In previous posts I have written that Legalism is the biggest threat to church unity, and that you are better off being a sinner than a legalist.
So since legalism is so serious, it is important to know whether or not you are a legalist.
Here are 10 Signs you Might be a Legalist
- If you believe there is a sin you think God cannot forgive, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe there is a limit to the grace of God, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that God’s blessings are reserved only for the obedient, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that certain behaviors disqualify a person from joining God’s family, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that the presence of ongoing sin in a person’s life causes them to lose their eternal life, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that the presence of ongoing sin in a person’s life proves that they never had eternal life in the first place, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that God loves us more if we obey Him more, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that all Christians must believe and act like you do, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that our standing with God is based on how well we keep the Ten Commandments, you might be a legalist.
- If you believe that people who accept evolution, love homosexuals, and vote democrat cannot be true Christians, you might be a legalist.
Have any to add? Want to object? State your opinion in the comment section below!
I agree with your posting, Jeremy. Nonetheless, I was reminded of an article by Tullian Tchividjian of which I want to copy and paste an excerpt.
“It’s the prostitute who understands grace; it’s the Pharisee who doesn’t. It’s the unrighteous younger brother who gets it before the self-righteous older brother.
There is, however, another side to self-righteousness that younger-brother types need to be careful of. There’s an equally dangerous form of self-righteousness that plagues the unconventional, the liberal, and the non-religious types. We “authentic”, anti-legalists can become just as guilty of legalism in the opposite direction. What do I mean?
It’s simple: we become self-righteous against those who are self-righteous.
[…]
For example, it was easy for Jonah to see the idolatry of the sailors. It was easy for him to see the perverse ways of the Ninevites. What he couldn’t see was his own idolatry, his own perversion. So the question is not whether you are self-righteous, but rather, in which direction does your self-righteousness lean? Depending on who I’m with, mine goes in both directions. Arghhh!
Thankfully, while our self-righteousness reaches far, God’s grace reaches farther. And the good news is, that it reaches in both directions!”
(The Double-Reach of Self-Righteousness, The Gospel Coalition, Tullian’s blog 2012/05/07)
That is a great point. He is an insightful writer. I know I struggle with this myself. I like to condemn and criticize those who condemn and criticize, and in so doing, fall into the same trap I am critical of … Wish I knew how to warn and plead with others without falling into that trap. Any ideas?
Well, that’s a difficult question to answer, Jeremy.
Although I think that I know where the solution lies, I have been struggling since yesterday with putting it into words which make some sense. I decided to share my own experiences as a both ex-legalist and ex-non-legalist. 😉
Before joining a legalistic Pentecostal-Charismatic cult in 1995, I was a liberal Roman Catholic who was anything but interested in this church’s teachings. I lived as I thought it would be right and I had no problems with others doing the same. Therefore you could have called my attitude non-legalistic back in the day. Also, I thought that the RCC were a museum, well-stocked with sour-faced elderly men in long flowing robes and eggshells on their heads, who lived in an ivory tower of contempt toward everyone who sought to enjoy life [No, that’s NOT the whole truth. I also enjoyed going to church AND I have come to know some wonderful priests as well!].
After my first overwhelming experiences with Jesus, there were some well-intentioned contemporaries who talked insistently to me about the inevitable necessity to attend a certain church regularly. I resisted for a few months, but finally I gave in although a small voice inside me said, “Don’t do it!”
However, at that time the human voices were louder than God’s voice.
To put it in a nutshell, I learned a lot during the following five years [attention: church attendance often five times a week for many, many hours]. In the end, I was a wonderful legalist. Thank God, I had two good friends who told me later how arrogant I had become as long as I had been joining the sect.
Without becoming sick with bipolar depression, I guess, I would have been much longer there. But in a “super courageous” manic phase, the legalistic and always self-controlled Susanne went postal, instilling terror in the whole congregation (although mainly through verbal aggression).
And thus, the legalist had died. After some rebellious weeks I fell into a deep depression and I wondered, “Who I am now?” like you did, Jeremy (read your testimony on this). Of course, there were many reasons why I was so sick. There were also old wounds that emerged from the subconscious as I, additionally, realized that our marriage was broken. These “old” pains sprang from having been sexually abused and gang-raped by three men in my youth, experiences I had hidden deep inside my heart. But suddenly the whole sh** boiled over.
What helped me the most, apart from my family’s support, was the experience of Christ’s deep LOVE and understanding for everything. He knew my almost unbearable inner suffering before I could see it at all. He loved the legalist in me as He loved the rebel who, honestly, didn’t want to rebel against God, but against a disease-causing religious system with its spiritual abuse and against those who once abused me sexually.
During the following years, Jesus healed our marriage and our family that was concerned as well. And He taught me how to always trust in Him more than in human beings, leaders, books, institutions and religious systems, and to understand others as He did and does understand me. Comprehending the heart of the legalist as well as the heart of the rebellious sinner indeed helps a lot.
I don’t know whether I answered your question, Jeremy, but I hope this testimony could be a bit helpful, too.
Correction:
““Who am I now?
That was helpful. Thank you. Hearing people’s stories often helps understand more about where they are coming from and why they believe what they do.
Hi sussane, I liked your post. I also am or was a Catholic since birth. And have had an experience with jesus. I left the Catholic Church sort of and attended protestant churches but am at no church now. What about you. You still go to church?
No, Aidan, I don’t go to church any more. I have come to realize that the Body of Christ does not ‘GO TO CHURCH’ but should BE THE CHURCH, instead. It means in effect that its members must necessarily be connected to their Head who is Christ. Every institution, house church gathering, or theological conference that replaces His name and leading with their own ideas is not The Bride of Christ. Instead, it is indeed an epitome of the antichrist. So, it should be always Him who constitues the (spiritual) foundation of Christian fellowship as well; it is never a man-made thing (visible churches usually are). I also cling to Martin Luther’s idea of the invisible church as I described here:
https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/church/
I just found an older article of mine, where I asked, “Is The Church Ago Over?” in which I found an excerpt from T. Austin Sparks that expresses pretty much what I believe about going to church.
“The last call of God, as judgment is pending, is a call to Himself. Here then is the call of God in our time. The last movement of the people of God is to Himself: not to a movement as such; not to a teaching or interpretation of truth; not to a sect or party; not to an enterprise or mission – but to Christ. The final true and Divine movement is to the Lord Himself. The sheer pressure of the conditions in the gathering storm and tempest will demand a leaving of all lesser interests and objects, however good a purpose they may have served hitherto, and a moving toward the Lord Himself. ‘Things’ divide; the Lord unites. ‘Things’ must pass; the Lord abides. The time comes when all the means and accessories which the Lord has sovereignly used will cease to avail. This includes all the organized side of Christianity, and the Lord will force the issue as to how much there really is of Himself.”
http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/002100.html
Correction:
It should read, “Is The Church Age over?”
If you like, see https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/is-the-church-age-over/
The Bible says Wise people listen to counsel. And if people don’t accept you, shake off the dust and move on. You can’t make people agree with you.
Outrageous grace. I really like that wee description. I, m really warming to it. Its a marvellous description of God’s love for us. For everybody. Murderers, et Al. Lovely.
I don’t think of Jesus’ commands as rules anyway. It’s more of a clarification of the new nature and what it looks like lived out. Same as in the epistles. Comparing ourselves with scripture helps us to see where we are, where we have been, and where we are going.
I agree. If Jesus’ commands are rules, then the Gospel amounts to the Torah 2.0, and Jesus only made matters worse for us by raising the bar. That does not sound like ‘good news’ to me! But that flies in the face of what he says elsewhere: With men, salvation is impossible. If anyone is saved it is by God’s grace, and not their works. His commands, like all moral principles, show us where our heart is, but they do not earn for us either salvation or damnation.
“… by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
I am grieved when a professing christian shows no or little desire to be conformed into the image of our Lord Jesus.
Agreed
We all have the desire but… and here’s the rub, Not a single one of us has the strength.
“The things I want to do are that which I do not. The things I don’t want to do, those things I keep on doing”.
What do YOU keep on doing?
Gossipping? Being right about everything? Judging others? Do people see in you what they themselves would like to have? Peace in the face of adversity? Joy? Hope? Contentment?
I’ll tell you what you CAN do. Love your neighbor, forgive with all your heart and believe with the faith of the Martyr. Help the poor. Visit the sick and dying. Do good whenever you get the chance and pray for those you claim you will pray for. Forgive yourself, because most times we are the ones most in need of forgiveness.
None of these things can you ever do enough of. None will assure you The Kingdom of God… but they might help you feel less miserable about your own shortcomings. And that will conform you more than “trying to be perfect”.
“For Love covers a multitude of sins”.
When I read about the growth that churches who preach the gospel of legalism have experienced, I am perplexed why anyone would be attracted to such churches. Then again, my life is not out of control, so I can’t relate to that mindset. My working hypothesis is that those churches are a match up of those who like to and often feel a need to control others with those who feel their lives are or may become out of control. Sadly, those people who are often sitting at the feet of a pastor and/or leadership that is a master at controlling others learn the lesson well and decide that not only their life needs to be kept under control, but also their wife’s and yours and mine.
It is very frustrating for them when we don’t accept their control and rules. So we see anger, judgment, nastiness, bitterness, lack of love. “Hey. I accepted what the preacher told me the Bible says. Now you won’t accept what I’m telling you. You’re going to burn in hell for that.”
It’s called “projection”. They think they see in you what they can’t control in their own lives… and say “You have a problem”!
Exactly. When telling us we have a problem, they rarely realize that they just revealed their (hidden) problem to us. We might think about that before we decide to advise others of what we perceive their problems to be. We may be telling them a lot more about us than we’re telling them about themselves. 🙂
Sam,
You have probably discovered the connection exactly. I spoke with a guy just yesterday who had lists of hundreds and hundreds of religious rules he followed every day. I asked him why he followed them, and he said they made him feel safe because he didn’t have to think about how to live his life to please God … all he had to do was follow the rules.
I have a million to add. But here are a few: If you believe people who disagree with you about when any how Jesus returns should not be trusted … If you doubt if someone who sins in ways you do not (at least openly) are not Christians … If you believe real Christians will sell everything and go dig wells in the 3rd world …
Love it! Those fit the list perfectly.
If you believe getting a theological collage degree qualifies you to lead Christians in some kind of official capacity, you might be a red neck, oops, legalist.
Ha! Love the funny name there too.
I agree with everything you said and it also gave me a good laugh. However, I was just wondering about the evolution thing. If you accept evolution, does it mean that you believe that God is not the creator, or that you don’t believe Genesis? Just wondering?
Suzanne,
I personally do not accept evolution, but those Christians who do believe in evolution most often believe in something called “Theistic Evolution” which is where God was the originator of the evolutionary process. That is, he is the one who sparked off the big bang and guided evolution through it’s billions of years of progress.
That was my only hesitancy with the list… How we view others is where we usually go legal, but with God knowing he is supreme and capable of all that we have or will have. He is the ultimate, he is able, he is the I AM, he is all, everything, creator etc… to me evolution robs him of the reason for why he sent Jesus. He created man/woman, sin entered and separated us, we needed Christ to redeem us. If we evolved… how does any of that matter.
I guess by some of these comments that everybody is a Christian and if you disagree with these comments you’re a legalist and not a child of GOD’s. As long as you say you believe with your mouth you’re OK?. If we can figure out what believe means we’ll have it licked. Maybe we should go back and read Jn.3:1-21, scratch that , the whole New Testament. Just sayin’.
I left out one thing, if the legalist is not a Christian and the Christian is judging the legalist, doesn’t that make the Christian a legalist. Sounds like a vicious cycle to me.
You just proved the point about all legalism.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
So the Believer is not condemned and when they do evil they come to Christ for repentance.
Romans 11, 28 As regards the gospel they are enemies of God[j] for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now[k] receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Rob,
Your guess is probably wrong. Few (if anybody) here are universalists. What gave you that impression? Furthermore, legalists can be children of God as much as anyone else. We all have our various forms of legalism (myself included), and the task is to see where these are, and slowly but surely learn to depend and rely solely on the grace and forgiveness of God instead of our own merit.
@RobRiggs
Nice dude, couldn’t have said it better myself.
Here is a question I’ll pose to these bent on ultimate grace. Is it possible to have false converts to the faith? (hint: parable of the soils)
What does it mean “to work out our salvation with fear and trembling?”
2 Cor 13:5 Test yourselves to see whether you are in the faith…
Hebrews 10:26-27 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God
Jesus said, if you love me you will keep my commands. Do you love Jesus?
Dennis,
Do you seriously think I am not aware of those texts? It always amazes me that people who disagree with my views think they can prove me wrong simply by quoting a few verses. Those texts are key to my view and support everything I teach, rather than disprove it as you assume.
Most Christians in the United States are taught and are conditioned to be legalists by the institutional church. I believe the institutional church breeds and encourages this legalism. The institutional church is a culture of legalism, so as long as Christians go to institutional churches, legalism will be the norm.
Right. To some degree, I think humans are legalistic by default, and so part of learning to follow Jesus is to let go of all our rules for other people, and just learn to rest in His love and follow where He leads, and allow others to do the same.
There will be Democrats in heaven? ;o)
Of course! Ha.
Absolutely NOT. To advocate for the murder of babies is to be guilty or murder just as hating one’s brother makes us guilty of murder. And 1 John 3:15 clear says..
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him…
Liberalism is a sin. Can you continue to live in habitual sin and be saved? NO 1 Cor 6:9 Liberalism is idolatry.
C’mon peoples, this is basic stuff.
Dennis,
It is basic stuff. And I fear that you have fallen for the most basic error of all … the idea that good works are in some way necessary to get eternal life, keep eternal life, or prove that one has eternal life. I believe that good works are important, but they play no role whatsoever in gaining, keeping, or proving eternal life. This is the basic message of Jesus and the central truth of the Gospel.
“Absolutely NOT. To advocate for the murder of babies is to be guilty or murder just as hating one’s brother makes us guilty of murder. And 1 John 3:15 clear says..
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him…
Liberalism is a sin. Can you continue to live in habitual sin and be saved? NO 1 Cor 6:9 Liberalism is idolatry.”
I cannot help but to reply to this arrogant, judgemental and destructive idea that the Bible is perfect and every word penned by God himself.
I certainly believe that the Word was INSPIRED by God. But He did not sit under a tree one afternoon and write it. Jesus said it was “God breathed” ,but as we will see he could not have meant that as the equivalent of Him breathing a soul into Adam.
I spend a good deal of time debating various points of Christianity with the atheists. And I can say that they have certainly taught me a few things about the the Bible I didn’t know. In fact, I find many atheists know the Bible better than a very many good Christian.
If we are going to go around telling folks they are calling God a liar based on a few scriptures in a Book, then one should first consider the accuracy of said book.
The following is a small sample of 100 direct indescrepencies and contradictions in the Book many seem to worship more than the God and Savior it is about.
94. Who killed Goliath?
David (I Samuel 17:23, 50)
Elhanan (2 Samuel 21:19)
95. Who killed Saul?
Saul took his own sword and fell upon it…. Thus Saul died… (I Samuel 31:4-6)
An Amalekite slew him (2 Samuel 1:1- 16)
96. Does every man sin?
Yes. There is no man who does not sin (I Kings 8:46; see also 2 Chronicles 6:36; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; and I John 1:810)
No. True Christians cannot possibly sin, because they are the children of God. Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God.. (I John 5:1). We should be called children of God; and so we are (I John 3: 1). He who loves is born of God (I John 4:7). No one born of God commits sin; for Gods nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God (I John 3:9). But, then again, Yes! If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (I John 1:8)
(Paul is the absolutely most misunderstood author in the Bible. The above “contradiction” is not really a contradiction at all. But one must understand the duality of the mind and the heart. Otherwise Paul will make you dizzy.)
97. Who will bear whose burden?
Bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)
Each man will have to bear his own load (Galatians 6:5)
98. How many disciples did Jesus appear to after his resurrection?
Twelve (I Corinthians 15:5)
Eleven (Matthew 27:3-5 and Acts 1:9-26, see also Matthew 28:16; Mark 16:14 footnote; Luke 24:9; Luke 24:3 3)
99. Where was Jesus three days after his baptism?
After his baptism, the spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days … (Mark 1:12-13)
Next day after the baptism, Jesus selected two disciples. Second day: Jesus went to Galilee – two more disciples. Third day: Jesus was at a wedding feast in Cana in Galilee (see John 1:35; 1:43; 2:1-11)
100. Was baby Jesus life threatened in Jerusalem?
Yes, so Joseph fled with him to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died (Matthew 2:13 23)
No. The family fled nowhere. They calmly presented the child at the Jerusalem temple according to the Jewish customs and returned to Galilee (Luke 2:21-40)
101. When Jesus walked on water how did the disciples respond?
They worshipped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God (Matthew 14:33)
They were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened (Mark 6:51-52)
If your faith is strong enough to stand it, then read some more… Google 100 contradictions….
But most Christians I know would simply say it can’t be true and dismiss the entire thing as a lie of Satan.
I once had a Pentecostal tell me that if you didn’t speak in tongues then you couldn’t be saved. He went on to explain that this was a sign that one was truly a Christian and I immediately recognized the verse…
Mar 16:17
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So I asked him just how many rattlesnakes and how much strychnine he had drank, having so much faith in the one part of the verse, yet not likely requiring the same hold true for the rest.
I fear Dennis, you are, what many God fearing, far right Christians would call righteous and many other God loving Christians would call a pharisee. For you follow to the letter a few laws in a Book yet fail to grasp the most important message that the Book is trying to teach.
Rom 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 5:10
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Rom 5:12
¶
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Rom 5:13
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Rom 5:14
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Rom 5:15
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Rom 5:16
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
Rom 5:17
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Rom 5:18
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Rom 5:19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Rom 5:20
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
To say with such conviction that no Democrat will enter Heaven… based on YOUR interpretation of what God’s holy nature is… based on a Book (no matter how much instruction and wisdom it may provide… without, it seems to me, using your own intellect to delve deeper into the whole of it… is in my opinion the sign of a Believer with a Giant Sequoia in his eye and teaching with his finger.
May God bless you in ways you would not reserve for others who are imprisoned in the same cell of unrighteousness as yourself.
Yes, at least 2 or 3! Ha Ha, I kid, I kid.
We are declared holy and righteous…for Jesus’ sake.
If one thinks that they have to somehow work towards that status…then they are a legalist.
“The good we do won’t save us…and the evil we do won’t condemn us.”
That…is a gospel statement that drives legalists nuts.
Yep! Good explanation of the legalistic mindset. Thank you!
Ecc 7:16
Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Ecc 7:17
Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
Ecc 7:18
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
I was dead on an operating table no vitals several time during surgery. My surgeon said they were ready to put the “toe tag” on me. That’s dead.
As I left my body I felt the overwhelming Love and the ‘peace that surpases all understanding’.
And then it hit me… hard. I felt like an idiot. A wave of understanding came over me. ALL the things I had been worrying about as to whether I was “Good Enough” were total foolishness. Many things were shown to me during that experience. But I will never fear death again. That was thirty years ago and it all seems like yesterday.
Ever since, the legalists have been trying to steal that glorious peace from me. But they fear death. And their faith is weak… and that’s why they can’t stand me at peace with both my “good” and “evil’ intact. They can’t stand their own “failures” that they hide or even begin to understand them.
I have heard it all. “Be ye conformed” Be ye perfect even as…” We are supposed to judge other “Christians”.
Blaaahhhh! If all Scripture is good for learning, then read the scripture above and profit from it.
God’s word is a Great mystery. But I KNOW He has me in the palm of his hand. He knows exactly what I’m going to do and when. And he love me anyway.
Thanks for sharing and Peace be with you.
Wow. Thank you for sharing that story. Yes, all the worry about whether or not we we are “good enough” is total foolishness.
he loves us no matter what! That is the beginning point of following Jesus.
To accept evolution is to deny the clear teaching of scripture and to call God a liar. That is not legalism but essential Christian doctrine.
So if a Christan believes in evolution, you would say they are not a Christian?
How can I know that? But this is what I do know… Any relationship that has one doubting the other and saying their Word is not truth, can’t possibly be a good relationship. Try that out with your best friend sometime and see how that works out for you.
Also, if you reject any portion of scripture as truth, doesn’t that mean it should all be rejected? John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth, Your Word is Truth.
Rom 3:4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”
If you are truly a Christian my friend, you will not take lightly the Word of the Lord.
You going to believe man? or God? 2 Tim 3:16-17
Dennis,
But that is exactly the point. I do not take lightly the Word of the Lord, and therefore, I study it day and night so that I might rightly know what it teaches. I reject no portion of Scripture, but I do reject some human interpretations of Scripture. Believe it or not, the “7 day creation” interpretation of Genesis 1-2 is one of the many available human interpretations of what God said in these two chapters. So the question is not, “Do I believe it?” Of course I do. The question is “What did God mean?”
@Dennis
The problem with rejecting the various theories of evolution, is that there are no theories with which they can be replaced.
@Jonathon
Of course there is. There is one theory that is actually true. It’s in the book called the bible and the only eye witness who was there to tell us how it happened.
Don’t you know that evolution is a faith based religion? And it takes much more faith to believe in evolution than creation. For it is scientifically impossible for everything to have created itself. Evolutions creator is Chance and chance does not even exist… This is what you have your hope in?
If evolution is true, then it’s irrelevant what a person believes because there is no consequence no matter what we do in life after we die. But.. if Christianity is true, unless you repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you will perish in Hell forever. Choose wisely my friend.
Wondering if it is easier for you to explain the life cycle of Black Holes using the Bible, or using the theory of evolution. Alternatively, you might find it less challenging to explain why Kiwis don’t exist in Europe, or Asia. On the gripping hand, maybe the selection of the watering hole frequencies would be easiest.
Regardless, a viable replacement theory has to include mathematical formula, explain the deficiencies in the theory it is replacing, and not have any apparent deficiencies when proposed, nor during the period of popular acceptance.
Ultimately, I think we are all legalists. There are none who is righteous. Where the problem comes in is when we don’t want to do what’s right to please God, but to please ourselves. Which we all do. We can’t avoid judging people unrighteously because we are unrighteous. When we cling to the law and turn it into an idol and a weapon with which to beat other people down with, rather than try our best to lift them up. Legalism is the acceptance of the world’s standard, judgement by deeds. That’s not how I think God judges us, but our hearts produce our deeds so we can see in actions the darkness in each others hearts. The law is both a blessing and a curse, a blessing to those who understand its intent and a curse to those who intend to understand it. We’re going to pick and choose the laws we want to follow, we can’t help it. It’s when we want to condemn people to hell for our own judgements that it becomes a problem.
Great insight. Yes, we are all legalists. I know I am. It is a battle I constantly struggle against. I also think that in some ways, we are all heretics as well! But that’s a different subject.
Oh, I agree with you completely. Something I’ve found, though, is that if we are honest with people and tell them our heresies they can’t help but tell us the lies that they tell themselves. Revealing our sins reveals theirs, and when the lies that they tell themselves come out of them they’ll be forced to make a choice. I trust what I see more than I trust God, it’s the source of my sin and the source of my power. By hiding my faith, others reveal theirs. No logic can overcome faith. When I engage I leave with their excuses, and leave them with a choice. I’ve come to realize the Bible is just as covered in sin as we are. It’s fully human and fully divine just like Jesus. We don’t need to be ashamed of our sins, we should be proud of them because when we sin God works through us just like in everything else we do. It’s our shame that condemns us, and we all feel it because we all know what we are.
Please keep the “vote democrat” out of your otherwise excellent article.
The majority of evangelical born again christians do NOT reside in the United States of America.This comment only accentuates the Americocentric arrogance of American christians.
Do you have political parties in your country? Feel free to substitute those parties for “republican” and “democrat” above.
Acknowledging that you have a tendency to do something which you would like not to do demonstrates genuine humility and openness to overcoming this tendency.All of us sinners can overcome if we have the humility to allow the Holy Spirit to direct our wills.
Even asking,”Any ideas?’ demonstrates humility to learn from others.
Humility is the strongest weapon we have as it motivates us to prayer and allows us to be directed by the greatest power we have available-the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Thank you for your great article. I am sometimes attracted to legalistic teaching toward myself. Jesus’ love and sacrifice is so overwhelming, it’s easy for the soul to think “it’s too good to be true!” at times.
It did hit me recently that when he commands us in the New Testament, his command works in our hearts the same way it did in Genesis when he said “let there be light,” and there was light.
So, “set your mind on things above, not on earthly things,” for example, is a command that comes to pass since he spoke it to my heart which was once darkness without him.
So his commands are to be received as reality rather than attempted as laws.
Which, in my understanding, is the only way he could say “his commands are not burdensome.”
How kind he is!
What a wonderful perspective! I want to sit with this. I have never connected Genesis with the Gospel message in that way. “Let there be light…” Indeed. Thank you for posting.
Thank you for the blessed article and the informative insights in the comments field. This has really helped and I thank God our Father in Heaven for actually waking me up convicting me of being on my way to a legalist… lacking grace,mercy, love towards people.
Its been a tough journey being a born-again, accepting and giving my life to Christ Jesusover 2 years ago… aside from being in his word throughout my walk, watching sermons of bold preachers such as David Wilkerson, Leonard Ravenhill, Paul Washer… I totally missed out on the love, mercy, grace side of things.
Praise God for this article.
I, m probably one of them there legalists. Coz if there is a sin I haven’t committed in the flesh. I have probably committed in my mind. Or definitely in my heart. But hey! Outrageous grace. I, m over it. Amen.
I read a book by Paul Washer. Now I wonder whether I am saved. He puts me under condemnation. I read the Bible. When I can I lead others to Christ, but he is so heavy on that!
Please help!
The Minister and Junior Minister at my Church during a bible study home group said that mental illness is a result of sin and so is Alzhemiers disease/Dementia.
I have struggled with their comments for over a year as my heart and experience tell me this is not so. Alzheimers is a proven scientifically brain disease and mental illness can be a result of trauma, abuse amongst many other things.
Are they being legalistic? I did of course question both at the time based on experience with family through trauma in ww2 and a severe burns accident and my mother taking a severe blow to the head and developing Alzheimers. My questioning was ill received and I feel terrible for questioning Ministers!
are you on FB?