Legalism in Seven Movements: Dirty Dishes

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of Greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean. (Matthew 23:25-26 TNIV)

One of the most obvious consequences of legalism is hypocrisy. In the case of the passage quoted above, Jesus is dealing with a spiritual hypocrisy. These men look wonderful on the outside, but inside they are still full of sin. They don’t “do” anything bad, but everything they do is tainted by the fact that they are full of “greed” and “self-indulgence.”