follow along Galatians chapter 4. I want to read four verses as my text Galatians chapter 4 verses 8 through 11. Of course Paul is continuing. In verse 8, we read these words. What I want to do, I want to read these four verses, make a couple comments, that is kind of bring a few things out to the forefront, and then we'll go back and look at, not this word for word, by any stretch of the imagination, but look at the actual context of what Paul is saying here.

Now look what he says, how be it then? In other words, because of what God's done for you in Christ, what he's just previously written, how be it then? When ye knew not God, that is, you were lost, you were unregenerate. When ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. You were idolaters, that's what he was saying. Most of these Galatian people from the region of Galatia were idolaters, and then it goes on.

But now, After that you have known God God's given you life Okay, or rather are known of God that is God has been something to you even before you were anything that Toward him. Okay toward him or rather are known of God How turn ye now notice that next word again You see that? Now, you think about this. He's talking to people who were once idolaters, but who are now being steeped by false teachers under law keeping. But he calls those two seemingly different things again. You see what I'm trying to point out here?

But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements. That is, Paul is relating their law keeping as being the same thing as their idolatry that they were once in. Do you see that? That one little word kind of changed the whole emphasis again. you turn into the weak and beggarly elements, and God willing we'll look at that in a few Sundays later, that weak and beggarly elements, as opposed to those strong and rich things. Okay, the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage. So they were in bondage under idolatry, Paul is saying your legalism has put you right back into the same bondage. Do you see that? Isn't that amazing?

He observed days and months and times and years and I'll again say this is not a exhaustive definition of their problem because one of the ways he starts it is through their keeping circumcision. He's talking about law keeping. He observed day. Now they weren't, for instance, worshiping the moon, as some may have done in idolatry, but now they were keeping all the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law. You observe days and months and times and years. This is an amazing thing, which I'm not going to deal with that, especially today. I am afraid of you. You see that? I am afraid of you. Now, they're not turning back to immorality, they're turning to morality. They're not turning back to ungodly unrighteousness that is equated with idolatry, but they are turning back to personal righteousness before God and men. You see it? You observe days and months and times and years, I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain."

That's just a startling thing. Now, my title, and I suppose this will be my subject for this morning, The Idolatry of legalism, okay? The idolatry of legalism.

Now, before I go into my notes in particular, let me say this. Paul used this illustration some time ago, and I've used it before, or I use it after he did, I've used it before, but after he mentioned it. Think of the law as what Paul said, that x-ray. The law can show you, like an x-ray, they take an x-ray of your body and they may take an x-ray of a certain area if they think a problem's in that certain area. And they take that x-ray and it may show you what the problem is. Okay? But it can't help the problem.

But here's the thing. How many of you, having had an x-ray, of a specific area where you and the doctor both were pretty well sure that's where the problem's coming from, the head, the heart, the liver, whatever it is. And they take an x-ray of that and then hand you the x-ray and says, here, figure this out. I've looked at some of the x-rays. Unless the doctor points out there's the problem, I can look at that x-ray all day long and not know that's the problem. But that doctor is trained, okay? That person who looks over that x-ray looks at it, and then when they say, well, you see that little thing right there? That's what the problem is. I wouldn't have known the difference between the good and the bad.

This is where people mistake the law. They think by merely preaching the law, it will then reveal to people their sin. No, it does not. In our unregenerous state, the more you preach the law to people, the more self-righteous they become because they can't even read the x-ray. Even though the x-ray, the law is right in front of them, they don't see what the problem is. They're untaught by God.

How does any individual ever really understand what sin is by the power of the Spirit of God through the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified? If God the Father would do that to his son, sin must be bad. Now, I may be putting it in a very colloquial way, but isn't that it? That's where you really see how bad sin is. If God the Father will turn his back on his son when he sees sin on his son, that lets me know there's a problem.

Now, if the legalists were honest, now isn't that an oxymoron? You know, like people talk about an honest lawyer, they say that's an oxymoron. If the legalists were honest, they would stop claiming sola scriptura, that is scripture only, as the only authority of faith and practice. If they were honest, they would stop using that. If they were honest, they would say scripture rules the day, and they would hold their peace as to any attempts at law keeping.

Before salvation and even after salvation, they would hold their peace because God didn't change the law for us after we're saved and make it easier to keep. It's not until God actually saves you that you realize how hard the law, yea, impossible the law is to keep. But because before he regenerates and converts you by the gospel, you actually think you can keep the law, or at least God will at least accept your best efforts at it. Sincerity holds the day for most folks, right?

Now you hold on to your saddle horn now. We're about to jump a creek. Paul relegates the practice of the Galatians' legalism, and that's clear from verse 10, right? Chapter four, verse 10. He observed days and months and times and years. He's not talking about going back to their old idolatry of days and months. He's talking about the mosaic Things God ordained in the Old Testament, right? Let me go back. Paul relegates the practice of the Galatians' legalism, and you see that also again in verse 21, tell me ye that desire to be under the law. You see it? Not your old practice of idolatry, but the law. Do you not hear the law? It's rhetorical. They did not.

See, they were seeing the x-ray, And they were saying, well, everything looks good. We're doing pretty good. Oh, yeah, we got a few problems. My skin's a little dry here, right? Or maybe my lips chapped a little here. Now, I need a little religious balm for this, but we don't see, apart from God's revelation, the corruption that's down in here exposed by the law until God opens your eyes. And then you begin. you begin to see it. And if God ever does use the law toward his people again, it's not to make us righteous or sanctified or glorified, and we'll look at these things in a moment, but it's to remind us of what we really are in the flesh. Just to keep reminding us of that.

So again, I say Paul relegates the practice of the Galatians legalism, verse 10 and 21, it's clear there, as comparable to their former idolatry. You see what he's saying? As I said, Paul in this letter is relentless. It still boggles my mind when I read Romans and some say it's one of the greatest works of poetry. that's ever been written and yet it's far more Mac than poetry, it's divinely inspired words. And Paul deals with subject after subject after subject at first Corinthians, second Corinthians, Philippians, but in this one he just keeps hammering grace, free sovereign grace as opposed to law over and over and over and he don't quit. till he gets to the end and basically says this, brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, amen. You see, he's relentless.

So he relegates their practice, these Galatians' practice of legalism as comparable to their former idolatry in our text. He says again, twice, right, twice. Three things I wanna give you. Paul, now listen to what I'm saying. I will clarify this in a moment under the second point. I'm just going to state it now and give you an illustration of it. Let me just do it. All legalism is idolatry. You hear what I said? I said all legalism is idolatry. Paul called his legalism, in another letter, dumb. Isn't that what he called it? He said, as concerning the righteousness which is of the law, blameless. So he's not talking about something over here separate from righteousness and sanctification and acceptance and glorification before God. He's talking about actual righteousness. And he said, I count it but D-U-N-G, D-U-N-G.

Here he's equating this legalism to idolatry, right? Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods, but now after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again not to other weak and beggarly elements, but weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage, again, to be in bondage. The worst state of a man in bondage is to be in bondage and not know it. and like it. To think it's normal. To think it's the way it ought to be. The best state is to be in bondage and then God all of a sudden show you what that bondage really is. You'll want out of it right now. right now, and the good news then will become true good news to you. This is why most people that you, if you talk to people and just try to express to them what God's done for you, they'll just look at you and smile and say, well, ain't that great, at best. They have no idea what you're talking about, because they're in bondage, but they don't know it.

God ever opens their eyes to where they really are, that they are under weak and beggarly elements. I don't care whether it is the idolatry of the heathen or whether it is the legalism of the religious. It's all still the same bondage. One's not better than the other, you see? It's just not better.

Paul called his legalism dumb. King David, though forced to operate under the law, his hope, according to Paul in Romans 4, 6 through 8, and Paul doesn't just summarize something David wrote way back yonder. Paul quotes David, okay, now see the difference? He just quotes David.

King David, though forced to operate under the law, his hope was in God's grace. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Not blessed is the man that God enables to keep the law and believe God. David's hope was faith. Just like Abraham's hope was faith.

What makes faith of such value? It's not something we work up for God, it's something God gives to us. The law was never given for life, chapter three, verse 21. The law demands individual, universal, full, absolute obedience, chapter three, verse 10. And of course, James, The works man. The man who gave one of the greatest definitive treaties on works that was ever written in the word of God says this, if you break one point of law, you're guilty of all. It's one universal whole. You cannot pick and choose. You can't pick the moral part and say, well, the ritual part don't matter. It is all one law.

This is why different denominations bring in their own church law. They try to kind of mix church law, ecclesiastical law, what they think is serving Christ with Mosaic law and try to find that equilibrium. Paul just read to us, either we're married to the law or we're married to Christ. You can't be married to both at one time or you're an adulteress, right? You either serve the law or you serve Christ, one or the other. You don't serve both at one time. God never ordained such marriages as that.

The law demands individual, universal, full obedience. The law declares, not reveals. That's why I pointed out that thing about the x-ray. The law declares our guilt, but only God can reveal our guilt. Who is it that shows a man or a woman that they're a sinner? And he, the spirit of truth, when he has come, he will reprove the world of what's the first thing he reproves anybody of? Sin. Not the law, the spirit of God.

And what's the spirit of God? How do you know the spirit of God is in me or any other man that stands here in any other place similar to this? It's because he's preaching the cross work of Jesus Christ. Because the spirit will not speak of himself, he'll speak of who? Christ. Christ. Nothing shows my guilt before God any better than It don't even compare to seeing Jesus Christ suffering, bleeding out, and dying on Calvary's tree because of sin.

God, the Father, turning his back on the Son so that the Son cries out in reality. This wasn't a put on, this wasn't for show. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Martin Luther himself said, God, forsaking God, I cannot understand that. But we can, by God's grace, believe it. When I see God the Father doing that to his son, I can say, I must be bad. Do I have to know all the particulars? No, I do not. I just know I'm bad.

It says he died for who? Those without strength. Can you take that place? Do you find yourself there? He died for the sinners. Do you find yourself there? He died for not just strengthless sinners, he died for the ungodly. Huh? He died for his enemies. Now if you ever find yourself really truly there, I can say to you Christ died for you. But most people have never really been there.

Though I'm a sinner, but after all, we've all sinned and come short of the glory. They'll even use the word of God to justify their own sinfulness. I'm not as bad as somebody else. Again, the law was never given for life. The law demands individual, universal, full obedience. The law declares it does not reveal guilt, Romans 3, 19 and 20.

Legalism says, now listen to this, to a lesser or greater extent, it don't have to be great legalism, any legalism, I said my title is the idolatry of legalism, not great legalism, not massive legalism, any legalism. Paul starts off with this about one thing, circumcision. Does he not? That was the main thing that these false teachers were pressing, but once you allow the cat the door, everything goes. It's the proverbial Pandora's box, right? Once you open up the crack to let one thing out, it all must flow thereafter.

The legalism says to a lesser or greater extent. Now think of it. Here's why. Doesn't matter how large my legalism is or how small my legalism is, God the Father does not tolerate competition with his son. This is all about the worship of the Son, S-O-N, and worship of him only. We worship him as the law giver, but we do not worship his law. We worship him. Do you see the difference? Listen, I'm gonna go so far as to say this. We do not worship his grace. We worship him. Do you see that? There's a lot of people that talk grace, grace, grace, grace, but they're not caught up. Paul, thank you for the message. They're not caught up like the Shulamite was with her beloved. It was all about, look how great he is, right? His eyes, his ears, his nose, his mouth, his hands, his chest, his feet, everything. It's all about him.

Legalism says, as I said, to a lesser or greater extent, I am and I can do some kind of righteousness. That's what it's saying. I can work out some kind of sanctification. I can work out some kind of goodness. And then it tries to really be God honoring it and says, but I'm not talking about righteousness or sanctification or goodness or acceptance or glorification before God. I'm just talking about before men. Okay, fine, you've worked out your own righteousness, your own sanctification, your own goodness, your own glorification before men. You have nothing. You are competing with the sun. The only righteousness I really desire anybody to see in me is not mine at all, but Christ's. That's what it's all about.

Paul, I do not always express it that way, even when opportunity comes for me to witness to someone. I seem like I flub over that and still turn back and talk about me somehow or another. When it's all about Christ, you see? It's all about Christ.

At best, according to Exodus chapter 20, verse three, at best, it is Christ fills in the gaps. Right? Now, they may not say it that way. Most would not dare say it that way, but Christ is there to fill in the gaps for my righteousness, for my sanctification, for my redemption, for my wisdom.

And they say, but it's another kind of righteousness. It's another kind of sanctification. It's another kind of goodness. I've done dealt with that. Okay, it is, but it's menses cloth in God's sight. You see it? Even our righteousness says, righteousness says, all of them. As our brother Isaiah said, is but menses cloth in God's sight.

It don't matter how much you and I see it as good. God can use even some of the most despicable acts of men to fulfill his mercy, grace, and compassion. Look at the cross of Jesus Christ. Men did what was in their wicked hearts to do unto Christ. They beat him to a pulp. They crucified him on a tree and malked while he bled out. And God used that to our salvation. Now go figure.

You see, God's not hanging on the good folk in the world to get something done. God will use even the wrath of man to praise him. And the rest of it, what will he do? He'll constrain it. Somebody says, why does God allow hurricanes and mass slaughter to happen? Because it fits who God is. It fits his purpose. It fits his wisdom. Not mine. See, everybody wants to be able to explain how it fits. No, this is who God is.

At best, I said, this legalism, it has Christ kind of fill in the gaps. Is that not exactly idolatry? And let me read it now, Exodus chapter 20. It's just, it's one verse. This is the giving of the law. This is what the law says. Exodus chapter 20 and just verse three, just a few words. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. In Hebrews, we find God the Father saying to the angels, let the angels of God worship Christ. And God the Father says of the Son, thy throne, this is the Father talking to the Son, thy throne, O God, thy throne. You see it? The Father talking to the Son. Thy throne, God the Father saying to God the Son. Thy throne, oh God, is forever a scepter of righteousness. You see it?

A scepter of righteousness. Now here's my second point. Now I know by what I've just said that there are some who will say, well you're saying that you said the law was idolatry. I did not say that. The law, that's my second point, the law is not idolatry, but legalism is idolatry.

Just like one time I sit here and I preached, there was a young man in our assembly, he sat right over here for months, months, came from way down in the hollers of West Virginia for months. And I thought he was seeing some truth, but I come to find out later there was a young lady there that he sat with and that's mostly why he was here. Now that didn't work out, he didn't last long.

One time I said the statement, I don't believe there's not one baby in heaven. That's the statement I made. I went back and listened to the message. He claimed I said what I said. He wrote a letter, not to me, but he wrote a letter to Paul and Paul and some of the girls, to the two girls, that he heard me with his own ears say that God was stoking the flames of hell with the souls of little babies. I went back and listened and thought, boy, I really screwed up when I said that. And I went back and listened to that message and I said these words. I don't believe there's not one little baby in heaven. And I'll stick by that.

Now you go figure out what that is. Go figure out what that is. I will only give you one respite in this. I also don't believe there's any 120 year old invalids in heaven either. Think about what I actually said.

But he wasn't here for the truth of Christ. He was here for that young gal. And when I throwed that grenade out, It blew up in his face and he said I can't handle that and then he distorted everything I had been saying. Just a few months back he got in touch with Moose Parks in Montana and mentioned us and my name because he was looking to get a little gathering thing. They'll play what they want. They'll take the truth of God and turn it into a lie. Isn't that what Paul calls major idolatry in Romans chapter one?

Again, the law is not idolatry, but legalism is. Two things there, legalism attempts to worship what only God can do in Christ. He is made unto us, 1 Corinthians 1, 30, 31. Christ is made unto us and it is of God that we're in Christ Jesus. It's all his work, not us. We don't get into Christ, we are put into Christ. So to say. You could say that a lot better, I understand that. He is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. What more do you need? We at least need to be a good witness to people. Then talk about Him, about Christ. But it's not good enough for our flesh, is it? Our flesh has got to brag about itself. And then Paul goes on to say that about these things. He said, pardon me, let me look at it. We'll get it here in a minute. And I read one verse, tell me, verse 21, ye that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? But look at what he says about him. Verse 16, am I therefore your enemy because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you that ye might affect them. It makes them look good.

What these people are telling everybody else, you need this kind of righteousness and that kind of righteousness. Anything different than Christ's righteousness. They can say you need Christ's righteousness, but you also need this other righteousness, too. They can say you need Christ's sanctification, but you also need this other kind, too. You need this other kind of redemption, you need his redemption, but you need this other kind, too. There's all these kinds of, yes, there are, but everything other than Christ's wisdom, Christ's righteousness, Christ's sanctification, Christ's salvation is an affront to God. Legalism attempts to worship what only God can do in Christ.

Secondly, the law sets, listen, the law says, set down, shut up, stop your bragging, confess your guilt. That's what the law says, doesn't it? Romans chapter three. Set down and shut up.

That reminds me of Chris Cunningham. Most of you know Chris. If you haven't, you need to listen to some of his messages if you can, but he is very soft-spoken, very quiet. When he started preaching from Romans chapter 3, where the law was given that every mouth may be stopped, he said, God says to shut up. I can just hear that. tender voice of that man. He said, just shut up. Well, but I need to do this or that. He said, just shut up. But he kept on going, kept on going. And I'm thinking, it's not how you say it. It's when God shows it to you and you see it and you hear it and you perceive it. Shut my mouth.

Isn't that what God did for the first thing for Isaiah? Isaiah was all this, woe is this one. Chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five. Woe is this one, woe is that one. Woe is this one, woe is that one. Chapter six, all of a sudden he sees God glorified and he says, woe is me. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips and what was it that God had cleansed when he took that angel, took that tongue, took that live coal off the altar of God, he stuck it on his what? On his lips. And Scott Richardson said one time in a message, he had to go out and preach with blistered lips after that. That's what God does, he blisters your lips. Why? Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

God says shut up. Shut up. And yet my flesh says I will not. I bet yours does too, don't it? And most people who have the flesh says, well, God says don't get drunk, but I wanna get drunk. No, the flesh will say, you know, I haven't touched it in years. Or I've never done that. Come on, you can name me any of the things. Go right on down the list, thou shalt not. Well, I ain't never done it that much. Or I've never done that at all. But if you look at God's law, what's it say?

Number three, I went way over. Number three, the idolatry of legalism has many faces. Think of this, unbelievers in Israel introduced pagan rituals and rites into the very God-ordained rites. Religion does that today. Baptists accused the Catholics of going into these countries and kind of baptizing these idolatrous practices, and they do. But Baptists are doing the same thing now. Doing the same thing now.

Think of it, Hophni and Phinehas, they were not denying that God needed to be worshiped at the tabernacle. They were not denying that he needed to be worshipped with fire and blood and sacrifices. They just didn't care where the fire came from. Remember that? They took strange fire, which is any other fire other than fire off the altar. That's the cross of Christ. Any other fire was an abomination in that worship. Even though it may have been fire, just like any other, a coal. And what did God do to them two boys? Killed them dead. Killed them dead.

You remember Bethel and Dan in the Northern Kingdom? They set up their two golden calves. They were not denying the worship of Jehovah. They were just saying, well, we're introducing these things. These are the people we live around and it will be more conducive to us getting along with them and them getting along to us.

You remember the brazen serpent? A God-ordained thing when those people of Israel were in the wilderness, right? And yet somebody evidently stuck that thing in a bag or a box and kept it for years. And the Israelites started worshiping the brazen serpent. And was it Hezekiah? Was it Hezekiah? Am I right on that? Whichever king it was, he took that thing and ground it up in powder and cast it on the waters. Here, drink your God. Now, I'm paraphrasing. Here it is. Drink it. See, we will take even the truth of God and turn it into a lie.

And I'm telling you that taking legalism, taking my acts for righteousness or sanctification or goodness or redemption in any degree, great or small, is an affront to God because it attempts to compete with his dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Unbelievers in Israel took shortcuts in God's ordained rights. Malachi 1, 7 and 8. they would take a, God said, you bring me a lamb, a whole lot of different sacrifices, but you bring me a lamb, you were to put, especially the, what was it, the Passover lamb, right? You was to put it up for, was it 14 days, right? 14, to make, for what reason? Make sure there was no blemish or spot. But the Israelites, here's one with a big old scab on it, or a big old, they just give whatever. And God said, you offer that to your governor and see if he'll accept it. What's he talking about?

Even David, when he was under the law, said that God had no satisfaction in the blood of bulls and goats. He knew it would take the blood, the sacrifice of the Messiah. He knew these things were pointing to someone who was superior. He knew that. Even that old priest. Remember that old priest? Was it Simeon? He knew that. He was right there doing those sacrifices that those priests were supposed to. Some daily ones and then right there doing them. But when he held that little baby called Jesus of Nazareth in his arms, what did he say? Lord, you let me go to glory now. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.

We think that some of these Old Testament believers are just dumber than a box of rocks and they didn't know anything. I'm afraid they knew a lot more than what most so-called Christians know today. Don't you figure? A lot more than they did. Abraham saw Christ's day. He rejoiced in it and was glad. Christ said so. So that settles it.

Unbelievers in Israel used the rites as their own worship. And they did not worship God himself. Isaiah chapter one verses 10 through 20. Go back and read it. And this is what people do with the law today that profess to be Christians. We're just using those things to worship God. No, worship God himself. Directly through Jesus Christ.

Here's the last part of this. Remember, the idolatry of legalism has many faces. Legalists in Galatia mixed law and Christ. They weren't denying Christ. They weren't saying he's not necessary or even essential, but you need these other things too to be whatever. Doesn't matter whether it's saved, redeemed, accepted, sanctified, glorified, have a better witness. If your message is about Jesus Christ, he is the perfect one. It's not about how perfect we are. It's about proclaiming Him and His perfections.

God deliver us from them all. Because you and I, listen to me, you and I are prone to the same thing. That's right. We're prone to the same thing. And it doesn't always evidence itself in some great throws toward legalism. It evidences itself in this and I'm guilty of it and you're guilty of it too. I'm not picking on anybody here when we brag on ourself about anything. Even when we do it in jest. Even when we do it in jest. It's one thing to do it to yourself, but when you do it before somebody else, it's an insult to God's Christ.

God deliver us from them all. God sweetly forced me to Christ. He's got to keep doing it. Ellen, he's got to keep doing it. If he don't, I'll eventually abandon Christ forever. The first step to apostasy starts with one step. As I've said here before, believers fall, apostates fall, but apostates fall away. The first few steps looks the same in both. Oh, God, deliver me. Because Mac, if God lets me go, I'll go into apostasy. I will abandon him. Help me to believe Christ. Trust Christ.

Let me put it this way before I had to lean hard on Christ who is all. It's that simple and yet that impossible except for by the grace of God. Amen. Our Heavenly Father bless your word. Not my words or Paul's but bless your words as they were spoken by your servants in Christ's name. Amen.