The Dangers of Legalism – Colossians 2:6-19
Before we focus on the text under study, let’s say a word about “legalism” because when we see these challenges facing the Colossians, we can accurately define (at least part of them) as “legalism.”
But, let’s get a biblical definition of legalism. Man would define legalism something like this: “Giving too much attention to laws and not relying enough on grace.” The idea is that we can spend too much attention on obedience and forget about grace. Now, let me be as clear and as concise as I can be.
God, in the Old Testament, never criticized the Israelites for being too concerned about law or too concerned about obedience! Jesus never criticized the Jews for being too concerned about law or too concerned about obedience! Never, never, never, never, never! You cannot be too concerned about obeying the laws of God! You simply cannot.
Ask Adam and Eve, Moses, Nadab and Abihu, King Saul, and King David if they should have been a little more concerned about obeying the laws of God.
Ask Uzzah, Uzziah, Ananias and Sapphira if they should have been a little more concerned about obeying the laws of God. You cannot be too concerned about obeying the laws of God! Jesus never criticized someone for being too concerned about the laws of God. But He did criticize people for lawlessness.
Yet, Jesus did criticize the Jews for binding their own opinions on others as if they were the laws of God. That is the sin of the Pharisees. People love to criticize the Pharisees for being legalistic but too often, we twist the criticism Jesus made of the Pharisees, making Him say things He did not say so that we can justify our own laws that we want to make.
What did Jesus criticize in the Pharisees? That is, what is the biblical definition of “legalism”? Let’s take a look. Read Matthew 23. This is the most extended criticism Jesus makes of the Pharisees. Let’s take a look at three verses in this chapter: 23:2-3, 23. Will we actually listen to what Jesus says or are we going to create a Jesus who tickles our ears? Jesus says that what the Pharisees taught, that is, the Law of Moses, the Jews were supposed to do! Obedience is not legalism!
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In verse 23, Jesus was not condemning the Pharisees for tithing the mint, dill, and cumin! He was criticizing the Pharisees for ignoring justice, mercy, and faithfulness! They were focusing on the physical act of tithing (which Jesus did not criticize) to the exclusion of these virtues – which He did criticize.
Now, let’s take a look at one more example of Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees before we turn to Colossians 2 tomorrow. That is in Matthew 15. In that passage, the Pharisees criticize the disciples of Christ for not washing their hands before they eat. The law of Moses said that if you touch a dead animal, you would be unclean and you would have to go through a ceremonial ritual in order to become clean. That was the law of Moses and Jesus always taught the Jews they had to obey the Law of Moses.
But the Pharisees decided that if you walked through the open market, you might touch an unclean animal and so they decided that you ought to always go through this ceremonial ritual of washing before you eat. That is legalism: Binding human doctrines as if they were from God. Biblical legalism is not being too concerned about God’s laws. Biblical legalism is binding man’s laws!
So, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 15:6-11.
Man’s doctrines will not make a man right in the eyes of God. You cannot be taught wrong and baptized right. No man will be in heaven because he did what another man told him to do. That is legalism. And as Jesus points out here, when you bind laws on man whose authority is only man, you make God’s teaching vain.
Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at Colossians 2:6-19 and see what the dangers of legalism are.
–Paul Holland
