Free from Legalism

Note: The following devotional is slightly longer than usual, as it has been adapted from a recent sermon.

How would you define freedom? We typically think of freedom as being able to do whatever we want, as not being bound to a set of rules. 

However, rules are important. From an early age, we are taught rules that keep us safe and healthy. They serve as warnings against actions that would hurt us. For example, parents of young children are frequently reminding their children of rules or giving them new ones. 

“Don’t touch the stove top!”

“Wear a helmet when you ride your bicycle.”

“Look both ways before crossing the street.”

But while I think we would all agree that rules are important to an extent, we can also most likely recognize that rules are harmful in some cases. In Christianity, we often use the term legalism to describe this kind of dangerous rule-following. 

But what is legalism, exactly? John Piper defines it this way: “Legalism is the conviction that law-keeping is the ground of our acceptance with God.” 

Christians who support legalism believe that their salvation is based on how well they follow the law, the rules given in God’s Word. While you may say, “of course I don’t believe this! I know we’re saved by believing in Jesus,” legalism can creep into our lives in subtle ways. Maybe when you sin, you feel like you don’t deserve God’s love or forgiveness and have to make up for it with a bunch of good deeds. Maybe while we don’t realize it’s a part of our way of thinking, legalism lies under our actions. We try to be a “good Christian” and not do a bunch of things in order to make others, or even God, think that we are good enough to earn His love. 

Legalism is dangerous because it takes our eyes off of Jesus and what He has done for us and puts them on ourselves, our good works, and what we have done for God. 

In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul writes this to the church at Colossae: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” 

Most Biblical scholars agree that the things Paul mentions here are ethnic and religious rituals. They were dietary customs or practices that they conducted according to the calendar based on Jewish customs. Paul instructed the Christians not to let anyone judge them based on whether or not they followed these rules. They could not be excluded from God’s people based on whether or not they obeyed these parts of the law. 

These practices were important for the Israelites. God gave His people the law and wanted them to follow it. They did not keep the law perfectly, but they knew the standard of how they should live a holy life. 

But Paul is writing this in the New Testament. He writes this to Christians, meaning Jesus has come and died and risen again, and now, those who follow God are not accepted based on how well they obey a set of rules; instead, they are considered God’s people based on what Christ has done. Paul said just a couple of verses earlier (see Colossians 2:14) that the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands was set aside, nailed to the cross. 

But why are we not to be judged based on these legalistic practices? What is the basis of our freedom?

It is, of course, Jesus. 

The law was a shadow of what was to come. When this verse says that the substance belongs to Christ, other translations word this as, “the reality…is found in Christ” (NIV), or “Christ himself is that reality” (NLT). These practices only pointed to Jesus. Now that Jesus has come and we know Him, we don’t have to voluntarily put ourselves under the power of legalism. 

These rules were not the “real thing”; they were not reality. They were only meant to point to the substance, which is Jesus. 

• Instead of following laws regarding food and drink, we are free to eat any animals or foods. God has made them clean, so now, we do not call them impure (Acts 10:25). 
• The New Moon festival marked the beginning of a new month, and it was a time that God instructed His people to make burnt offerings of animals without blemish to Him for their sins. However, this directs us to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, the spotless Lamb of God, by whose death we are forgiven once and for all. 
• This verse also mentions the Sabbath. While we can and should take time to rest, the greater reality of the Sabbath is not in a specific day of rest each week but in the eternal rest Jesus invites us to in Him. He offers rest from our sins and struggles that the world cannot give. 

We can apply this truth to our lives in a couple of ways. 

First of all, we should not judge others based on how they follow (or don’t follow) practices that are ultimately a matter of preference. Our freedom from legalism means that the gospel is of utmost importance, and while we do obey God’s commands, we don’t submit to a works-based faith. 

But finally, remember that the law points to Jesus. He has fulfilled it, and we now submit to Him. Our acceptance in His eyes is based on what He has done, not our obedience. Now that Christ has come, He is the basis of our acceptance, not our rule-keeping.