'A Look At Legalism In The Church'
Greetings in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior!
From time to time and in rare circumstances, a thing called "legalism" creeps into the local New Testament Church.
What it is and what it is not can be confusing to new babies in Christ.
With that in mind, let's take a brief look at legalism and how it can confuse, discourage, and defeat those who are not yet feeding on the meat of the gospel of Christ.
When people believe or attempt to convince others to believe that keeping the 'Law of Moses' or living holy lives must be done to "obtain" salvation, that belief is a form of "Legalism".
Let's understand that we can't wait until we can 'live' a holy life in order to 'find' salvation or redemption.
Christ did all that needed to be done on the Cross of Calvary to give us access to the throne of grace and salvation.
The shed blood of Christ was the price He paid to enable the 'unsaved to come to the foot of the cross with a broken and repentant heart and ask the Lord for salvation and to live within the body, mind, soul, and spirit of the sinner seeking salvation.
We come by faith, believing and God's Holy Spirit does the changing of the life of the believer.
The 'Legalist'[ says we have to "work" to be saved.
Christ tells us to serve and work because we "are saved."
The apostle Paul, writing in Ephesians 2:8, sheds light on salvation by grace and not works of legalism. Eph 2:8,[K.J.V.] "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
There are other forms of legalism that can cause divisions in the local New Testament Church.
Some pious [snarky] and sometimes prideful church elders and leaders may hold themselves as 'holier' or closer to the throne of grace simply because they dotheir best to live holier, cleaner, lives.
This legalist may look down his elevated nose on the church member who struggles with the world and the flesh from time to time.
We need to guard against all forms of legalism and we should certainly guard against believing that our spiritual lives are more holy than someone else's.
When we hold ourselves up as being closer to perfection, we may have forgotten where we came from.
Paul again urges each of us to walk close to the Lord and to seek His leadership and guidence as we live out our faith.
Colossians 4:5-6[K.J.V.] exhorts us to: "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."
To hold ourselves above the newly adopted child of the King might be something we should desire to avoid.
We may have been saved a few years longer, but we are all still works in progress.
Lord, lead us in such a way as to be a beacon of hope to lost souls around us. Let us never allow ourselves to consider ourselves more worthy than any sinner who has been saved by the grace of a loving and compassionate God.
Brother Aaron.
Greetings in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior!
From time to time and in rare circumstances, a thing called "legalism" creeps into the local New Testament Church.
What it is and what it is not can be confusing to new babies in Christ.
With that in mind, let's take a brief look at legalism and how it can confuse, discourage, and defeat those who are not yet feeding on the meat of the gospel of Christ.
When people believe or attempt to convince others to believe that keeping the 'Law of Moses' or living holy lives must be done to "obtain" salvation, that belief is a form of "Legalism".
Let's understand that we can't wait until we can 'live' a holy life in order to 'find' salvation or redemption.
Christ did all that needed to be done on the Cross of Calvary to give us access to the throne of grace and salvation.
The shed blood of Christ was the price He paid to enable the 'unsaved to come to the foot of the cross with a broken and repentant heart and ask the Lord for salvation and to live within the body, mind, soul, and spirit of the sinner seeking salvation.
We come by faith, believing and God's Holy Spirit does the changing of the life of the believer.
The 'Legalist'[ says we have to "work" to be saved.
Christ tells us to serve and work because we "are saved."
The apostle Paul, writing in Ephesians 2:8, sheds light on salvation by grace and not works of legalism. Eph 2:8,[K.J.V.] "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
There are other forms of legalism that can cause divisions in the local New Testament Church.
Some pious [snarky] and sometimes prideful church elders and leaders may hold themselves as 'holier' or closer to the throne of grace simply because they dotheir best to live holier, cleaner, lives.
This legalist may look down his elevated nose on the church member who struggles with the world and the flesh from time to time.
We need to guard against all forms of legalism and we should certainly guard against believing that our spiritual lives are more holy than someone else's.
When we hold ourselves up as being closer to perfection, we may have forgotten where we came from.
Paul again urges each of us to walk close to the Lord and to seek His leadership and guidence as we live out our faith.
Colossians 4:5-6[K.J.V.] exhorts us to: "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."
To hold ourselves above the newly adopted child of the King might be something we should desire to avoid.
We may have been saved a few years longer, but we are all still works in progress.
Lord, lead us in such a way as to be a beacon of hope to lost souls around us. Let us never allow ourselves to consider ourselves more worthy than any sinner who has been saved by the grace of a loving and compassionate God.
Brother Aaron.
