Word of God they had not now these a lot of theologians say not only were they angry that he his disciples harvested the grain that's what they called it but they also said they grinded it when they put it in their mouth and chewed it now you think I'm kidding I'm telling you that's how legalism works it goes down to the nth degree adding to the Word of God and Jesus would have none of it gold-plated legalism any way you slice it condemning God's people of sin when there was no sin committed no law of God had been broken just the laws of legalistic religious men last week there was a very bad wreck seventy-five five miles west of San Antonio Texas I tell you when I saw that church van and I saw that truck from Texas colliding head-on I thought about how many times I had taken I have taken my senior adults and my smaller churches out going on try I went to Texas all the time in Texas I was the driver and we'd go see the Zale years down in Tyler and we'd go see the dogwoods over in Palestine they didn't call it Palestine they call it Palestine and we I've gone with him we got I took him to see the Christmas lights in Fort Worth one night I got so turned around and I lived in Fort Worth I got turned around the interstate I was going towards Stephenville Texas if you know your geography in Texas that's going south and Lake Dallas and Denton back up north I was going the wrong way I'll never forget I was in that van and I said and I just hollered back this there's about 12 older ladies back there just having a time they were cackling just having a great time and I said I'm lost and one of them their spokesman said we don't care we got money keep driving preacher and I said under my breath well I'm going home I'm gonna find some how to go back home but I can't tell you how many times I've driven a van like that and the victims were riding on this church bus from First Baptist Church New Braunfels Texas and a 20 year old young man kept swerving repeatedly off the road out of his Lane and he killed 13 people do you know why he was swerving he admitted it here's his words I'm sorry I'm sorry now listen I was texting I was texting 13 people died because a 20 year old boy would not stay in his lane because he was texting when you drive you're supposed to drive in your lane the goal is to stay in your lane if you drive across the road if you swerve get into somebody else's Lane you're supposed to not do that you can hit another car head-on what's the point legalism is getting out of your lane the lane for Christians is the Word of God and we need to stay in the lane stay in the word if you go to the right that's legalism you add to the Word of God if you go to the left that's liberalism you take away from the Word of God and both are condemned both in the Old Testament and the New Testament Bible says in Deuteronomy 4 verse 2 you shall not add to the word which I am commanding you nor take away from it that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you same thing in revelation 22 verses 18 and 19 this is the last chapter of the Bible I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book if anyone adds to them God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are written in this book again liberalism is taking away from what the Bible says legalism is adding to what the Bible says both are getting out of the lane of Scripture liberalism is swerving out of the lane of Scripture to the left legalism is swerving out of the lane of Scripture to the right either way sooner or later you're gonna have a deadly wreck just like that 21 year old boy Texas that killed 13 people his life will never be the same I'm not a judge I'm not the jury but he will probably serve most of his life in the penitentiary in Texas it's very good chance just because he was texting and it's not a sermon on texting but it is a sermon on you need to stick with Scripture the Pharisees were driving outside of the lane of Scripture they were adding to the Word of God and that is destructed they were in the destructive lane on the right of Scripture called legalism they added to the Word of God and when you do that you endanger yourself and you endanger other people don't add to what God says amen belong there don't you hate it when somebody has to finish what you say doesn't that bother you you say something then they just serve well that just wasn't good enough so they add a little bit to it and it's keep on well God doesn't like it God's Word is yes and amen it is finished when he says something that really covers the gamut you need to understand it's not for you to add to it don't do it and I'm telling you we as Baptist we as conservatives of the Baptist we hate liberalism but a lot of times we foster legalism we don't want to take away from the Word of God but all we kind of like to add to it every once in a while and I'm telling you God doesn't need your help writing his word leave it as is take it as it's written just obey it don't add to it legalism tries to condemn us with sin number two legalism must be countered with Scripture it condemns us tries to with sin and it must be countered with Scripture the only way to answer legalism is with the scripture that it was added to that's all you can do look at verse 3 that's exactly what Jesus did and I know that you know Jesus don't mess with Jesus Jesus knows how to argue way better than you do Jesus can out debate you or anybody else he can even out debate the devil he's the only one and the Bible says here he does this but he said to them have you not read don't you know that that was just a little punch there for them just a little dig there a little bit have you not read all they were so proud of how they had read the law and they were proud of how they had read the oral tradition of the law they oh they love Jesus loved to say this to Pharisees have you not read what David did when he became hungry he and his companions oh they prided themselves in being biblical scholars and said hey you hadn't read the book you don't know the text you don't know the word all you know is your little tradition I want you to reread the Old Testament Scriptures he knew the Bible better than they did they'd been adding rules to it so long that they couldn't recognize Scripture from their tradition when David and his companions became hungry in the Old Testament the Bible says in verse 4 how he entered David had entered into the house of God they ate the consecrated bread this is the temple bread this is the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him but for the priests alone there's the question Jesus is asking he knows the answer he's trying to make a point David and his companions were fleeing from wicked Saul a Jewish priest named ahem elec allowed David and his men to eat the sacred show bread that was used to worship the Lord even though the Scriptures said that only the Jewish priests could eat that show bread Jesus was pointing out that human need was greater and more important to God than legalistically interpreting the Scriptures is how I don't understand okay let's let you know I think you know that I do my best to try to drive the speed limit I set my cruise and I get accused of being a legalistic lizard you're not illegal if you obey the law you're and I just said you're not illegal as' if you obey the law I saw a guy the other day he said on Twitter he said well you know I think it's legalistic if it's fifty five to drive 55 if I want to drive fifty eight I know the police won't give me a ticket so I just think any if I Drive fifty eight I'm not being Oh disobeying God or anything like that I think he's just as foolish as he can be but you know what I'm not judge let him answer to God and when he gets to heaven and God rebukes him that'll be cool all right with me so I Drive the speed limit now let me say this to you would I ever not drive the speed limit let me tell you something if one of my children was hurt and I was having to make it quickly to the hospital look at me I'm not driving the speed limit human need comes over those kind of things and that's what Jesus is saying here when it comes to somebody being hungry are you making some big deal about a little picky laws here people are more important than legalism people are more important than rules I'm not giving you a license to go out there and say well you know what I'm more important than the rules so I don't have to keep no I'm not talking about I'm not talking about antinomianism I am talking about though legalism Jesus gave another another illustration look at verse five or have you not read in the law he digs them a little bit more about their ignorance of Scripture that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath Sabbath and Ernie are not innocent and are innocent what's he talking about the priest had to work on the Sabbath let me tell you something if it is a sin to work on Sunday I am in trouble and these priests they're part of the Jewish people and they're told don't you work on Sunday but the Bible says that they did work on Sunday the Old Testament text tells us in Deuteronomy 28 9 through 10 that they were commanded to sacrifice on the Sabbath and if you know anything about the sacrificial system having to kill those animals dress those out that was hard work and yet they were a preform it so he points out to them there's inconsistencies and Jesus would point out other entities said you know if you've got an animal it falls into a ditch you'll get that animal out on a Sabbath but here I am when I heal somebody you fuss at me because I'm healing on the Sabbath you are inconsistent you don't understand that humans are a lot more important than animals you're more concerned about your animals than you are about people God is saying human need is what we need to be about loving God and loving said out loud people people people people that's what God is interested in I just read this this morning now these are the Sadducees Jesus was dealing with Matthew 22 verse 23 says on that day some Sadducees who say there is no resurrection well you can tell out of the gate they're not doing very good are they they came to Jesus and questioned him asking teacher Moses said if a man dies having no children his brother his next of kin shall marry his wife raised up children for his brother now there were seven brothers with us and the first married and died and having no children left his wife to his brother so also the second and the third down to the seventh how'd you like to be number seven marrying that woman something's going on there she must have been killing them I don't know what was going on verse 27 last of all the woman died in the resurrection therefore whose wife of the seven will she be for they all had married her but jesus answered and said to them you're mistaken notice he digs at them again you're you don't understand the Scriptures nor the power of God for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but they are like angels in heaven but regarding the resurrection of the Dead have you not read there he's he just digs them again have you not read what that was spoken to you by God I am the God of Abraham god of Isaac and the God of Jacob he is not the god of the dead he is the god of the living I am the God he said I am right now the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob he's not the god of the dead but of the living in other words people have been resurrected God himself said I am right now the god of these people and he said he's not the god of the dead but of the living when the crowds heard this they were astonished at his teaching jesus corrected them with Scripture nowadays you've got to live by Scripture you can't believe just live by what you think or what other people think I believe in racial reconciliation and you know nowadays if you believe in that you can be accused of being a Democrat but I also believe in sanctity of human life I believe abortion is killing a child and I if you nowadays if you oppose abortion you'll be accused of being a Republican I believe that all Christians should support both racial reconciliation like I talked about this morning in my sermon and also the sanctity of human life particularly for the unborn these are not political issues these are scriptural issues this is something that all of us need to say the final authority in all of life is the Word of God let's don't be legalistic let's don't add rules to the scriptures let's don't be liberals and take away rules that come from the scriptures that's why we play such a premium on reading the Word of God hearing the Word of God memorizing the Word of God teaching the Word of God singing the Word of God preaching the Word of God praying the Word of God because there's power in the Word of God the will of God is in the Word of God the power of God is in the Word of God and if we want to know God what he has to say about something we just have to read the Bible and we'll need all that we need to know you just stick with Scripture let man say what he wants to you just stay with the Bible legalism has to be countered with Scripture legalism tries to condemn us with sin legalism must be countered with Scripture one more thing legalism is conquered by the Savior Jesus is gonna blow away this legalism right now look at verse 6 but I say to you I love that I would encourage you to go read the Sermon on the Mount Matthew five six and seven and see how many times Jesus said but I say to you just highlight in your Bible it will absolutely astonish you you have heard that it was said but I say to you just go read then go read that in Matthew five six and seven he says it here but I say to you that's something greater than the temple is here he's talking about himself I am greater than the temple I'm the one that the temple is all about the temple everything in the temple everything in the tabernacle pointed to me I am the focus of the temple someone something is greater the temple is here it's the kingdom of God and what he was saying in effect was this temple is not going to be around much longer in the year 70 AD it was destroyed by the Romans Titus came in with his army from Rome and just destroyed the whole thing and the Jews have never had a temple since because God says I don't dwell in buildings made by hands I dwell in redeemed humanity and something greater than the temple was there verse 7 but if you had just known what this means and he quotes from Hosea 6:6 I desire compassion and not a sacrifice you would not have condemned the innocent you condemned my disciples they were innocent and it's because you didn't understand the scriptures that you're so proud of saying that you understand Hosea 6:6 says that God's primary desire was love for him and for one's fellow man I desire compassion rather than a sacrifice you think that all religion is is cutting up animals burning animals being so legalistic with what you do with the blood and all that you think that that's salvation somehow and all of that religion all of your work yeah and here's the deal they would do that so meticulously and then they would live like the devil through the week they treat people horribly they'd steal they commit adultery they do all these other things and then they would turn around and go back and sacrifice their little animal God says I desire compassion not your sacrifice Jesus said his disciples were innocent they'd not committed any sin even though the Pharisees condemned them Jesus said God does not condemn them and then he lowers the supersonic boom on them in verse 8 the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath now let me just read to you the fourth of the Ten Commandments here it is here it is let's all read it out loud it's right there on the screen very short remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy you say what was Jesus saying when he said the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath here's what he was saying look at me Jesus was saying something greater than the Sabbath is here I am Lord of the Sabbath you think that getting physical rest is the epitome of what it means to obey the Sabbath but I want you to know that the Sabbath was pointing to me the Sabbath was pointing to me because the only way you can get real rest is to have spiritual rest rest is not about observing something on a day rest is about giving your life to me letting me be your Lord and Savior and letting me be your abiding rest when you rest in me when you enter in to a relationship with me then your rest doesn't come from obeying some Sabbath or e rules no your rest comes from me being in you come unto me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you say that loud with me rest here's what Jesus is saying you come to me you no longer have to keep the Sabbath I am the Sabbath I'm the rest that's why we don't worship on Saturday I could argued with that man in the grocery store but you know what most arguments like that don't really go most people like that are convinced and you will not change their mind so just leave him along if they're open to talk about it talk about but I could tell he was not there to ask a question he was there with an agenda but I want you to know that we are not Sabbatarians and the reason we worship on Sunday is because something really good happened on a Sunday Jesus rose from the dead Paul emphasized this himself Paul said in Romans 14 five and six one person regards one day above another another regards every day alike he's talking about Christians now each person must be fully convinced in his own mind he who observes the day observes it for the Lord he who eats does it for the Lord for he gives thanks to God he who eats not for the Lord he does not eat and give thanks to God then he says in Colossians 2:16 and 70 therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day things which are a mere shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to Christ look at me it's not about not working on the Sabbath it's about resting spiritually in Jesus that he is your all in all everything you need to go to heaven don't worry about what day it is I know this is freaking some of you out all right but don't worry about it some of y'all said what about the blue law what about all that can I make a statement when I was young I remember people in the church getting so angry at people that worked on Sunday oh they were so high and mighty they were so holy you shouldn't work on Sunday you shouldn't break the Sabbath well first of all Sonny's not the Sabbath so you got one problem just a little one you know you shouldn't work on the Lord's Day but those same people would go out to eat somebody had to fix their meal somebody had to work and fix their meal somebody had to work and serve their meal somebody had to work and at the cash register our money for their meal and then somebody else had to work to clean up their mess now they didn't have a problem with that but they had a problem with anybody working on Saturday at me pharisaical hypocrites pharisaical legalistic hip Chris I mean if we really didn't believe in working on Sunday let's turn these lights off somebody's down there at MLGW right now so we can have lights I'm glad they're there I am you say you've lost your mind no I have we don't realize how legalism can slip in and it is death to real biblical Christianity I want to encourage you don't you be a liberal you say Amen I'm never gonna take away from the Word of God look at me that's a ditch on the left you stay in your lane but don't you be a legalist don't add to the Word of God that's a ditch on the right and the last time I checked it doesn't matter if you run off the road on the left or the right you're still out of your lane out of the lane of Scripture let's just stay in the Word of God let's follow the Lord and let's don't worry about it the next time you see somebody walking through a field on Sunday and they pick a little grain and putting their mouth just say did you pray for that right before you ate it amen that's all you got to say all right let's don't be legalist amen amen let's thank the Lord for speaking to us tonight all right [Applause]

Channel: Bellevue Baptist Church

Views: 11,255

Rating: 4.77665 out of 5

Keywords: The Bondage of Legalism, Pastor Steve Gaines, Bellevue Baptist Church, Bellevue Memphis, Bellevue Church, Steve Gains, Bellview, Bellvue

Id: GQL7Ubrl5Kg

Length: 32min 35sec (1955 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 06 2017