Sermon Outlines . Volume 02 | Issue 13

No Legalism, No License, But Liberty

By Michael Catt

The Galatians sermon series is by Michael Catt. Message can be found at SherwoodBaptist.net.

Galatians 1

  1. Galatians is a letter for liberation of Christians.S. Lewis Johnson, “One of the most serious problems facing orthodox Christianity today is legalism. One of the most serious problems facing the church in Paul’s day was legalism. In every day it is the same, it wrenches joy of the Lord from the Christian and with the joy of the Lord goes the Christian’s vital power and worship and service. Nothing is left but cramped, somber, dull profession. The truth is betrayed, the Christian under law is a miserable parody of the real thing. The glorious name of the Lord becomes a synonym for a gloomy kill joy. If we have escaped the error of legalism in the realm of justification, it can’t be said we have overcome it in the realm of sanctification. Many Christians expect we can please God by a list of negatives, thereby we bring back into Christianity the spirit of self righteousness. There are things I will not do therefore God will have to reward me for my achievements. But God will not be in debt to anyone. He blesses only upon the principle of grace.”
  2. Are you living under grace or law?”standing firm” –
    1. License puts you in bondage of sin and fleshly habits.
    2. Legalism puts you in bondage to man made laws and rules.
    J. B. Lightfoot, “Galatians stands in relation to Romans as a rough model to the finished statue.”3 Important facts:
    1. No one is immune from straying off course.
    2. The gospel is worth defending.
    3. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.
  3. Legalism.
    1. Characteristics of legalism.
      1. Legalism is all show.
      2. Legalism breeds hypocrites.
      3. Legalism is addictive.
      4. Legalism devalues God.
    2. History of legalism.
      1. God lays down a principle/law.
      2. Man reduces God’s principle to a set of rules.
      3. Man learns how to get around his own rules.
      4. Man elevates the rules – keeping to holiness.
    3. What is the attraction of legalism?
      1. Rule keeping is easily measured.
      2. It eliminates agonized decisions.
      3. We confuse conformity with Christianity.
  4. Characteristics of people living under grace.
    1. They avoid obvious sin.
    2. They trust the Spirit to direct their lives. Gal. 5:24
    3. They bear one another’s burdens. Gal. 6:2