False Holiness: How Legalism Hurts Christians

 

False Holiness: When Legalism Hurts Christians and Destroys Relationships

There is a kind of holiness in the church world today that looks good, and people think that they look pure when they practice it, but it's actually not true biblical holiness. It doesn't actually help people. It only hurts people.

And I want to talk about this from my own personal experience.

My Experience With Churches That Tolerated Sin

When I first got saved, I went to a Pentecostal charismatic church. And this church held a theology that was very similar to Joseph Prince's theology. They thought it was possible for people to be genuine Christians and be living in unrepentant, habitual sin.

For example, you had people in the church who were going off to nightclubs, getting drunk, and sleeping around. You had people in the church living together and sleeping together outside of marriage, and yet they were being made to feel like they were still Christians.

When I went to talk to the pastor about it, the pastor made me feel as though I was doing the wrong thing. They were telling me that when I'm an older Christian, I'll come to a better understanding of things.

Then I went and visited other Pentecostal charismatic churches, and I found that those ones were the same. I'm not saying that all Pentecostal charismatic churches are like this, but these are the ones that I visited. They were very much like this.

And so I really struggled with it, and I started listening to preachers like Paul Washer, John MacArthur, and David Wilkerson. I started leaving that movement and fellowshipping with Christians who were more serious about being holy, more serious about being faithful to God, and being obedient to God's Word.

But over time, these people, and perhaps even myself, started to become a little bit legalistic.

When Personal Convictions Become Legalism

They started having these personal convictions, which is fine. It's fine for you to read the Word and to have your own personal convictions about what the Scriptures are saying. But they started looking down upon others for not holding those particular convictions.

And we're not talking about things that are obviously wrong, obvious sins. We're talking about things that are disputable matters.

For example, should women wear headscarves in church? Do women have to wear dresses? Are they allowed to wear jeans, or do they have to wear dresses? Do these dresses have to be all the way down to their ankles?

Are women allowed to engage in conversation with other Christians, other men in the church, when we're talking about the things of God, or should they just be quiet and listen?

Is it wrong to go on holidays, spend money, and have a good time? Do you have to ask the father's permission to marry his daughter?

All these different things where people had their personal convictions, and they were looking down on and judging others for not sharing those convictions.

And over time, this sort of legalism didn't promote holiness. What it promoted was a judgmental attitude towards others, a sense of self-righteousness, looking down upon others. It pushed people away from each other, and it didn't help people. It hurt people.

And I think the book of Romans addresses this particular issue.

What Does Romans 14 Say About Disputable Matters?

If you look in the book of Romans, chapter 14, beginning at verse 1, Paul seems to be addressing this very thing. He says:

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” — Romans 14:1

Notice here that he's talking about disputable matters. He's not talking about obvious sins like adultery, fornication, drunkenness, and things like this. He's talking about disputable matters.

And then he gives an example:

“One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” — Romans 14:2–4

Notice here in this passage that Paul is talking about disputable matters, matters where there is genuine disagreement among Christians who are pursuing holiness and seeking to be faithful to the Word of God.

And he says, look, when it comes to disputable matters, don't look down on someone who doesn't share your particular conviction, and don't condemn someone who has their own particular convictions.

This is how Paul says we are to handle differences of opinion when there is genuine room for dispute on the subject.

He gives another example. It says this in verse 5:

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” — Romans 14:5

Notice here in this passage that Paul says that each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

See, when you look down on someone for not sharing your conviction, or you condemn them, or you make them feel, either by your words or by your actions, by the way you treat them, as though they're not quite as holy as you or they're in some kind of sin, you're putting pressure on them to conform.

When you make them feel that way and you make them conform, they're not conforming because they're being fully convinced in their own mind. They're conforming because of the pressure that you're putting on them.

They're not looking at the Word of God and reaching the same conclusion as you and therefore complying. They're being made to feel as though they have to comply or people will look down on them. People will judge them. People will say bad things about them.

And that's simply wrong.

Straining Out a Gnat and Swallowing a Camel (Matthew 23:23–24)

Oftentimes, these people strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. We see this in Matthew chapter 23, and I think this passage is really relevant. Matthew chapter 23, beginning at verse 23, Jesus says:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” — Matthew 23:23–24

Now, Jesus is talking about tithing here. These Pharisees and religious leaders were living under the Mosaic Law in the land of Israel.

He says, “You give a tenth,” which they're supposed to do, “of your spices, mint, dill and cumin, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy and faithfulness.”

Notice here that these people are tithing on their spices. They're looking at their little herb garden and they're saying, “Oh, we better separate 10% of all of these little spices to make sure that we're tithing.”

But then they're neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness, and dare I say, love.

A lot of the time, these people who force their own personal convictions on disputable matters upon others lack love. They lack mercy. They lack grace.

And they strain out a gnat and swallow a camel, and they hurt people.

True Biblical Holiness Is Not Legalism

This kind of legalism isn't helpful. It hurts people, and it destroys relationships. It destroys long-term relationships. It even destroys families.

And it's a terrible kind of legalism that you need to run a million miles away from.

There's nothing wrong with pursuing holiness, being serious about obedience to God's Word, or having strong personal convictions. But there's a difference between being serious about holiness and looking down upon others because they don't share your convictions on disputable matters.

Paul makes it very clear in Romans 14 that we shouldn't condemn one another over these things. Each person should be fully convinced in his own mind.

And when we start pressuring people to conform to our personal convictions, when we make them feel as though they're somehow less holy than us, we're not helping them to pursue holiness. We're promoting a judgmental attitude and a sense of self-righteousness.

And as Jesus warned the Pharisees, we can become so concerned about these smaller matters that we neglect the weightier matters of God's Word: justice, mercy, faithfulness, and love.

That's not true biblical holiness.

What Are the Fiery Darts of the Devil? (Ephesians 6:16)

 

What Are the Fiery Darts of the Devil? (Ephesians 6:16 Explained)

In Ephesians 6:16, the Bible talks about the fiery darts of the devil. It says:

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” — Ephesians 6:16

I want to talk about these fiery darts because I think this topic is a lot more important than what many people realise.

Now, the text here doesn't exactly tell us what these fiery darts are, but if you do a bit of cross-referencing and look through the Scriptures, you can find out pretty quickly what fiery darts, fiery arrows, or arrows in general actually represent.

I want to take you through a number of passages.

Fiery Arrows, Lying Lips and Deceitful Tongues (Psalm 120:1–4)

The first passage is Psalm 120, beginning at verse 1. We're going to read from verses 1 through to 4. It says:

“In my distress, I cried to the Lord and He heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given to you? Or what shall be done to you, you false tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior with coals of the broom tree.” — Psalm 120:1–4

Here in this passage, we can see that the psalmist is calling for God to deliver him from his distress. And he's distressed about the fact that there are people out there with lying lips and deceitful tongues speaking against him, seeking to do him harm.

And in this passage, these lying lips and deceitful tongues are associated with the sharp arrows of the warrior and the burning coals of the broom tree. It's almost as if these arrows are on fire, just like Ephesians 6:16, where it talks about the fiery darts of the devil.

Now, the arrows and burning coals here may refer specifically to the judgment that comes upon the deceitful tongue. Nevertheless, notice the connection between deceitful speech and the imagery of arrows.

So I think that this helps us understand what we're looking at when we're looking at the fiery darts of the devil. It's the devil's lies and the devil's slander. Perhaps it's the devil's lies being whispered into our own ears, or perhaps it's the devil whispering lies into other people's ears about us.

Let me show you another passage.

False Accusations Are Compared to Sharp Arrows (Proverbs 25:18)

Proverbs 25:18 says:

“A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.” — Proverbs 25:18

Now, this is really interesting because we can see that a false witness's lies are compared to a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow. They're fired at you.

And this is exactly what Satan does. Satan is the father of lies and is the accuser of the brethren.

There's no doubt that one of his tactics is to make false accusations against us in our own ears, but also in the ears of others.

And sometimes it comes when you least expect it.

The Wicked Shoot Their Arrows in Secret (Psalm 11:2)

If you look at Psalm 11:2, it says:

“For look, the wicked bend their bow. They make their arrow on the string that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.” — Psalm 11:2

And have a look at Psalm 64:1–4. It says:

“Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words—that they may shoot in secret at the blameless. Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.” — Psalm 64:1–4

Notice here in this passage that the wicked fire off these arrows from a secret, hidden place. They fire off these arrows when you least expect it. Suddenly, these arrows are being fired towards you.

And this is exactly what the devil tries to do.

You're in the middle of serving the Lord. You're in the middle of marching forward for the kingdom of God. And suddenly the devil tries to fire off these false accusations against you, or he tries to bring up your past sins and say, “Remember this. Remember this sin that you did.”

And he hurls off all of these fiery darts in an attempt to destroy you or stop you from advancing forward in the mission that God has given you.

And that's why the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:16 to take up the shield of faith.

What Is the Shield of Faith in Ephesians 6:16?

Now, what is the shield of faith?

Well, the shield of faith is faith in Jesus Christ.

First of all, faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

If you've repented of your sins and put your faith in Christ, all of your sins have been forgiven.

The devil may accuse you, but his accusations cannot overturn the forgiveness that you have received through Jesus Christ.

And that's why we need to have faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

But also, we need to have faith that Christ is with us.

You know, when you go off into battle, you want to have faith that the commander is with you and that you've got a good commander leading you.

And we as Christians need to have faith that Christ is with us, that Christ is leading us into battle.

Jesus promised us that He would be with us always, even to the end of the age.

And so, the way that we quench these fiery darts of the devil is to lift up our faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith that He died on the cross for our sins, and faith that He's with us all the way.

How to Quench the Fiery Darts of the Devil

When we look at all of these passages together, we can see that the Bible repeatedly uses arrows to describe the lies, bitter words, and false accusations that are directed against the righteous.

And I think that this gives us an important insight into what Paul is talking about in Ephesians 6:16.

The devil is the father of lies and the accuser of the brethren. One of the ways he attacks Christians is through lies and false accusations, whether those accusations are directed at us personally or spoken about us to others.

Sometimes these attacks come when we least expect them, when we're in the middle of serving the Lord and advancing forward in the mission that God has given us.

But the Bible tells us to take up the shiel