The Legalism Trap

Religion is a dangerous thing.

Religion is a dangerous thing. Religion can be physically and spiritually lethal. Religion can kill and destroy. It certainly seeks control over our lives and over our very existence. The gravest dangers we face, personally, corporately as a church, and nationally, are religious in nature. Just because you attend a church that meets in a building with a steeple doesn't mean you're exempt from the danger.

Our entire world is divided not by political ideology, but by religious ideology. You have Islam and all its sects. You have Judaism and its sects. You have the eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Taoism. You have Christian sects including Catholicism, Protestantism, and Mormonism. You have European secularism and atheism that has spread to Canada and now to parts of the United States. Think about it. China, Iran, Israel, Russia, Germany, and the United States are all are religiously divided.

Religion is not neutral. It's a system that seeks to order, control, or legislate every aspect of your life. Some might argue that secularism isn't really a religion. But secularism behaves like a religion. Secularism uses political correctness, tolerance, health care, the environment, and concerns about public safety to control the moral dialogue in our country. "You can say this, but not that. That's hate speech. You can teach this, but not that. Your children can eat this, but not that. You can build here, but not there." Look how the secularists are legislating that Catholic insurers provide contraception and birth control. Secularism is colliding with religion.

Don't think for a moment that secularism or any religion is neutral. These are systems that seek control over every aspect of our lives and existence. I said all this because you cannot be neutral about religion. It matters more than anything, both for this life and for the life to come.

This morning I want to evaluate your religion using seven questions. These seven questions come out of 1 Timothy 4:1-10. The reality is that whether you are a Christian or a secularist, you follow someone. Maybe it's a pastor, elder, or church figure. Maybe it's a teacher or college professor. Maybe it's a political figure, an artist, an actor, a singer or songwriter, a talking head, a radio personality, or a news personality. We're all being influenced by someone, whether we acknowledge it or not. So here is the first question to ask about the person you follow.

Who does he follow?

Look at 1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV). "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

This verse tells us that we are actively being engaged (and influenced) by the spiritual realm. Just because something sounds spiritual, or feels spiritual, doesn't mean that it is good. Here is what I mean.

Throughout history, the Spirit of the living God has actively engaged creation. In Genesis 1:2 (NIV) it says that during creation, "...the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." In 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV) were told how the prophets of old spoke as, "...they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." In Matthew 3:16 when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove, confirming his messianic identity as the Christ, as the Son of God. In Acts 1 the early Church was told to wait upon the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the New Testament the high call of the Christian is to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, be led by the Spirit, be filled by Spirit, and listen to the Spirit. We are not to quench the Spirit's fire, and we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the authentic voice of the living God. Throughout the gospel of John, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth because he does not and cannot lie. See John 3:5, John 4:23, John 14:17, John 15:26, and John 16:13. The acid test for whether something is of the Spirit of God is whether it proves to be true. God cannot lie, nor can his Spirit.

But there are other spirits. 1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV) speaks of, "...deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." This is why 1 John 4:1 (NIV) says, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Here is my point. We don't test our beliefs. We don't have a clue where or from who our beliefs or our life's philosophy originates. We blindly trust authorities without ever exploring where their beliefs originated.

This is why Paul would say, "Follow my example as I follow Christ." Christ was Paul's authority! This is why Mark 1:12 (NIV) describes Jesus being, "sent out" into the wilderness by the Spirit upon his baptism. Jesus was anointed with, filled with, driven by, and led by the Holy Spirit. Who are you being led by? Do you know?

Does the Spirit of Christ have your ear? You'd better think about it. Here is a word of warning. Not every pastor or church leader is listening to the Spirit of God. Some are preaching the doctrines of demons and evil spirits despite sounding spiritual, and despite the experiences they boast about.

1 John 4:2-3 (NIV) says, "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God." This brings us to our second question.

What is the character of the person who would influence us?

Now suppose a deceiving spirit wanted to exploit a man. What kind of man would he exploit? A lying spirit would look for one whose life is a lie, whose conscience is seared, and who is unresponsive to God's Holy Spirit. 1 Timothy 4:2 (NIV) warns, "Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

Here is a scary reality. The more we resist the Holy Spirit, the more open we become to being deceived and being used by demons to deceive others. The Holy Spirit never speaks through liars. This is why in 1 Timothy 3 Paul emphasizes the character of church leaders. If they are authentically led by the Spirit of God, they will reflect the holy character of God. Otherwise, ignore them!

Isn't it tragic how we ignore the character of those we're readily influenced by? An elder must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, a good manager of his family, not conceited, and of good reputation. Do any of these words describe the individuals you are most influenced by?

Do he control or does he influence?

1 Timothy 4:3 (NIV) says, "They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth."

Be wary of those who seek to control you. A tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny. That is true whether the tyrant is religious or a secularist.

Religious tyranny was the catalyst for the entire Protestant reformation. The Catholic Church had grown corrupt. If you wanted forgiveness, or your marriage annulled, or had a dead relative you wanted saved, you had to cough up the cash! One of the ways the papacy gained such power was by keeping people ignorant of the scriptures. But when Luther translated the Bible from Latin, which few people spoke, into German, the language of the people, it brought a tremendous backlash. People saw the truth.

Secular tyrants do the same. They will offer you any hope you want in exchange for power and control, and they love money. You can have your healthcare, but you can't pack a school lunch, drink soda at lunch, or get a Happy Meal. The pretext for secular tyranny is phony science and phony economics that is so complicated we just have to blindly trust it. It's what the Catholic Church did and still does. They maintain that the Bible is so complicated that the people should just obey Church leaders, not read it for themselves.

The Spirit of God doesn't control, manipulate, or co-opt our will. He woos us. He teaches us. This is why it's a requirement for elders to be able to teach! Leaders aren't to coerce the will. We're to teach the mind, cultivate understanding, woo the heart, engage, and dialogue. We are to exercise influence, not control. There is a difference.

The tyrant doesn't respect your freedom, but God always does, even if that freedom leads to death. The Spirit of truth sets you free. Tyrants and legalists bury you with regulations. They make you ignorant in order to control you. Beware.

What is his attitude?

1 Timothy 4:4-5 (NIV) says, "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

There is a deep abiding joy that always accompanies sincere faith and true obedience. If you are living within God's will, there will be joy. A spirit of thanksgiving will pervade your life. But suppose a religious tyrant says, "All true Christians must suck on sour lemon drops. You must use my version of the Bible, sing my songs, dress to my standards, and hold my pet doctrines in order to be saved." When we go beyond the scriptures, what happens? Suddenly everyone's face puckers up, and there's no joy, and everyone is sour! A lot of Christians have sour faces!

1 Timothy 4:5 speaks of consecrating everything by the word of God and prayer. It's enough for a person to obey the Holy Spirit, who convicts us all in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. It's enough that you sincerely seek God's will in prayer and through a study of his scripture. It's enough that you live in truth before the Spirit of truth. The joy comes in trusting God's Spirit to change lives, instead of relying on the rules and regulations of legalism.

What are his relationships like?

1 Timothy 4:6 (NIV) says, "If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed."

I'd like just to make a quick observation. Every religious tyrant or legalist I've ever seen loves to snipe from afar. They never go to the people they're judging in order to love them, teach them, understand them, or walk with them. They just shoot! Bang! They are total cowards. The Pharisees would tie up huge burdens of guilt on people, and then never do anything to lift a finger to help them. Legalists in the Church do the same thing. They condemn, judge, get offended, and label folks without ever getting out of their pews or out of the church boardroom in order to serve others.

So check it out. It's not enough to see a fault. Christian duty demands more. How do you see the other? Do you see other people as your brother or sister? Do you care for them? But there is more. Do you remember what others did for you? Paul reminds Timothy that Timothy was brought up in the truths of the faith and in the good teaching that he followed.

If God's showing you a fault in your brother, it's because he wants you to get out of your pew, walk over to your offending brother, build a relationship, love him, lift him up in prayer, lift him up in the truth, teach him, and be a personal example to him.

Judging is a foolish waste of time. Be a brother or sister. That's what a good minister does. The reason you want to be anonymous is because you don't want to be scrutinized in return. You don't want to serve or love. It's because you're a hypocrite. Be true. And don't share your judgmental thoughts with me because I don't want to hear them. Go serve!

Is he growing in his faith?

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV) says, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

You will never find a perfect pastor, teacher, mentor, or parent. I'll keep this question short. Ask yourself, is the person you are following growing in godliness? Tyrants will strain a gnat while swallowing a camel. They will be legalistic in one aspect of the Christian life, while the rest of their life is a contradiction. The reality is that they aren't growing in grace, they aren't trusting Jesus is a personally costly way, they aren't growing in the fruit of the Spirit, they aren't serving others, and they aren't reaching the lost. But boy, do they tithe! They certainly always carry their Bibles! They always dress nice!

What is his focus, his gospel?

The word gospel means good news. What is the person's good news? Listen to his words. A tyrant and a legalist will mostly talk about rules, pet doctrines, and worthless things. They have a knack for diverting energy away from the true mission of the Church. But who should our focus be upon? For what should we labor and strive toward?

1 Timothy 4:9-10 (NIV) says, "This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."

It strikes me that the pretext for tyranny is salvation. The legalist wants to save us by his rules and through his controls. The secularist wants to save us by offering us hope and change. But neither put their hope in the living God. They all believe that their tyranny will create an eternal utopia. Yet it's God who is the savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

Let's keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.