In my walk with our Lord, I have come to see that the
road to virtue is a tightrope betwixt legalism and licentiousness. More often
than not, a growing Christian will either live as though grace were a onetime
gift to cleanse only our past, or take grace for granted insomuch as it becomes
irrelevant to our daily lives. I have not often seen a new Christian progressing
from faith to virtue balanced and free of hypocrisy. The young in the faith
need the seasoned veterans to sensitively coach them over that tightrope;
knowing all the while that they are going to have to lovingly fish them out
when they fall.
I fell on the side of legalism; so thoroughly entrenched
that I isolated myself and my family from fellowship with most mainstream
Christians. Adamantly against denominationalism and anyone associated with it,
I simply had to set myself apart from those who would be so divisive.
Curiously, those steeped in legalism are not the least bit aware of it; even
when directly accused like I was. I saw myself carefully walking in obedience
and trying to encourage others to do likewise. Observe this tract I wrote to
that effect. While much of what I said is valid, connect the underlined
portions; I was oblivious to the oxymoron.
Can you spot a
Legalist? Pop
Quiz:
The freeway speed limit is 65mph.
recognizing his tendency toward L.F.S. “lead-foot syndrome” a certain man has
purposed to set his cruise control (once he gets up to speed) at 63mph whenever
he travels on the freeway.
This is an example of: Circle one
Legalism or
obedience
There are many Christians today running scared about legalism, as if it
is the unpardonable sin. Some go so far as to question or even reject adherence
to the New Testament writings for fear of being legalistic (never mind the fact
that those letters make up the apostles’ doctrine to which we are to “hold
fast”) (Act.2:42)
Yes, Jesus condemns the priests of his day for their legalistic approach
to God’s law. But, many of his day preformed the very same rituals in the exact
same way that were in no way condemned for legalism. And many in antiquity were
obedient to the word, which when violated they had to recompense accordingly as
the law prescribed; not one (as far as I can recall) being accused at any time
of being legalistic.
Just to name a few were David, Samuel,
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Able, Zachariah (and his son John the Baptist), Nicodemus, Job, Hezekiah. In
fact, Jesus himself, instructs a man healed of leprosy to go to the high priest
to be examined according to the law, a ritual process which took three days to
complete (Mat.8:1-4, Mrk.1:40-43, Luk.5:12-14). If you need more examples see
Gen.-Mal.
So, what is the difference between
legalism and obedience?
Defined in Webster’s Dictionary:
*Legalism is: strict, literal, or
excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code.
*obedient is: submissive to the
restraint or command of authority.
Legalism lacks heart; actions taken
are done for appeasement as a means to an end.
True obedience is from the heart;
actions are taken because you know they please God and you want His will
manifest in your life.
Legalism looks for
loopholes that provide technical compliance, to allow them to commit prohibited
actions.
Obedience looks for all
applications of the principal taught in the direction given, as well as the
direction itself.
A few references
1John 2:6, Hebrews 5:9,
2Timothy 3:16, 2Thessalonians 3:14-15, Galatians
3:1, Romans 6:16, Acts 5:32,
Many today, however, abandon the original
direction, claiming to adhere to the principle because the original direction
is no longer applicable in their opinion. These individuals view obedience as
legalism and are blind to the differences defined herein. Those who tend toward
this viewpoint often struggle with the answer to the question above. This line
of thinking treats the Bible as any other philosophical volume subjecting each
point to the right/wrong concept of each individual rather than forming one’s
concepts according to scriptural guidelines. In short saying “I have authority
over scripture” rather than “scripture is my authority.”
If I am in error in my conclusions brethren, please show me
where I lack in my understanding.
2009
Well, I was in error! But nobody could have convinced me
so. To me the snare of legalism was technical compliance, always on the lookout
for loopholes in the scripture. This was not MY goal. I wanted to know the
direct application from when it was written, the equivalent situation for
today, and the core principle of the passage that I may know the appropriate
application to the gambit of possibilities! That is CLEARLY obedience, NOT
legalism!... (Pardon the aside, but I am inexpressibly thankful for the grace
of God as He patiently draws us ever nearer to Him. We are to “grow in grace” and
He has grace enough to endure our growth.) My break from this restrictive
lifestyle began while I was carrying one of those principles to its logical extreme.
In my purge of paganism and pagan influences, I came all the way to our daily calendar,
its months and weekly days named for various gods and historical figures. As I
pondered what we as Christians should rather be calling them I had a BRILLIANT
revelation! This is getting RIDICULOUS. While I may know how the month got its
name, the rest of the world doesn’t and really only cares that everyone shows
up on the appointed day. Why create an unnecessary barrier of confusion? Does
it really matter that we use something with a tainted history? After all, God
uses us. As the Lord continued to loosen and untangle my self-imposed chains He
led me to a verse in Romans 2 that revolutionized my reading of the law.
“They show the work of the law written on their
hearts.” Upon much prayer I realized this meant the purpose to which the law
was written, which always ultimately boils down to producing the image of God
in the adherent. The purpose of the scripture was not that it should be meticulously
obeyed but rather, that the whole person should be reformed, renewed and
restored to be able to walk presently with God. While we walk in His spirit sin
is impossible, and there is no way He could lead us contrary to His word since
God does not lie nor does He change. This was the work that the gentiles showed;
they didn’t need the law, they were walking daily with its author. As much as I
had poured into understanding the details and implications of each verse, I missed
the purpose every time. Much like the cautious motorist of my illustration
needs to learn that the point of a speed limit is not to uniformly regulate
local vehicle velocity, it is a matter of public safety; for him and anyone
else in his potential path. Being more concerned for the wellbeing of yourself
and anonymous bystanders than your timely arrival at your destination would be
the ultimate end of most traffic laws in existence today! I no longer question
“how many ways can I obey this passage?”, instead my prayer is “thank you LORD,
for leading me into your presence.”
