Legalism Tag

September 22, 2019

The Blind Man’s Bluff

FRIENDS OR JESUS? So if you are going to stand up for Jesus, prepare to be rejected. Many Christians, especially young people and young adults, can’t resist the peer pressure. They want to be accepted by their friends, so they make a decision to reject the truth of the Bible to go along with the popular culture’s definition of truth. If you stand for truth, like this blind man did, you are going to be kicked out of the popular crowd. John 9:13-38.

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June 4, 2017

Step Out of the Shadows of Legalism

Shadows are real, but they are dead. If I walked up to you to greet you and you tried to shake hands with my shadow I would infer one of two things: A) that you are probably crazy, or B) you like my shadow more than you like me. How the heart of Jesus must have been broken when some many of the Jewish people loved the shadow of legalism more that the substance of the Son of the Living God.

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May 6, 2012

Set Free to Serve–NOT to Sin

I believe that when you come to Christ, God forgives every sin you’ve ever committed and every sin you’ll ever commit. So if I’m forgiven, then why should I run from sin? One word: Consequences. Forgiveness is God removing the penalty of my sin problem—eternity in hell. But as a Christian I still have to face the consequences of my sin in this life. Moses sinned against God by showing pride and disobedience. He was forgiven, and he’s in heaven, but he sinned, he suffered the consequence of never entering Canaan. King David sinned against God, and he was forgiven, and he’s in heaven how. But because of his sin, he suffered tragedy and heartache in his family.

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April 1, 2012

What Happened to Your Joy?

There are some Christians who believe you can lose your salvation. They think there is something a Christian can do that would cause them to longer be a child of God. We believe there’s nothing we can do to become a child of God, so there’s nothing you can do to lose that position. Once God has placed you into His family by a new birth, no one or nothing can cause you to lose your relationship with Him. You don’t have to work to keep your salvation; He is keeping you.

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March 25, 2012

Don’t Go Back!

All the rules and regulations of the Old Testament are only shadows of the real thing and Jesus is the real thing. If Jesus walked up to you to shake your hand would you ignore Him and try to shake hands with His shadow? That’s legalism.

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December 18, 2011

Far as the Curse is Found

Most of us struggle with the pure grace of God because we feel better about ourselves if we can do something to earn God’s favor. The idea of grace goes against our human nature. Everything in our nature says, “Try hard. Work hard. Earn acceptance with God.” But salvation is not by trying; it is by trusting.

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December 4, 2011

“Bewitched”

When you connect suffering with legalism, you fall into the bottomless pit of thinking you are suffering because you aren’t being “good enough” and the best way to remove the suffering is to redouble your efforts to be more religious.

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October 30, 2011

Too Graced to be Two-Faced

Of these three characters, whose sandals are you wearing? Are you like Paul and you need to help someone who has stumbled? Or are you in the sandals of Barnabas and you’re following the wrong leader? Or perhaps, like Peter, you need to examine your life and make sure your conduct matches what you believe about the gospel.

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October 23, 2011

Born (Again) Free

The legalism that exists today isn’t about keeping Jewish festivals as much as it is thinking that a Christian can earn God’s love and acceptance by what they do or don’t do. Legalism is the belief that if I can just keep all my spiritual plates spinning, then I can earn more of God’s favor.

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September 25, 2011

The Bad News Gospel

Jesus’ last words from the cross weren’t “EARN THIS.” His last words were a shout of triumph, “It is finished!” Sadly some Christians spend every day of their lives feeling like they have to live in a way to earn the sacrifice of Jesus. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was saying there was nothing else we could ever do to be saved.

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September 18, 2011

Galatians: Our Emancipation Proclamation

Galatians is a short book—only six chapters. You can easily read it in a half-hour. But don’t be deceived by its size. A tiny stick of dynamite can blow up a big building. That’s more than a figure of speech; it’s a metaphor for the book itself. Galatians is spiritual dynamite. Learn how to achieve freedom from fear, doubt and guilt through grace.

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March 14, 2010

A Sabbath Miracle: Stretch Out Your Hand!

Have you noticed in many of Jesus’ miracles He simply told the person to DO the very thing they couldn’t do? When the four men brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and lowered him through a hole in the ceiling, Jesus didn’t touch the paralyzed man. He simply said, “Stand up, pick up your bed and walk home.” Jesus told Peter to walk on water, which was totally impossible. But it wasn’t until Peter stepped out onto the impossibility that he found he could stand on Jesus’ Word! It is only when we trust the Word of Jesus to believe we experience His healing power. Salvation is impossible for us, but God’s power makes it possible.

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March 7, 2010

A Sabbath Parable

We don’t have to observe the Sabbath the way the Jews did. But there is another mistake some Christians make. They say, “Oh, well Sunday is our Sabbath.” No, Sunday is NOT the Christian Sabbath. I invite you to find one verse in the New Testament that says Sunday has become the Sabbath. Then where did we get the idea that existed until about 40 years ago that stores shouldn’t be open on Sundays?

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March 2, 2008

Don’t Waste God’s Grace

WPaul warns us about receiving God’s grace in vain, because there is the possibility that we can actually waste God’s grace. Grace has been defined as “God’s unmerited favor.” But that definition isn’t enough. To say that God’s grace is “unmerited favor” is like saying Niagara Falls is a trickle. It’s like saying the Grand Canyon is a ditch. It’s like saying the Amazon is a creek. Grace is so much more than unmerited favor.

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July 22, 2007

Unveiled at Last!

Some Christians are confused and think people in the Old Testament time were saved by keeping the Law. Nope. If that’s the case, then nobody from the Old Testament times would be in heaven. So will there be any Old Testament characters in heaven? Sure. Moses will be there. Did he keep all the commandments? No. He murdered a guy. But he’ll be there because he put His faith in God’s plan. Will King David be there? Sure, but he broke a whole bunch of commandments. He’ll be in heaven for the same reason you and I can go to heaven: he placed his faith in God and had a personal relationship with Him.

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July 9, 2006

Are You Living by Rules or a Relationship?

The trouble with doing things to impress God is it forces you to keep coming up with more and better things to do for God. For instance, if you really want God to bless you, then maybe you can do more than the average person to earn more of His favor. Throughout history people have become monks, fasted, or endured masochistic pain as religious acts of devotion. Paul refers to this in verse 23 when he writes about “harsh treatment of the body.” Those kinds of acts may appear valuable, but the Bible says they are worthless.

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June 18, 2006

Stop Chasing Shadows!

Many well-meaning Christians are chasing shadows: They are still trying to please God by keeping religious rules and observing religious rituals. An examination of some of the substitutes for grace, and the differences between legalism-based churches and grace-based churches.

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June 11, 2006

Beware of Grace-Robbers!

Some grace-robbers today insist we should still obey obscure Old Testament rules and regulations, and have even substituted a whole new set of rules. Legalism is the attitude that I can establish or improve my standing before God by my activities. It’s not an act–it’s an attitude. If you think there is anything you can do to either establish a relationship or improve your relationship with God, you may have fallen into the trap of legalism. An introduction to three insidious grace-robbers.

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June 4, 2006

What was Nailed to the Cross?

In this age of computing, we have generated a new word: Multitasking. That means while you are working on one particular task, your computer can be working on two or three other processes simultaneously. You may think that’s neat, but God is the original Multitasker. He can ignite the mighty sun in the sky to hold the planets in orbit, and He can use that same sun to ripen your tomatoes as if He had nothing else to do. As I began to study this passage I realized there were several divine tasks occurring simultaneously at the Cross of Jesus. At the same moment Jesus Christ was being nailed to the cross, God was also nailing three other things to the cross.

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September 19, 1999

Hey! A Christian Can’t Do THAT!

There are things we face in life that do not fall neatly into the right or wrong categories. There are some things we’re faced with, some areas of conduct that the Bible really doesn’t address. That’s what Paul is addressing.

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