Get to Jesus!
“Sir, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21).
Both legalistic thinking that creates oppressive rigidity and relativistic thinking that creates unwise affinity become bondage-makers. Jesus is the only bondage-breaker.
Even halfway hybrid-type versions on either side produce bondage, perplexing bondage, because right words are used in some measure, but bondage still results.
The key is not a list, even if it’s good stuff. The key is not a box of perceived Christian living. The key is a life. We must get to Jesus!
Jesus is the liberating life Himself.
For a thorough discussion of this truth, see The Liberating Life of Jesus: Finding Freedom in Christ between the Two Extremes of Law and License.
John Van Gelderen
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Legalism is too often used as an excuse to justify grace as a license to sin.
Every Christian has a list, they just draw the line at different places.
Every church has a Statement of Faith and usually a code of conduct.
That’s a list…
The bottom line is motivation. If you have a list because everyone else does, that’s legalism.
But if God has convicted you about something and you don’t do something, that’s not legalism, that’s loving Christ.
And it’s incredibly judgmental to call someone a legalist when you don’t know their heart motivation.
I’m not sure if you are referring to John when you said “it’s incredibly judgmental to call someone a legalist when you don’t know their heart motivation.”
IF you were, I want to note that John did not judge anyone in that article. It was a good article. It is an article in which he warns against both legalism and license. He does not excuse either one. He also didn’t attack faith-based standards.
Again, I’m not sure if you were targeting John in that comment or not, but I wanted to mention this.
This short advertisement post about the book spurred some thoughts. Note that “legalism” is adding any work to salvation. As those who are already saved, we ought to have Bible standards of holy living, allowing the life of Christ to be reproduced in us, and “walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.” This is not legalism. And it is not bondage or binding… “His commandments are not grievous.”
New Oxford American Dictionary definition of legalism: Dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith. The example Oxford gives: “Stress obedience apart from faith and you produce legalism.” It seems to me that this definition would include salvation (Dependence on moral law for salvation.) but would also include sanctification. (Dependence on moral law instead of Jesus to become more like Christ.) This word “legalism” is not found in the Bible so the dictionary is the only source we have to understand its meaning. I also would like to note that John didn’t say that standards were legalistic. He… Read more »
I’ve been traveling and so I just got to see this thread. Thank you all for your interest in a relevant subject. The way to fulfill the law/list is not to focus on the list, but Jesus. Thus, the key is Jesus. When you look to Jesus, He authors faith and you access Christ’s life as the animating power to fulfill His will (Heb. 12:2). He fulfills the law the way God intends it and He never leads to sin. Jesus is the liberating life. List focus leads to self-dependence. No-list focus leads to self-will. Jesus focus leads to Jesus… Read more »