Legalism

[elijah23]

We shouldn’t become entrenched in legalism. There are two things we have to do:

[34] But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad'ducees, they came together.
[35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.
[36] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
[37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
[38] This is the great and first commandment.
[39] And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
[40] On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Matt 22:34-40 RSV

Love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls, and love our neighbors as ourselves, and we will do just fine.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

My relationship with God degraded into legalism not too long after being born again. The result was fear and uncertainty...or maybe that's actually what caused it, lol. I'd have to think about that.

But anyway, God rescued me when I cried out to him from the fear and uncertainty of my legalistic walk with him. He took me to the verses of scripture that teach what living for God is all about and how we can have real peace in him and have the surety of our salvation and the judgment to come knowing we are doing exactly what pleases him. I ache for every Christian to be in this same place. These are some of the places he took me:

"17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men." (Romans 14:17-18 NIV1984)


"...We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God." (1 Corinthians 8:1-3 NIV1984)


"...he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." (Romans 13:8-11 NIV1984)


"18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:18-20 NIV1984)


5 ...make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-11 NIV1984)


4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Galatians 5:4-6 NIV1984)


"14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God." (Galatians 6:14-16 NIV1984)

 

[farouk]

One person's anarchist is another person's freedom fighter.

But the Epistle to the Galatians sets a lot of related issues into a balanced, spiritual perspective.

 

[Kidron]

In general, the more self-righteous a person is, the more they will tend towards legalism.
And what is self-righteousness?
Its trying to make yourself right with God instead of letting God give you his righteouness for free.

A legalist will always try help out Jesus and his finished work, and or replace it with some other means of salvation.
Water Baptism for example.
Or......"living it".
In general, a self-righteous person will use their pride to interpret the scriptures so that they get a part of saving themselves while using the scriptures to try and damn a Christian at the same time.
For the self-righteous person, saving themselves with the help of Jesus is "faith".

The self-righteous person, the legalist, will always believe its necessary to stay saved by effort, vs trusting they ARE saved and accepting that its already DONE.

Here is a coversation with a person who is trying to save themselves, who is trying to make themselves right with God, instead of relying totally and completely on God's grace.


"well, im telling you that if you keep on sinning after you are saved, and you die, you are not going to go to heaven".

"no, i'll say it again, you can not live in sin and be born again,..... because if you live in sin you are not really saved,..... becaue a really saved person is not going to live in sin"".

"no, the bible says only he who endures to the end, the same shall be saved".

"i dont care if all my sins are forgiven, im telling you that if you dont forgive, you are not going to heaven because God is not going to forgive you".

"i think i might have blasphemed the Holy Spirit".

"i think i may have lost my salvation".

"faith without works is dead, and im telling you that if you are not working for the Lord, if you are not living for him, then you are not going to heaven after you die ".

"are you saved?.....yes, i was baptised when i was 3"

"no one can know if they are really saved, we only find this out after we die, there is no eternal security for the believer".

Its interesting to note that its not sin which damns a person, but its self-righteousness., as they are trying to make themselves "right" with God, based on their own effort, instead of allowing God to save them.

self-righteousness is what creates religion.
self-righteousness is what God abhors.
self-righteousness and pride are evil twins.




K