Freed From Legalism

[rizen1]

Neil Anderson

February 25

Freed from Legalism

2 Corinthians 3:5, 6
God . . . made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life


Walking by the Spirit is not legalism, the opposite extreme from license. Paul said: "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law" (Galatians 5:18). Stringently striving to obey Christian rules and regulations doesn't enable the Spirit-filled walk; it often kills it (2 Corinthians 3:6). We're told in Galatians 3:13 that the law is really a curse, and in Galatians 3:21 that it is impotent, powerless to give life.

Laying down the law--telling someone that it is wrong to do this or that--does not give them the power to stop doing it. Christians have been notorious at trying to legislate spirituality with don'ts: Christians don't drink, don't smoke, don't dance, don't attend movies, don't play cards, don't wear makeup, etc. But legalism can't curb immorality. In fact, laying down the law merely serves to heighten the temptation. Paul said that the law actually stimulates the desire to do what it forbids (Romans 7:5)! When you tell your child not to cross a certain line, where does he immediately want to go? Forbidden fruit often seems to be the most desirable.

Neither will a Spirit-filled heart be produced by demanding that someone conform to a religious code of behavior. We often equate Christian disciplines such as Bible study, prayer, regular church attendance, and witnessing with spiritual maturity. All these activities are good and helpful for spiritual growth. But merely performing these admirable Christian exercises does not guarantee a Spirit-filled walk.

Does this mean that establishing rules is wrong? Of course not. God's law is a necessary protective moral standard and guideline. But the means by which we live a life of freedom is not the law but grace. Within the confines of God's law, we are free to nurture a spirit-to Spirit relationship with God, which is the essence of walking in the Spirit.

Prayer:

Lord, help me encourage other believers to freedom in their walk with You and not impose on them a religious code of behavior.

 

[Deep_MindQuest]

Saved by grace, through faith (and what that means)
According to the Bible, salvation is a gift from God - not something that can be obtained by works or any other way:

{4} ecause of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
{5} made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
{6} And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
{7} in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
{8} For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
{9} not by works, so that no one can boast.
Source: Ephesians 2:4-9 NIV
Tip: Also read this passage in the Contemporary English Version


All Christians know this passage, and many have memorized it. And yet, many Christians do not fully understand what the passage actually means. They know they have been saved by grace through faith. That is, they know that

their sinful nature separated them from God, who is holy (the opposite of sinful), and that
they therefore were dead in their sins, unable to have peace with God. In other words, the payment for sin is death - eternal separation from God. They also realize that
they could not make peace with God by trying to measure up to His standard of holiness - for example by following rules and regulations or by doing good works. And they learned that
God nevertheless desired to have peace with man, and that God therefore Himself provided a way to make this possible. They know the Bible says that
"Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful." (Romans 5:6-9). And they realize that
those who believe this - that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died and paid for their sins - are saved by grace (God's 'undeserved gift' to us).
Hence we are saved by grace, through faith. The Bible says that we were dead in our sins, but made alive in Christ (Colossians 2:6-17). Having thus made peace with God - by accepting Jesus Christ into our lives - we therefore have eternal life with God.



Legalism: Trying to earn God's approval
Yet there are countless Christian who do not realize that God's desire and will for us is to continue to relate to Him on the basis of grace alone. Instead, they get trapped into a legalistic, performance-based relationship that leaves them disillusioned and frustrated.

Jeff Harkin, author of the book, "Grace Plus Nothing," writes

Church history demonstrates that believers in every generation become enslaved to a performance basis for earning God's approval and blessing. In other words, they believe they are right with God because they do the right things. This is a constant temptation for all who desire to please God. [...] I'll be using the term performance basis interchangeably with the term legalism.

Because performance-based living is so deeply rooted in human nature, the entire world, not just the Christian world, is filled with people who either thrive on it or who are constantly striving to extricate themselves from it. But apart from the applied grace of God - the exact opposite of performance-based living - nothing more than superficial relief is ever realized by anyone, Christian or not.
Source: Grace Plus Nothing, Preface


The 'victorious Christian life' is not obtained on the basis of performance, but rather on the basis of grace. God's grace continues to set us free from legalism, and instead allows us to become expressions of Jesus who lives in and through us (see Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:1, Romans 6:1-15).



Cheap Grace?
Before he wrote Grace Plus Nothing, Jeff Harkin used to publish a monthly devotional letter under the same title. To insure that people did not misunderstand the phrase, that letter included the following statement:

Every Christian should be aware that Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth, not just grace (John 1:14 ). Therefore, what I meant by grace plus nothing is not some sort of cheap grace without truth. My intent in naming this letter Grace Plus Nothing is to emphasize the biblical truth that, in the formation of Christian character, God's truth works only through his grace, not apart from it.

I emphasize grace plus nothing because there has always been a tendency in the body of Christ to preach salvation by grace through faith and then to attempt sanctification and holiness through every imaginable form of legalism.

Certainly the Lord calls every Christian to press into sanctification and holiness, but neither happens apart from grace:

Legalism - the attempt to justify ourselves before God through good works - can never satisfy God.

Therefore, sanctification is by grace: "For sin shall not master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace... those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." (Romans 6:14; 5:17 )
[...]

Christians need to be taught to completely forsake any performance basis for relating to God and to forever embrace the grace basis, carefully avoiding the error of cheap grace in the process.

The grace of God is neither legalistic nor cheap. One of my most important objectives is to help you define and avoid both distortions. In a nutshell, legalism means any attempt to earn right standing before God based on our performance or good works, while cheap grace refers to the all too common misconception that we can accept Jesus as our Savior and yet somehow simultaneously avoid his lordship.

In our generation many Christians fear cheap grace so much that they have completely rejected preaching about grace. Thus, in many circles, even sincere believers are not secure in their salvation.
[...]

Grace Plus Nothing asserts that without grace all preaching is just wasted hot air. Sin cannot be removed apart from grace. Hearts and minds cannot be transformed apart from grace. Grace is God's program. Grace is God's design. We have celebrated virtually everything else in our churches; now, let us celebrate grace!
Source: Grace Plus Nothing Jeff Harkin, Applied Grace Publications, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2003 Revised Edition. Page iv.


This site is all about God's grace - and about how Christians can appropriate it.

 

[HisFollower]

I´m sorry, but as for me, the grace by which we are saved doesn´t mean that we have to do nothing. Christ tells us plainly, that He lays down His life for His friends, and His friends are they that do whatsoever He commands. Our sincere effort to do the things that He tells us to do has to be there, for our Lord looks for sincerity, which is the voluntary follower, not by constraint. As for the works, it cannot be meant in a generalization of any thing; it must be the works of ceremonies, rituals, formalisms, that are the works excluded; but it cannot be good works, other wise verse ten would be of none effect, as well as Christ´s Words, which again tells us many things to do. It is misleading to teach the hearers "not of works", without any thing else said about it; for then all those people go away supposing that they need not do any thing which Christ says. As for grace, is not grace a teacher of works? indeed it is, for the grace of God teaches us that we must deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and live our lives soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. But if it is taught to the hearers to do nothing, then is this scripture of none effect also, because those things are indeed works, and the scripture is left broken if we do them not; which Christ had said, that the scripture cannot be broken. So in the end of the discussion, as for me, I will call Him, Lord, Lord, and do the things which He says; and those that trust in the "do nothing doctrine" will call Him, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which He says: and that is all that remains.

 

[Deep_MindQuest]

a saved christian works from the great free eternal gift of salvation not for it or to maintain it,foolish galations had to be schooled on that.
"They said therefore to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" - John 6:28-29

 

[jiggyfly]

a saved christian works from the great free eternal gift of salvation not for it or to maintain it,foolish galations had to be schooled on that.
"They said therefore to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" - John 6:28-29

Very good post DMQ, great scripture.

 

[Coconut]

a saved christian works from the great free eternal gift of salvation not for it or to maintain it,foolish galations had to be schooled on that.
"They said therefore to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" - John 6:28-29

awesome statement!

Love the message rizen, bless you!

 

[Janette]

Too much work

Legalism:Keeping he Law is all about you. What you do to obey, what you don't do to avoid sin. For most people it usually boils down to NOT doing this list of sinful things...and to these people's credit, they're motivated to keep the rules because they love God (to the best of their ability) and want to please Him.

Grace: Being in Grace is all about Jesus. What HE did to purify and redeem the rest of us. What HE empowers us to do. It boils down to us suddenly having the strength most of the time to be DOING what is right, because Jesus loves us and told us that *the* single way to reciprocate that love for Him is to *DO* for the least of His brethren.

The rest is window dressing. One makes you "moral" (as far as your strength to resist temptation carries you) before God, if you can do it. The other makes you useful to Him.

When it is all said and done, keeping the law 100% (nevermind that we have it from God's own lips that we can't) would get you into Heaven.

Being in Grace (where we have it again from God's own lips that His own righteousness is imputed to us), will get you...and everyone who looks upon you and sees not you but the Christ that dwells in you such that they open their hearts to come to Him...into Heaven.

----

 

[ruafreak4jesus]

Thank you all so much for this thread! I'm praising God for this site, I am so blessed! I have personally strugged with this question. I read those words written above and I still can't wrap myself completely around the concept of Grace! I know we do good works because we love Jesus and what He did for us, and not to earn a special spot in heaven. (I know I'm saved and therefore I want to please Him because I love him!) Yet, I get caught up in "reward" scriptures and how we will be rewarded based upon what we do? (Crown of Jewles etc.) That is one part of my issue. The second area I struggle is I tend to put my leagalistic convictions on other people. So, because I'm convicted to not attend R rated movies, I think all Christians should never see an R rated movie, or drink, or swear, or you name it...the list goes on! We are told in 1 Peter 2:16 (sorry, I don't know how to show the link) tells us to not use our liberty as a cloak for maliciousness. To me, the Bible is very clear on how we are to live and walk as Christians. We sit through service every Sunday and hear the same words, yet some of us walk out the door and return to a wrecked lifestyle! And some "Christians" don't try to hide what they do, despite hearing the same message! I truly take the Bible literal and when it says do not do this, or do not do that....that is what it means! (Doing it is the the hard part) So, often, I set myself up for failure becuase of course, I fall short! That is where the grace comes in...and I find I need grace every day! Romans 7:15 I do what I don't want to do, and yet I don't do the things I want to do! (Paraphrased of course!)

I'm often see people who call themselves Christians and they smoke, they swear, they do things I don't think glorify's God! Then, I bring it up, and they say...."you should see where I came from!" "A life of drugs, adultery, alcohol etc." They "love the Lord" and serve him....but you can't tell the difference between that Christian and my unsaved co-workers! To me....when you accept Jesus, a change takes place that will literally change you...to the point you are not the same as before. If I don't see that change....I struggle. My point being....I'm I then being legalistic? How do you balance leagalisim and grace? What does a grace filled lifestyle look like? You live life doing anything you want and lean on grace, or do you fight the urge to sin and be leagalistic? God Bless <><

 

[OnceWasLost]

To me....when you accept Jesus, a change takes place that will literally change you...to the point you are not the same as before. If I don't see that change....I struggle. My point being....I'm I then being legalistic? How do you balance leagalisim and grace? What does a grace filled lifestyle look like? You live life doing anything you want and lean on grace, or do you fight the urge to sin and be leagalistic? God Bless <><

I believe that when you get saved your born again and you become a new person, and your not going to want to go back and live that same life of sin. A person who loves God and has the holy spirit living inside him and is looking forward to life in heaven isn't going to be the same person he was before. He's going to start making better choices. I don't think avoiding sin should feel like a fight if your saved, avoiding sin should come natrually.

To me the difference between legalism and grace is now we have the Romans roadmap to heaven instead of the Leviticus roadmap.

 

[ruafreak4jesus]

There is a desire to not sin and conviction when I do sin. I understand that for sure! I know I should not worry about what others do or say, but how then can "Christians" feel good about sin and they don't seem to be convicted in areas the Bible is very clear on! I feel legalistic because I hold to a moral standard and I'm not willing to waiver. Others waiver and then pray for forgivness, or don't see anything wrong with that they are doing, therefore they don't even pray for forgiveness! How can a Christian do things contratray to God's will and feel good about it? It grieves me to sin, and although I do it with what I feel is a right heart, others say I'm leagistic!

It does come down to a love for Jesus and a heart set on pleasing God. I hate sin, and I know Jesus does also! We live in a very corrupt world (needless to say to this crowd). I would never purposely hurt my wife by sinning against her, yet we do that all the time to God! We are His bride and sin should not be taken lightly!

That is my heart, yet I'm often grived by the actions of Christians, and at times frustrated when they boast of things they do on a regular basis and I avoid those things because I'm weak in that area and do not want to be tempted to stumble.

I don't feel I'm legalistic because of why I'm doing what I do. I love Jesus. Others see my actions as legalistic becuase they are not convicted and see their actions as "grey" and "ok"!

 

[terry]

Isaiah 52

I also struggle with this from time to time , balancing grace and being legalistic . I believe the best thing for us to do as followers of Christ is to know His identity through His word and acknowledge the Holy spirit on everything even on the do's and donts. But if we choose to do something on our own , then its for sure that we are going to feel self righteous and will take the credit our selves,and the only one who should take and deserves to take the glory is God himself. What am trying to say is that when ever the bible tells us to do something we should always think of our helper the Holy spirit and call on Him.

Its true some christians do not get convicted because they keep sinning and they get used to sin and to the grace and mercy of God. I feel like its a waste of time sinning over and over again, then asking for forgiveness, while we should be spending our time on praying on mature things. "Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD" Isaiah 52:11

We are His bride and sin should not be taken lightly! True

God bless

 

[Boanerges]

Its true some christians do not get convicted because they keep sinning and they get used to sin and to the grace and mercy of God.

That really is not the grace of God.

The people I know who walk in God's grace are the holiest people I know. It is not strived, contrived, nor worked up but a lifestyle of dependence on and submission to God.
One cannot walk in legalistic bondage and come to this knowledge as to find it one must give up on self and walk in the Spirit manifesting the life of Christ.

 

[ruafreak4jesus]

Neil Anderson

"Laying down the law--telling someone that it is wrong to do this or that--does not give them the power to stop doing it. Christians have been notorious at trying to legislate spirituality with don'ts: Christians don't drink, don't smoke, don't dance, don't attend movies, don't play cards, don't wear makeup, etc. But legalism can't curb immorality. In fact, laying down the law merely serves to heighten the temptation."


Legalism can't curb immorality! AMEN! It does spur temptation. I have experienced this growing up. My parents would not allow dancing, dating. (Not bad now that I know). When I asked "why" the answer was because "we say so" and it is not right! Guess what...I did what I could depite them. I now teach my children that we are pleasing God alone! I say "no" because God says "no"! They are accountable to Him and I'm just trying to help them to seek God first and do what he leads and wants. It is the Holy Spirit that directs us and so often we know we should not do certain things, but if your weighing it against the law, the temptation will win!