We are taking two weeks to wrap up the “Unmasked” series, continuing our deep dive in Romans.
BUT FIRST… The 2020 Hope Tree is underway right now!
We love the Hope Tree ministry, because it is just one more way we can “make the gospel relevant to our community.” We get to meet the needs of kids who’s homes we’ve been in, and who go to our local Glimer County schools. How awesome that God has allowed us to have relationships with these children right here in our own hometown!
If you didn’t get to stop by the Hope Tree to pick a child to support on Sunday, don’t worry! You can get a name digitally right here on our website! Gifts are due back by November 15, and are dropped off at the church.
Are You a Legalist?
The epitome of legalism was the Pharisee. How did Jesus feel about the Pharisees?
Can you remember some of the names he called them?
Read below what Jesus predicted for these legalists.
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
-Jesus, Luke 11:42-44 NLT
43 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. 44 Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”
Jesus hates legalism, because it attempts to gain favor with God or to impress our fellow man by doing certain things, but it ignores the condition of our hearts.
It builds up the external, while tearing down the internal. It majors on the minors, and minors on the majors. It focuses on my glory, rather than God’s glory.
Yet, so many believers are legalists… How can you tell? Here are my five ways to tell from this past Sunday. Talk about each of them for a moment with your group before I add another.
- You think God loves you, but doesn’t like you
- You play the comparison game
- Your private and public life don’t match up
- The world’s injustices aren’t important to you
- You live in a Christian bubble
Come on.. Talk about those for a minute or two.
Now let me add one more: You get angry when others get grace.
You know what I mean by this.. It is like the older brother of the prodigal son. When the wayward one finally returned, the father threw the biggest party ever! Everyone was partying, but when the older brother found out, he was decidedly NOT happy…
“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
Luke 15:28-30 NLT
I will just be honest and say that I would be jealous, also. Is that okay?
But doesn’t the older brother’s argument arise from legalism? Why or why not?
How did the father, who is the representative of God in this parable, respond?
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ”
Luke 15:31-32 NLT
I am sure this doesn’t affect you, does it? Have you ever responded to a grace-giving situation with anger or jealousy because it didn’t seem to match up with your legalistic measurements?
What about Jonah? God had called him to go to Ninevah. At first, the reader doesn’t know why Jonah resists, but after FINALLY obeying, and the people of Ninevah FINALLY repenting, Jonah admits his legalistic bent…
“Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
Jonah 4:2-3 NLT
Jonah was actually mad at God for loving, forgiving, and relenting from his judgment.
What if God called you to be like Him, and to show compassion and forgiveness to the inner-city rioters of recent months?
What would it be like for you to love that weirdo relative during this holiday season?
How can we better see others the way God sees them?