This
last Sunday I preached from Colossians 2:16-23. It is a power packed
passage in which Paul is warning the church against false teachers
looking to ensnare them in a legalistic view of the Christian life.
These teachers were judging the Colossians for falling short of ultimate
spirituality and were looking to point to themselves as examples of all
that Christians were meant to be. Paul points them back to their union
with Christ and reminds them that every Christian has all that he or
she needs through their connection to the Head, the Lord Jesus. In
preaching that passage for our church I drew out three common tendencies
of legalism that we must all guard against, either from false teachers
or from dangerous thinking in our own hearts.
1. Legalism Misuses the Bible
Legalistic
teaching rarely abandons the Bible entirely, but rather picks certain
passages or commands and applies them without reference to their
Biblical context or other Scriptures that provide a balancing
perspective. For example, in the Colossian situation, the false
teachers were apparently emphasizing the calendar and dietary laws of
the Old Testament, but without referencing how the coming of the Lord
Jesus had fulfilled and transformed those particular regulations.
Almost all legalism will make use of Old Testament commands without
discussing how they are impacted by the coming of the Lord Jesus, or New
Testament commands without celebrating how they are fueled by our union
with Christ. We must not be impressed by a teacher who can merely
quote a Bible verse, but rather look for a person who can interpret the
entire Scriptures in connection to the person and work of Christ.
2. Legalism Misrepresents Maturity
For
the Colossian false teachers, maturity was defined by rigorous
practices of humility, transcendent spiritual visions and experience,
and the worship of angels–all without a central focus on union with
Christ. Most legalistic teachings will reference some aspect of
Biblical maturity, but will neglect to mention the source of true
maturity in Christ and will also smuggle in false practices or
exaggerated emphasis in the midst of their teaching. Humility is good.
A longing for powerful spiritual encounters with God is good. Defining
maturity by an exaggerated description of these commands and neglecting
the priority of union with Christ is deadly.
3. Legalism Manufactures Restrictions
In
this passage Paul quotes the slogans of the false teachers–”Do not
handle”, “Do not taste”, “Do not touch”–as a way of summarizing their
commands. The Bible is not reluctant to issue commands, and even
commands about very practical issues of real life–but legalism seeks to
manufacture additional commands and apply them with Bible-like authority
in the church. Legalism assumes that true maturity is more stringent
than the Bible in some area or other. We must believe that God knows
what He is doing and that He finds pleasure when we enjoy his gifts just
as he does when we refuse to idolize them.
As an additional note,
legalism is no respecter of sectors of Christianity–extra-biblical
standards can be manufactured regarding dietary choices and community
life, social action and devotional habits, evangelistic expectations
and domestic routine. All of us face the temptation to manufacture
commands that become a legalistic snare.
As an additional,
additional note, legalism can also creep into the passionate pleas of
the anti-legalist. Some anti-legalistic teachers can make it sound as
if true maturity is a race away from the imperatives of Scripture. This
is forbidding what God has given his people to enjoy–the freedom to
obey His Word. It informs Christians who still struggle but who neglect
the study of Biblical commands that they “just don’t get the gospel
enough”–leaving them condemned for their insufficient view of Christ.
Yet God gave Biblical commands as a gift of grace that all Christians
should benefit from. Failing to encourage Christians to enjoy this gift
is manufacturing extra-Biblical restrictions. This too is legalism.
Legalism
will always lurk in the path of the Christian. Like a landmine, it
strikes indiscriminately against mature Christians and new believers.
Its greatest damage is done when it turns us away from confidence in
Christ and toward confidence (or condemnation) based on our character or
discipline. We must be watchful for the characteristics of legalism in
our own thinking and in the teaching we receive. Ultimately, rejoicing
in our union with Christ and the submitted freedom that we have in him
is our safety against legalistic landmines that will always border our
path.
