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I found this article and found it helpful..
21 Important Bible Verses About Legalism
5. Luke 11:37-54 After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him. So Jesus went in and sat at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal. The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. You foolish people! The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. So give what is in your dishes to the poor, and then you will be fully clean. How terrible for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of even your mint, your rue, and every other plant in your garden. But you fail to be fair to others and to love God. These are the things you should do while continuing to do those other things. How terrible for you Pharisees, because you love to have the most important seats in the synagogues, and you love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. How terrible for you, because you are like hidden graves, which people walk on without knowing.” One of the experts on the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us, too.” Jesus answered, “How terrible for you, you experts on the law! You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey, but you yourselves don’t even try to follow those rules. How terrible for you, because you build tombs for the prophets whom your ancestors killed! And now you show that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for them! This is why in his wisdom God said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some, and they will treat others cruelly.’ So you who live now will be punished for the deaths of all the prophets who were killed since the beginning of the world from the killing of Abel to the killing of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell you that you who are alive now will be punished for them all. “How terrible for you, you experts on the law. You have taken away the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.” When Jesus left, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to give him trouble, asking him questions about many things, trying to catch him saying something wrong.
Quote from that article:
6. Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.
7. Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
8. Romans 3:25-28 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
21 Important Bible Verses About Legalism
5. Luke 11:37-54 After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him. So Jesus went in and sat at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal. The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. You foolish people! The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. So give what is in your dishes to the poor, and then you will be fully clean. How terrible for you Pharisees! You give God one-tenth of even your mint, your rue, and every other plant in your garden. But you fail to be fair to others and to love God. These are the things you should do while continuing to do those other things. How terrible for you Pharisees, because you love to have the most important seats in the synagogues, and you love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. How terrible for you, because you are like hidden graves, which people walk on without knowing.” One of the experts on the law said to Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us, too.” Jesus answered, “How terrible for you, you experts on the law! You make strict rules that are very hard for people to obey, but you yourselves don’t even try to follow those rules. How terrible for you, because you build tombs for the prophets whom your ancestors killed! And now you show that you approve of what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you build tombs for them! This is why in his wisdom God said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some, and they will treat others cruelly.’ So you who live now will be punished for the deaths of all the prophets who were killed since the beginning of the world from the killing of Abel to the killing of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I tell you that you who are alive now will be punished for them all. “How terrible for you, you experts on the law. You have taken away the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too.” When Jesus left, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to give him trouble, asking him questions about many things, trying to catch him saying something wrong.
Quote from that article:
6. Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.
7. Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
8. Romans 3:25-28 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
A
I am going to gather resources that I find helpful...
https://carm.org/what-is-legalism
Quoted from article:
In Christianity, legalism is the excessive and improper use of the law (10 commandments, holiness laws, etc). This legalism can take different forms. The first is where a person attempts to keep the Law in order to attain salvation. The second is where a person keeps the law in order to maintain his salvation. The third is when a Christian judges other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct that he thinks need to be observed
https://carm.org/what-is-legalism
Quoted from article:
In Christianity, legalism is the excessive and improper use of the law (10 commandments, holiness laws, etc). This legalism can take different forms. The first is where a person attempts to keep the Law in order to attain salvation. The second is where a person keeps the law in order to maintain his salvation. The third is when a Christian judges other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct that he thinks need to be observed
Thanks Ariel. All good posts on legalism.
I use this one when I think of legalism which is saying the same as your posts I believe.
Legalism - in the biblical sense of the word is any attitude or belief that human merit or self-effort can produce, prove, or preserve for oneself an acceptable standing with God.
Whenever our assurance of salvation rests upon "our" performance rather than upon the "promises" of God in Christ - we are in big trouble - we have fallen from grace operating in our lives like it is intended to do.
I use this one when I think of legalism which is saying the same as your posts I believe.
Legalism - in the biblical sense of the word is any attitude or belief that human merit or self-effort can produce, prove, or preserve for oneself an acceptable standing with God.
Whenever our assurance of salvation rests upon "our" performance rather than upon the "promises" of God in Christ - we are in big trouble - we have fallen from grace operating in our lives like it is intended to do.
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I'd venture to say that not ALL Pharisees were legalists, or as an entire sect. Certainly Jesus spoke out against Pharisees as ones who were tying on a burden to others that they weren't helping lift themselves.
Point of interest: Jesus told people to do what the Pharisees taught, but don't do what the Pharisees did. So I think that provides some insight to the Pharisees as a whole.
But that's just my own perception.
Point of interest: Jesus told people to do what the Pharisees taught, but don't do what the Pharisees did. So I think that provides some insight to the Pharisees as a whole.
But that's just my own perception.
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I agree...some Pharisees or members of the council were of a more noble attitude.
Here is Joseph which seems to say he was in the council.
Luke 23:50-51 (NASB)
[SUP]50 [/SUP] And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man
[SUP]51 [/SUP] (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
Then there was Nicodemus too.
John 3:1 (KJV)
[SUP]1 [/SUP]
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
He showed up with burial herbs for Jesus body.
John 19:39 (NASB)
[SUP]39 [/SUP] Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.
Here is Joseph which seems to say he was in the council.
Luke 23:50-51 (NASB)
[SUP]50 [/SUP] And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man
[SUP]51 [/SUP] (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
Then there was Nicodemus too.
John 3:1 (KJV)
[SUP]1 [/SUP]
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
He showed up with burial herbs for Jesus body.
John 19:39 (NASB)
[SUP]39 [/SUP] Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.
Legalism, I have seen this word used so many times by professing Christians seeking to continue in something that is clearly contrary to the word of God. Paul tells us that if we judge ourselves then God will not have to judge us, but if we do not judge ourselves then God will judge us(in this life). We walk by faith in God the Father through Jesus Christ our Savior, however, the world, the flesh, and the Devil, are striving to get us to stray away from God and sin. So we have to WALK THE LINE, that means we practice not breaking the Ten Commandments, not that such a practice is making us just before God, but because such a practice keeps us from the sin that so easily besets us. We also follow all the NT doctrine given to the church because by so doing we are staying in the will of God. So as Christians we have to be disciples(practicing that which God commands), but not Pharisees, working our way into Heaven by our own efforts.
Well, I'll explain it.
There were several assumptions about what the word meant. Bruce, as he often does, posted the actual Biblical meaning of the word as it was delivered to the listeners of that day.
Now, everyone knows and understands what that word actually means, and we will no longer be trying to convince new believers it means something else. There can only be one intention of the original authors when they wrote to the Jewish readers.
There were several assumptions about what the word meant. Bruce, as he often does, posted the actual Biblical meaning of the word as it was delivered to the listeners of that day.
Now, everyone knows and understands what that word actually means, and we will no longer be trying to convince new believers it means something else. There can only be one intention of the original authors when they wrote to the Jewish readers.