Stay Free!
We must refuse to be entangled with the yoke of bondage and recognize that Christ has made us free, complete in him.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the dangers of legalism and Pharisaic tendencies that infiltrate the church, warning against the imposition of unnecessary rules and regulations that can overshadow the true gospel. He highlights the importance of maintaining the freedom that Christ provides, urging believers to reject any yoke of bondage that seeks to bind them with human traditions and doctrines not found in Scripture. Spurgeon calls for a return to the pure doctrine of grace, reminding the church that they are complete in Christ and should not allow any additions to His perfect law of liberty.
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Those who had been of the sect of the Pharisees brought a good share of Pharisaic tendencies with them into the church, and these were dangerous to the young kingdom of Christ. I scarcely know whether legal principles were not able to do more mischief inside the church by perverting pure doctrine than they could do outside the church by exciting persecution. One can hardly imagine how the gospel could have escaped being overlaid and smothered by Judaism, like a babe by its mother, had it not been for the preserving grace of God, and the indwelling Spirit within the church of God.
Ye know, brethren, how we mourn at this day that certain who claim to be Christians are laboring most zealously to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. They invent pompous ceremonies, observe days and months, and are bound by rubrics and regulations, all of which are an idle and needless servitude to outward forms. Certain others would bind us with creeds and ordinances not plainly taught in the word of God, nor agreeable thereto, of which Peter and John knew nothing whatever, having no force but that which comes of human authority. The old Pharisaic spirit is a great forger of bonds and builder of prisons, it would subject us to ordinances of "Touch not, taste not, handle not," and fetter us with rules of many sorts: for it cannot understand the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. It teacheth this and it teacheth that, whereof the apostles would have said, "We gave no such commandment." We must contend against this spirit as much now as ever. Still must we refuse to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Christ is all. We are complete in him, and we will not permit a single letter to be added to his perfect law of liberty.
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Faith Purifying The Heart," delivered April 15, 1877.
Sermon Outline
- The Dangers of Pharisaic Tendencies
- The Yoke of Bondage
- The Liberty of Christ
- Christ has made us free from bondage
- We must refuse to be entangled with the yoke of bondage
- Christ is all, and we are complete in him
Key Quotes
“Christ is all, and we are complete in him, and we will not permit a single letter to be added to his perfect law of liberty.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“We must contend against this spirit as much now as ever.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Still must we refuse to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- We must contend against Pharisaic tendencies and human authority in our lives.
- We must refuse to be entangled with the yoke of bondage and instead walk in the liberty of Christ.
- We are complete in Christ and do not need to add anything to his perfect law of liberty.