Apr. 04, 2026

Holy Saturday 2026

Freedom from Legalistic Religion

April 4, 2026

Primary Text: James 1:26-27                          

1)  A Yoke of Slavery

Galatians 5:1-4:  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Mark my words!  I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

 DQ 1) What does it mean to “try to be justified by law”?

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2)  Released From the Law

Romans 7:6:  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 

Galatians 3:23-25:  Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.  So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.  Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

DQ 2) How are believers in Christ released from the law?

DQ 3) What aspects of the Old Testament law are applicable to believers in Christ?

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3)  Human Tradition

Colossians 2:8-12:   See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ….  In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:16-17, 20-23:  Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ….  Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle!  Do not taste!  Do not touch!”?  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.  Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

DQ 4) What are examples of human religious traditions that have no real grounding in Scripture?

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4)  Rules Taught by Men

Matthew 15:1-3,7-9:  Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?  They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”  Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?...  You hypocrites!”  Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Isaiah 29:13-14)

Matthew 15:18-20:  But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”

DQ 5) What makes ‘worship’ vain and worthless?

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5)  True Religion 

James 1:26-27:  If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

DQ 6) Define how we are made holy in Christ.  

DQ 7) How does holiness in Christ set you free from legalistic religion?

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