Chapter 9: Of the Burden of Legal Performances: What It Is, With the Burdensomeness Thereof Laid Ope
He took on our nature and put Himself under the law so that He might free us from such a heavy yoke and bondage. In this blessed
Scripture, He calls all souls who feel this yoke and burden to come to Him, that they may find rest.
So much for this first particular: what is the bondage that the soul is under when it is under the law? Are you now aware of this? Christ is calling you. Perhaps some of you may say, "We have not been aware of this." Do you begin to understand it? Is God starting to shine some light on it for you? Do you feel it pressing somewhat on your hearts?
Blessed be God for that—you are now more prepared to hear about the covenant of grace.
When you go home, let the husband say to the wife, "We have heard today about two covenants, as it says in Galatians 4:22. There are two covenants, and these are set out in the allegory of the bondwoman and the free woman. Now, until we understand what the other covenant is, we are still under the former covenant, the covenant of works." This is what you should labour to understand.
Let husbands and wives ask one another about the difference between the two covenants. Ask, "What is the covenant of works, and upon what terms does it run? And what is the covenant of grace, and upon what terms does it run?" In doing so, you will come to understand the rest of this text with more benefit and advantage to your souls.
Chapter 9
Of the Burden of Legal Performances: What It Is, With the Burdensomeness Thereof Laid Open in Twelve Particulars.
1. There is no inward principle of doing.
2. In men that are only under the Law, there is a principle contrary to the performance thereof.
3. Such are wearied with doing, getting no supply of strength to perform duty.
4. By their performances, they still contract more guilt upon their souls.
5. What they do in obedience to the Law is only out of fear.
6. And with much narrowness of spirit.
7. Nothing comes of such performances.
8. Those who perform duty in a merely legal way never attain their end, which is peace with God.
9. They do not know whether God accepts or rejects them.
10. They are forced into duties instantly, and suddenly, even to the hindrance of other duties of greater importance, which God requires of them at the same time.
11. Though they continue struggling, they do not know whether they will hold out to the end.
12. Their humiliation and trouble for not doing what they ought hinders them from doing what God requires.
Now there is one more thing, an appendix to the burden of the Law, which flows from and is tied to it: the burden of legal performances.
Not only is there the burden of the Law in terms of what it requires— the perfect obedience the Law demands—but there is also a burden that many bear, a very heavy and grievous one: the burden of legal performances. This is the subject of this chapter. I intend to go no further than to speak of this burden and to open it up to you. As I mentioned when first explaining the text, this is Chrysostom's
interpretation: "You that are weary and heavy laden," that is, "you that are burdened with seeking righteousness under the Law. Come unto me, and I will give you rest."
First, I will explain what I mean by the burden of legal performances.
Secondly, I will show what a great burden this is, how much evil there is in it, and then apply myself to those who are under this burden, showing how Christ calls them in this text to come to Him for rest.
First, what I mean by the burden of legal performances is this: performing duties that are required by the Law merely out of conscience, because conscience compels men and women to do them, and performing these duties in their own strength. They then view these performances as the righteousness they must present to God, as righteousness unto life. This is what I mean by legal performance. To perform duties in a legal way is to do what the Law requires merely out of conscience, because conscience says it must be done. This is done in one's own strength—though it is God who gives that strength, it is still only natural strength. And such a person views these acts as their righteousness and presents them to God as righteousness for life. This is a legal performance.
Those who perform duties this way will find it to be a very great burden to their spirits. It is a burden to those who do this sincerely, to those who are conscientious. We are not now talking about hypocrites who perform duties only to be seen by others, making a show of what they do not have in their hearts. We speak of those who have gone beyond such hypocrisy, who perform duties out of conscience, yet rise no higher than looking at the Law that binds them to these duties, presenting them to God as their righteousness,
and doing them for life. Such people, who are not acquainted with the mystery of the Gospel, go under a most grievous burden all their days.
I do not say that it is a burden to perform duties required by conscience when they are done to the honour of God, in the strength of Christ, as a work of the Spirit's sanctification, and as a fruit of our thankfulness for God's grace and mercy in Christ. That is no burden at all. But to do these duties merely as a matter of compulsion by conscience and as righteousness for life—this is the burden. Though men and women may have no other principle but this, they may still be very conscientious, not daring to commit any known sin in secret.
They may be diligent in secret duties and even abundant in performing many duties.
In Micah 6:6-7, the people ask: "What shall we do? Shall we give rivers of oil and thousands of rams, or the fruit of our bodies for the sin of our souls?" There you have the expressions of those who are legal. They want to know what they must do, professing that they are willing to do anything to save their souls, offering thousands of rams and rivers of oil as a sacrifice.
Likewise, someone who is merely legal may perform many duties, and they may be conscientious in all they know. There may be a kind of universal obedience in them, striving to obey in all things they are aware of. Outwardly, they may make a point of doing everything they know to be God's will, and yet all this may be done in a legal way.
Such performance is a burden rather than a blessing. Unless they come to know more than they currently do—to understand the evangelical way of performing duties—they cannot find true rest for their souls.
Now, this (like the previous point) is of great consequence to many.
Some who read this book may not clearly understand what this is; they may not feel any such thing in their own experience. However, I believe I shall speak directly to the hearts of some, revealing their condition to them. They will realise that they have not taken the right course to find rest for their souls, and I speak to this end: that they may listen to the blessed invitation of the gospel, to come to Christ so that they might find rest.
As you now perceive a little of what I mean by legal performances, we will move on to show how burdensome these legal performances are for those who are familiar with nothing but the performance of duties merely from the Law.
The First Burden of Legal Performances 1. They are burdensome because people are tasked with duties for which they have no inward principle. To be assigned a work where there is no inner drive to do it must inevitably be burdensome. Conscience may demand that I perform the duty, which is right, but I have no inward principle to fulfil it. Still, I must do it, conscience insists, whether I have an inward principle or not. Even if I lack the inward motivation to meet the Law's full demands, I might still perform some outward actions.
Now, for me to attempt such work, striving to fulfil all that the Law requires—not just the outward actions, but the whole work
—without any inward drive, is necessarily burdensome.
All movements in nature that arise from an external principle, rather than an internal one, are forced and therefore tedious, heavy, and troublesome. Similarly, any sense of duty that does not come from an inward principle of the heart, but is merely legal, is a forced
movement. Conscience pushes the soul toward duty but does not provide the soul with the principle to fulfil it. This forced movement is what makes it so tedious, heavy, and burdensome.
Herein lies the burden. Contrary to the vain conceits of some, who believe the duty should not be performed because they lack an inward principle, the real burden is that conscience binds you to do it, even though you lack the inward drive to accomplish it.
The Second Burden of Legal Performances 2. Another burden of legal performances arises because, in all people who are under the Law but have not yet become true believers, sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, there exists a contrary principle—one that opposes these duties. There is an inner conflict, a stream flowing in the opposite direction. It is like a boatman rowing against the wind and tide; he must exert a great deal of effort. So it is until the soul comes to believe in Christ and receives the Spirit of Christ. When a person has only the conviction of conscience, being forced into duties, they are still beset by the corrupt inclinations of their heart, by evil principles within. These act like the wind and tide, pushing against their efforts. Yet conscience tells them they must do these duties, even though their inclinations pull them strongly in the opposite direction.
When God strengthens the conscience, it will compel a man or woman to persist in duty, no matter how contrary it may be to their own nature. You might ask, "If it is so contrary to their nature, why don't they simply give up?" They dare not. However, we shall see
later that even godly believers also experience burdens due to their corruptions. They too have conflicting principles, but these are not as powerful as they are in unbelievers who are merely legal.
Casting a stone upward is a tedious task. Even to move a stone in any direction is some effort because it is being moved away from its natural resting place. But to move it in a direction completely contrary to its nature is especially burdensome, for all heavy objects have an inward principle that pulls them downward. When you force them to move in a way that defies this natural principle, the effort creates a burden because they are being kept from their natural resting place. In the same way, conscience may keep a man or woman from following their natural inclination to wickedness. As long as they are kept from the sinful course to which their nature inclines them, it must inevitably feel burdensome until God comes and sanctifies their hearts. Many people whose consciences are convinced may go on performing duties without ever having their hearts sanctified.
The Third Burden of Legal Performances 3. One who performs duties in a merely legal way grows weary and tired of what they do, yet finds no strength coming to them—no greater ability to perform what conscience requires than they had at first, perhaps even less ability. Now, this must inevitably be burdensome. Suppose a man is set to work, and if he has no desire to do it, that is already tedious. But if it goes against the grain—completely contrary to his disposition—that is even more tedious. Yet, he must continue, toiling and wearying himself, only to find the task more grievous the longer he works, for no strength comes to assist him. Rather, his strength fades, and yet
the work remains as demanding as before. This must surely be burdensome.
It is like someone beginning work while cold and numb, but as they continue, they warm up and the work becomes less burdensome.
However, if they continue and only become colder, the task becomes very tedious. For those who perform duties in a merely legal way, conscience first spurs them on with some vigour, but soon they grow more weary, and the work becomes more tedious. Yet, conscience demands just as much work as at the beginning. It is like a man who, after working hard and growing tired, desires rest, only for a cruel taskmaster to tell him, "There must be no decrease in your work, nor any increase in your strength." Such labour must be extremely wearisome.
This is the difference between works done in sanctification and legal performances: though sanctified works may seem difficult at first, strength increases as the soul sets about them. The more work there is, the more strength there is. They do not spend all their strength and grow more weary as time goes on. Instead, as they experience the ways of God more, they gain strength, grow warm in their work, and find it easier. But this is not the case with someone who performs duties in a merely legal way. Some may have spent seven years in a profession of religion, conscientiously doing their duties, yet after all that time, their hearts are no more mortified than when they began. They have gained no more strength than at first, their lusts are no more subdued, and their spiritual strength has diminished. Therefore, their work must become all the more grievous.
The Fourth Burden of Legal Performances 4. Those who perform duties in a merely legal way, while striving to fulfil their duties, are continually adding more guilt to their souls. They strive to do what the Law requires, yet in their striving, they break the Law. You might say that even godly men, while striving to do their duty, still sin—there is imperfection in the best. However, the sin of the godly is covered by Christ; it is not held against them. But those who are merely legal sin while striving, and they heap guilt upon themselves. That guilt remains, and they stand charged with it.
You may say, "Wouldn't it be better, then, if they didn't strive at all?"
No, not so. Conscience demands that they strive; it would be a greater guilt if they did not. Yet even as they strive, they accumulate more guilt than they had before. This is a grievous burden. It is as though a man were rolling a stone up a hill, only for it to roll back down upon him again. It would be an exhausting task. So it is with those who are merely legal: while they perform their duties, their corruptions drag them down again, and they continually add to the guilt upon their souls.
The Fifth Burden of Legal Performances 5. Those who perform duties in a merely legal way do so purely out of fear. They are driven to their duties in a harsh and rigorous manner, by force and constraint. When you force a man to do something against his will, it is very tedious for him. And when that force is applied with harshness, it becomes even more burdensome. Slaves, for example, are not simply urged to do
their duties; they are forced into them with blows and lashes.
This makes their lives burdensome. If they were encouraged gently and lovingly, they could do just as much work with far greater ease. But when everything is done through harshness and force, their lives become unbearable.
So it is with those under the Law. They perform their duties, but how? They are driven by the terror of the Law, with flashes of hellfire in their conscience, and the fear of God's judgment bearing down upon them. They fear that unless they fulfil their duties, God's judgment will pursue them. In the night, in the dark, they are filled with terror. When this terror strikes, they must pray, even if they have no desire to do so, for otherwise, their conscience will torment them the next day. They are like the children of Israel in Egypt, forced by their taskmasters to work with such harshness that their lives became unbearable. But those who are sanctified perform their duties out of love, and thus their duties are sweet and delightful to them.
The Sixth Burden of Legal Performances 6. Those who are merely legal in their performances do their duties with much narrowness of spirit. They rarely experience any enlargement of heart in what they do. They perform the duties
(if they do them at all) in a dull and lifeless manner—simply getting the task done and no more. Their spirits are exceedingly constrained. They must pray, spend the required time in prayer, but when they rise from prayer, they find their hearts are as restricted as ever. I do not deny that godly men or women may experience this at times, but when duties are performed in a merely legal way, this is the constant condition. What a burden
it is for the soul to think, "I can never enter God's presence without a dead, narrow heart. Others have hearts that are enlarged, but I only go through the motions, feeling my heart completely constrained in the duty." So, they go through the motions, yet they remain constrained, dead, and dull in the performance of their duties.
The Seventh Burden of Legal Performances 7. Those who perform duties in a purely legal way find nothing fruitful comes from their efforts. They are like a horse going round in a mill or a man trying to split a knotty piece of wood.
He strikes at it, but the hardness of the wood causes the axe to rebound, and no progress is made. Even if a man works hard, if he sees his work advancing, there is some comfort. But when he labours and labours, and nothing moves or improves, that is burdensome. If a man is tasked with pulling a log out of a ditch and works from morning until night, pulling and pulling, yet finds the log no further out at night than it was in the morning, and he knows he must resume the next day, this would be very tiresome. So it is with those who are merely legal in their performances. They find little or no result from all their efforts, and this must indeed be burdensome.
You who have been burdened in this way should know that this very text speaks to you. Christ has thoughts of you, and he calls you to himself, saying, "Come to me." It is as if Christ is saying, "There is another way for you to find ease and rest for your souls. It is true, you must continue to do your duty, but you must come to know me in the Gospel before you can find true ease and rest for your souls."
The Eighth Burden of Legal Performances 8. Those who perform duties in a purely legal way can never achieve their ultimate goal, no matter how hard they toil. No matter how many duties they perform or how much they increase their efforts, they can never reach their goal. What is their goal, you ask? Their goal is peace with God, eternal life, and to live in fellowship with Him. It's true that base hypocrites seek material gain. Many put on a show of religion, entering homes and talking about good things just to get a meal or some other advantage, driven by a lowly and unworthy spirit. But I speak here of those who are of a higher mind, who perform duties out of conscience yet never achieve their goal, nor will they, until they come to know more of Christ. I speak of those who sincerely desire rest for their souls, yet in this legal way of performing duties, they will never find the rest they seek.
Therefore, it must be a great burden to them.
The Ninth Burden of Legal Performances 9. Those who perform duties in a merely legal way continue their duties, but whether God accepts their efforts or not, they cannot tell. They feel compelled to perform these duties, but whether
God is their friend or their enemy, they do not know. Every day, they offer up their duties to God, but they do not know whether they are offering them to an enemy or a friend. Sometimes they may have a faint hope that God accepts them, but they never come to a clear understanding of God's acceptance. They constantly live with doubts about God's disposition toward them, fearing that God will take advantage of their failings at the last moment. This must be burdensome indeed.
Many poor souls have gone on for years, one seven-year period after another, all because they have not yet come to Jesus Christ for rest for their souls. When a sinner comes to Christ, then comes rest to the heart. When a sinner can say with confidence, "Though my heart is full of corruption, though my duties are full of imperfections, yet through the covenant of grace, the Lord accepts me and my efforts," there is true peace. However, those who perform their duties in a merely legal way never come to know whether God accepts them, no matter how well they may perform their duties.
The Tenth Burden of Legal Performances 10. Those who perform duties in a purely legal manner are often hurried on to do what conscience demands, even though their weakness means that performing this particular duty at this time will hinder them from doing other, more important duties that God requires. Yet, they feel compelled to do it. I am not saying that duties should not be done at this time, but such individuals, driven by conscience, are often rushed to perform them immediately. In their weakness, doing one thing now hinders their ability to perform other, more significant duties later. I have seen this in many who are burdened by this issue.
When they perceive something good to be done, they think they must do it at once, even though doing so now will prevent them from fulfilling other duties later.
However, those who understand the liberty they have in Christ can discern better. They can appeal to God, knowing that their heart is upright. Even if they refrain from doing something that is good in itself, their conscience is clear, knowing that it is not out of wilful neglect of God's glory, but because their weakness would prevent
them from fulfilling other obligations. They trust that God will accept them in Christ and pardon their infirmities. But those under the burden of legalism feel driven by conscience, regardless of their strength, even when they are least able to perform strong duties. This stems from a lack of understanding of the liberty they have in Christ, where Christ accepts them based on what they are able to do. The Gospel assures this acceptance: as long as they pursue their duty with upright hearts, even if they cannot accomplish everything due to their weakness, God accepts them for Christ's sake. Yet, the legalist lacks this assurance, and conscience presses them to perform the most demanding tasks when they are weakest, resulting in them doing less for God than they otherwise would or should.
The Eleventh Burden of Legal Performances 11. Those who perform duties in a merely legal way toil on without knowing whether they will endure to the end. They may say, "I continue doing my duty, but what will become of me, only God knows." They fear that after all their labour and toil, they might prove to be apostates or backsliders in the end. They are filled with self-doubt, constantly afraid of falling away under the pressure of troubles and afflictions, fearing they will reveal themselves as hypocrites, unsound in their faith. These thoughts make both their lives and their duties burdensome.
But those who are in Christ, enjoying the freedom of the Gospel, can go forward in peace, knowing that even in their weakness, they are sustained by an everlasting strength. They trust in an eternal principle that will carry them through to everlasting life. Oh, what a rest this is! To know that, despite weakness, one is secure in the
strength of Christ, moving towards eternal life. Meanwhile, the legalist is filled with doubts, thinking, "What if I fall away at the last?" This makes their duties heavy and their lives troubled. Still,
Christ calls out to such people: "Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
The Twelfth Burden of Legal Performances 12. Those under the burden of legalism are driven by conscience to perform duties, but their humiliation and distress over not doing what they ought to do hinder them from performing what God requires. This is a sad condition—to fail in one's duty and then be so troubled by the failure that it prevents further obedience.
Those with true, evangelical humility find that their sorrow for sin makes them more fit to perform their duties, but for the legalist, it only makes them more unfit. Their hearts grow sullen, fretful, and resistant, which further hinders their obedience.
First, they fail in their duties due to a hardened heart, and then, when they become troubled over their sin, they fail again, now due to their discontent and vexation.
This is a heavy burden. Some of you may recognise this in your own experience: the distress in your heart over your sin has hindered rather than helped you in your duties. Just as in Exodus, when
Moses spoke to the children of Israel, the text says they did not listen because of the anguish of their hearts. In the same way, many people are burdened by legalistic troubles over their sins, and this prevents them from hearing the comforting sound of the Gospel. It makes them unfit to heed Christ's invitation to come to Him. Their distress