Christ Must Rule My Life

If Jesus is Lord of All and Lord of my life, then He should rule in my life and we should not be ruled by rules and regulations. Paul points out that if the Colossian are not mindful of the place of Christ in their life and as their life, then they may be ruled not by His love or guidance but by the legalism of men. A legalism will then rob them of their best relationship with Jesus.

Legalism Robs Me - twice Paul says, “Let no man.” Let no man judge you in vs 16 and Let no many beguile you, defraud or trick you. In the first case they were making themselves subject to a men instead of to the Lord and in the second they were being tricked into thinking they were serving the Lord when in truth you have been robbed of your reward. These were spiritual confidence men, Satan’s salesmen, godless grifters. And they did not stop after the 1st century.

Paul spoke of this to the Galatians in one of the first epistle he wrote.

Galatians 4:9-11 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

To Timothy he wrote in warning to stand against teachers of these things

1 Timothy 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Legalism, Alive and Well

We could go into each specific instance that Paul mentions, meat, drink, holydays, new moons, sabbath day or the worship of angels or any other belief, or more importantly practice, that would supplant the proper place of the Lord, but it really doesn’t matter what the particular brand of legalism is. There will always be legalists, con men and women, telling us that we should do this or not do this in order to have more of Christ or be more of a Christian.

There is a fine line between serving and loving the Lord in the things I do and serving  and loving the things instead of the Lord. Taken to its extreme legalism is works for salvation, but to a believer legalism is losing sight of Jesus because we have stopped looking to Him and instead look to the things about Him. Instead of loving and living in the Lord, I begin to love and live in rules and regulations that I think make me a better believer but instead cause me to keep my eyes on a checklist of do's and don’ts rather than on the Lord.

I love being an independent Baptist. I love the heritage, I love the hymns, I love the simple directness of just doing what the Bible says I’m supposed to do. But being an independent Baptist is only good as far as it brings me to more clearly see and love my Lord. When I begin to define the quality of my relationship with Jesus by what I do then I diminish that relationship.

Legalism not only robs me, but...

Legalism Dethrones Jesus as Lord of My Life. As Paul said in Colossians 2:19 When this happens then I am, “not holding (fast to) the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” I am not honoring the Lord and the head of the church or the Lord of my life.

Legalism Resurrects Sin In My Life -  

 If I am saved then I am dead with Christ, a spiritual death that includes dying to the regulations of this world.  Colossians 2:20-22 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

These things are not eternal, they will pass like all commandments and teaching of men.

Legalism is a show, a pretense and nothing else.

Colossians 2:23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

How does legalism work? How does it creep into our lives and dethrone the Lord of All? Let me give you a humorous example.

A man has moved to a new town and was looking for a church to join. He went to the Episcopal church and said he was interested in joining. The vicar there told him that would be fine but first he had to answer a question to make sure he was worthy of the Episcopal church. The man said okay and the vicar asked him. “Where was Jesus born?” The man thought for a moment and then said, “Was it Tyler?” The vicar looked at him strangely and then said, “No, it wasn’t Tyler!” The man left. The same test was given in every church the man visited.

At the Methodist church, they asked him the same question, Where was Jesus born. He said, Jacksonville. They told him to come back later. At the Presbyterian church, the lady preacher asked and he guessed, “Longview.” She turned her back and walked away. Finally, he wandered into the Baptist church and asked about joining

The Pastor said they would be glad if he joined them as long as he was saved and scripturally baptized. The man said, "Do I have to answer a question about Bible geography or history? "No," the preacher said, "but if you have any question I can help you with just let me know." The man said, “Well yeah, Can you please just tell me where Jesus was born?” The pastor said, "Sure he was born in Palestine." The man slapped his head and said, “Oh, man I knew it was somewhere in East Texas!”

We can smile at that kind of legalism, but in the church real legalism isn’t funny, its dangerous in its constrictions and consequences.

I once heard a man preach that if you don’t go soul winning every Thursday and Saturday then you probably weren’t even saved. That’s legalism.

I have heard people say things like no child of God would come to church dressed like that or if you really loved the Lord, you’d cut your hair and shave your beard. That’s legalism.

Or maybe just things like, you can’t get saved unless you heard the Gospel out of the King James Version of the Bible. Or unless you speak in tongues or get baptized or keep the 10 commandments. Those are very much legalism. They set the parameters of the Lord loving you through rules, through legalism.

When that happens, you have been robbed and have been beguiled as Paul is warning the Colossians about here. Legalism has become your lord and the love of Jesus, the Lordship of Christ, is lost in the fog of regulation, rules and tradition.

Legalism is Not Personal Convictions.

Now, please understand, I’m not talking about standards or personal convictions and there is a difference between these and legalism.

Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

In the things that are not clearly set out in scripture as right and wrong, sin against God or obedience to God, and you are trying to honor God in your dress, your food, your grooming then you have the Bible’s blessing.

You feel only dresses should be worn by women, that’s your conviction. Then do that as a way of showing your love of the Lord. You feel men shouldn’t wear beards, then don’t grow a beard if you are doing it to please the Lord and not to appease the peer pressure of certain religious group. Cover your head, don’t cover your head, eat pork, don’t eat pork, wear a suit and tie to church, wear Wranglers to church. Just make sure you wear something and it is enough for modesty and do it in your heart to please the Lord, not show off your fancy clothes or your humility then you are not just okay, but you are A-okay.

It all comes back to what Paul has been saying throughout this letter. Our life must be all about Christ, or we diminish the Lord in our life.