Paul warned that there is one solution to legalism – knowing and living under the rulership of Jesus Christ, because he made us alive with Him having wiped out the requirements against us (Col. 2:11-15). So Paul continues don’t let someone cheat you from your reward by imposing commandments and doctrines of men on you (Col. 2:16-23). Therefore live by dependency on Christ, not man-made legalisms.
As you went over the questions on the back of the insert, did you understand the Laws of Liberty, Love, Sacrifice and Accommodation? Did you understand how they are related to the Law of Christ? And how they are not legalism? These are important to understand, because you can almost get the idea that “law” is a bad word. Context is key to understanding all principles of Scripture.
Legalism is not a word found in Scripture, like “trinity.” Legalism refers to any addition, subtraction, twisting, or distorting of Scripture established by man that focuses a person on the action rather than his relationship with Jesus Christ. We’ll look at this specifically on Sunday when we look at “What does Scripture teach about a legalist?” We’ll also see how any Christian can fall into legalism. Can you?
Shepherding Truth 