This is going to be a different type of post than usual for me. I am currently studying Breaking Free, by Beth Moore, and I wanted to share with you some of the thoughts I journaled from one of the days of study. This is one of the most profound and practical Bible studies I have ever encountered, and I urge all of you to do this study yourself as soon as you can! You will never be the same!
I am tempted to just journal right here in my blog each day of my study because every topic has been so rich and life-changing, but this particular subject matter, how legalism keeps Christians in bondage, seems especially relevant to me considering some articles I have read in Christian magazines and other blogs lately. I have witnessed the deception and imprisonment of legalism in too many people’s lives, and I want everyone to know how wonderful it is to truly be free! I have been set free, and you can be too!
I have written quite a bit about grace in the past, so I won’t delve into too much detail here as a Scriptural study. However, after growing up with a legalistic background, I have become quite passionate about understanding and teaching about grace. I have been thrilled to see a better balance of truth being taught about grace in recent years and rejoice to see many being set free. However, as with any teaching, some can swing to the extreme, twisting the balanced truth found in Scripture into a legalistic pretzel. Some in the church have voiced concern that we have rejected the teaching of holiness and are teaching a self-indulgent-live-as-you-please-with-no-consequences grace doctrine. I have seen numerous articles recently calling for a return to holiness.
As you can imagine, I have grave concerns about this. Yes, I believe in holiness. God is holy; therefore, we must also be holy. However, we are holy only when we are clothed in His holiness. It is never anything that we have done or can do. It is not about following a list of rules or someone else’s idea of what holiness looks like, but what I fear is that the cry for holiness is actually a cry back to legalism. No, legalism is not my cop out word for avoiding righteous living so we can live any way we want and get away with it as some have expressed of grace teachers. I actually do advocate obedience, but there is a stark difference between obedience and legalism. Legalism is actually the life blood of the Pharisee. We all know how Jesus felt about the Pharisees! We must carefully examine our hearts for any tendencies toward a Pharisee-like mindset and turn it over to Jesus.
My notes below will help paint a picture of what the Bible actually teaches about legalism. These are actually my thoughts as I read and studied Scripture and not necessarily Beth’s teaching. To read more in depth study of grace and holy living, with a lot of excellent Scriptural references, check out my blog post, Get Out of Those Chains! You Are Free! I also recommend absorbing the books of Romans and Galatians for an even better understanding.
But, don’t we have to live a holy life? When we have been born again, works and holy living become merely the evidence of God’s work in us, but never a condition for salvation. If our lives have not changed, we have not had a genuine encounter with God. It’s that simple. However, when we surrender to God, the evidence in our lives will be very obvious. Therefore, do not fear the accurate teaching of grace. We are free from the law of sin and death and free to live abundantly in Him. When we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, but remember, that does not involve keeping a check list of do’s and don’ts. Christ has made us free; so don’t allow anyone to put a yoke of slavery back on you ever again!
“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Galatians 5:1 NLT
Here are my actual notes:
Legalism:
- Focus is on rules and regulations rather than relationship with Christ.
- Obedience is motivated by obligation and fear.
- The law is more important than man.
- Always condemns and looks for fault in self and in others.
- Just like the Pharisees “always looking for a reason to accuse.”
- Tends to be mean-spirited and harsh.
- Constant feeling of guilt and not quite measuring up.
- It puts a heavy burden on people that God never intended for them to bear.
- It cheapens grace and negates the price Jesus paid on the cross, as if what He did was not enough, and He needs our help.
- Requires strict observance of the law that will never justify.
- It is based on pride.
- Performance based.
- Usually based on man-made rules or someone else’s idea of what right living ought to look like.
- Involves comparison with others.
- It focuses on outward appearance rather than the heart.
- It is NEVER enough to make us right with God.
- It teaches obedience to the law as a condition for salvation which is contrary to God’s Word.
- The focus is on self rather than Christ.
- It keeps people in bondage.
- “Regulations replace relationship.” Beth Moore
- “Microscopes replace mirrors.” Beth Moore
- “Performance replaces passion.” Beth Moore
Here is the Biblical definition of legalism:
“The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.’” Isaiah 29:13
Lord, never let that be said of me! I reject that kind of imprisoned living with all my heart! I seek to love and honor You with all my heart!
Grace:
- Focus is on relationshipwith God through Jesus and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
- Obedience is motivated by love, gratitude, and a strong desire to please God.
- Man is more important than the law.
- Repentance is based on God’s kindness to us rather than fear or shame.
- It involves walking by the Spirit rather than the flesh.
- We bear Jesus’ yoke which is easy, and His burden which is light.
- We recognize that we will never be good enough on our own, so we depend on the price Jesus paid for us and being clothed with His righteousness. He who knew no sin became sin for us so we could become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
- There is no condemnation, (Romans 8:1) only conviction as the Spirit guides us and takes us through a process of becoming like Jesus. He teaches us how to live a life that pleases Him.
- His grace is sufficient for us, and we can be assured of salvation.
- The focus is on the heart, which is what God values more than what is on the outside.
- It is not about getting away with indulgent living or doing the least we can get by with, but it is about passionately living each day to honor our Lord.
- It is about living a lifestyle of worship; doing all for the glory of God.
- It is about enjoying His presence.
- Grace is consistent with God’s Word that says we are saved by grace through faith, not works or the law.
- Grace liberates us to live in the freedom Christ came to give us.
Here is a question Beth asked that really brings it home: “How could a student of God’s Word squeeze the enjoyment out of her Christian walk by replacing relationship with regulations?” The point is, are you enjoying the presence of God in your life? There are many things that can suck the joy from our lives, but if we consistently lack enjoyment of God, we can usually blame legalism.
I don’t know about you, but I want a genuine experience with God! I want an intimate relationship with Him more than anything on this earth! I want to know, love, honor, and commune with Him every single day of my life. Why would I settle for a bunch of binding rules? Why settle for such a miserable life? It is NOT pleasing to God like many of us were brought up to believe. What God wants is our hearts.
It’s all yours, God!
Thank you so much for your encouragement.
🙂
I have been suffering from constant condemnation that I thought was the Holy Spirit. It was bothering me off and on for well over a year but your blog is one of two or three different sources that God has been using to minister to me and to recognize that the Holy Spirit brings conviction which leads to repentance but the enemy brings condemnation which never seems to go away no matter what you do. Thank you.
That was a huge struggle for me for many years as well. I confused the two and felt so condemned. I had failed to realize that conviction just meant that the Holy Spirit was chiseling out areas from me that were not consistent with the character of Christ. He does this out of love and kindness, and always for our good and God’s glory. It may sting a little, but it brings about positive fruit and growth in our lives. However, when we feel condemned or wrestle with a general feeling of shame or unworthiness, that is a tool of the enemy to deceive us or try to render us ineffective in the Kingdom of God. How freeing it is when we realize what a big fat liar he really is! Thank you for sharing with me. I pray that you will see things on here that will encourage and bless you! God bless!