All About Jesus Part 5 “Legalism”
All About Jesus – Part 5
“Legalism”
Some people are rule ________________ while others are rule __________________.
Rules have often been a _______________ for human beings.
Rules can be most problematic if they _____________ a genuine ________________ with God.
Even Christianity, the only religion that even attempts to promote the idea of grace, can be ________________ by an overemphasis on ______________.
Colossians 2:11-23
11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[a] was put off when you were circumcised by[b] Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d]
Freedom From Human Rules
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Though the law was ______________ to the cross with Jesus it remains attractive for a couple of reasons.
- Rules help us to identify a _______________ ______________ by which we think we can obtain favor with God.
Rules help me to ____________ my commitment.
I’m not “_______ ______” for Jesus. I’m “__________ ____” for me.
- Since we write the rules we can ________________ the rules to fit our needs.
On the surface, rule following seems to require a ________ but in reality it requires ____________.
Rule following elevates _____________ above ______________.
When we engage in rule following only we sacrifice the ______________ for the ________________. (vs 17) These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
There is no real _______________ in the shadow.
The substance of the Christian experience is ______________.
The shadow has the ________________ of wisdom but there is no _______________ to the wisdom. (vs 23) Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Is your Christian experience full of ________________ or _________________?
God desires that you have _______________ to hold onto, or better, that _______________ is holding onto you.