5. Luke 11:37–54 After Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee asked him to eat with him. Then Jesus came in and sat down at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus had not washed his hands before the meal. The Lord said to him, «You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and bowl, but inside you are full of greed and evil. You stupid people! The same one who did what is on the outside also did what is inside. So give what`s in your dishes to the poor, and then you will be completely pure. How terrible it is for you, Pharisees! You even give God a tenth of your mint, your street and all the other plants in your garden. But you fail to be fair to others and love God. These are the things you should be doing while continuing to do these other things. How terrible it is for you, Pharisees, because you like to have the most important seats in synagogues, and you like to be greeted with respect in the markets. How terrible it is for you, because you are like hidden graves that people walk on without knowing it.
One of the legal experts said to Jesus, «Master, if you say that, you also offend us. Jesus replied, «How terrible it is for you, you legal experts! You set strict rules that are very difficult for people to follow, but you yourself don`t even try to follow those rules. How terrible it is for you because you are building tombs for the prophets who killed your ancestors! And now you show that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for them! This is why God said in His wisdom, «I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some, and they will treat others cruelly. Thus, you who are alive now will be punished for the death of all the prophets killed since the beginning of the world, from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you that you who live now will be punished for all of them. «How terrible it is for you, you legal experts.
You have taken away the key to getting to know God. You yourselves did not want to learn, and you prevented others from learning. When Jesus left, the doctors of the law and the Pharisees began to confuse him, ask him questions about many things, and catch him saying something wrong. There is something childish and legal about churches where all saints adhere to exactly the same standards. When all lives begin to sink into the same form of denial and exercise of freedom, something is wrong. Legalism is a philosophical assumption that humans are evil beings by nature. No matter how outwardly pious legalism appears, it dishonors God by revealing a deep distrust of God. Stop and think about it for a minute. Why do men insist on putting agreements in writing? Why are legally valid contracts necessary? For one reason only: men are fallible. At best, we tend to forget the things we have committed to. In the worst case, we never intended to do them at all.
A legal contract gives one man a basis to force another to do what he promised. Do you really believe that God is so unreliable that we have to make a contract that binds Him? All biblical covenants are those initiated by God, not by men. And most of these alliances are unconditional; that is, they are not conditioned by any action of man, but only by the faithfulness of God himself. Legalism inherently implies that God is so unreliable that we must be sure to write Him in contractual form. It is much better to leave the blessings in the hands of the merciful One. One of the worst things about Christianity is legalism. Normally, sects need legalistic things for salvation. The reason it`s so bad is that it prevents people from seeing the gospel.
It puts a string on people. God saves us from the reductionism of such legalism, which anchors spirituality as a set of wooden laws and then says, «If you can do these six, sixteen, or sixty-six things, you will be pious.» Christianity, piety, is much more than a checklist. Being «in Christ» is a relationship, and like all relationships, it deserves disciplined preservation, but never legalistic reductionism. Can we correct those who deliberately rebel against God without being called legalists? 99 famous quotes and sayings about legalism you need to read. «It is customary to say that you can have a legalistic mind and a legalistic heart. But it is also too possible to have an evangelical leader and a legalistic heart. (94) The only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ alone and nothing else. True faith in Jesus Christ leads to the fact that He is a new creation. A new heart for Christ. You will grow in holiness and begin to want more of His Word. God works in the lives of true believers.
He will not allow his children to go astray. Sometimes you take a few steps forward and sometimes a few steps back, but there will be growth. There will be a change in your life. Many false converts sit in churches all day and do not grow up because they are not truly saved. Most people who call themselves Christians today don`t really know Christ. When we focus on following the rules, when we focus on accepting God through our efforts, when we focus on fulfilling the beliefs and standards of others, God becomes a dark killer and the living relationship we desire with Him becomes boring, distant, and difficult to bear.