I get so tired of the same 'ole, same 'ole messages that reflect the Old Covenant of "trying hard to do what God commands." As a recovering legalist, I turn off now to messages of any kind that endorses this sometimes subtle, yet damaging deception, and very popular form of legalism -- a PERFORMANCE-BASED Christianity.
A legalist = a "spiritual performer"
The Old Covenant was full of "if . . . then" promises. An "if . . . then" promise means that God was saying, "If you will do this, then I will do that." The people had to fulfill the "ifs" before God would fulfill the "thens." For example, "if you commit your house or possession to the Lord, He will then protect them." The New Covenant in Christ has "ifs and thens" also, but under this New Covenant ALL THE "IFS" HAVE BEEN FULFILLED AND COMPLETED IN JESUS CHRIST so that the "thens" can be fulfilled and completed in us!
I love 2 Corinthians 1:20! It gave me such revelation and joy not long ago. . .
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) says,"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."
(LBV) says, "For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
When I finally received this understanding, I couldn't wait to go thru all the "Ifs" everywhere in the Bible, and I read the Promises of God books in a new "light" -- the Light of Christ, because it was such a joy to know that Jesus has fulfilled them all and I, a believer, get to reap all the "thens!" THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!! Clearly, this verse says that ALL the promises of God are fulfilled -- they are "yea and amen" -- in Jesus Christ. Jesus IS the "yeah and amen," having fulfilled all the "if . . . then" requirements to all the promises of God. Now THIS would make for a great message to edify and build up the Body of Christ, wouldn't it? It brings hope and joy and celebration and awe in the gifts and MERCY of God.
Legalism endorses unbelief and the minimizes the mercy of God!
The Old Covenant falls short in glorifying the merciful God we really do have! Jeus IS HIS GlORY! Now, because of Jesus, we can see the Perfection of God as noted in Matthew 5:45: "For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." (He can do this now because of Jesus!) And here's the Good News . . . one of the NT "Ifs . . . thens" . . . .If you are IN CHRIST, everything is already given to you as a Gift of His Grace and Mercy. "For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10) We shall be saved, kept saved, and kept safe! We've inherited all the promises of God thru Jesus! Now the Father is our Father and He watches all things concerning our lives. We never have to bargain or do anything to get Him to respond to us. Jesus has already done did it all!! If you are In Christ, are are IN!!!
Legalism is like constantly trying to "get into a room" that you are already in. That's why it seems so hard. Have you ever seen someone trying really hard to get into a room he's already in? What freedom comes when that person realizes that he's already in! Then he can REST and RECEIVE and I know, as a recovering legalist, that person will never want to leave that glorious room. No teaching or mindset or scripture or anything will draw a recovering legalist out of the room of relief and grace . . . he/she is firmly planted. The Truth of God's Grace has set us free from that heavy yoke of OT spiritual performance, requirements and qualifications! YAHOO!
Where are you placing your faith and hope? In your performance ("If . . . Then)? Or in the Grace of God (the Yeah and Amen) IN Jesus Christ? Jeff Harkin, author of "Grace Plus Nothing" says it has been his observation that many of the most committed believers in the Body of Christ are under PILES of "if . . . then" teaching. And I agree. He asks this question, "Are you being vexed by the ever-growing list of "ifs" that you are being taught you must perform in order to obtain the blessings of God upon your life? The vexation is there to bring you back to simple grace. The Holy Spirit is allowing you to feel vexed in order to tell you something is wrong."
Legalism tries to "obligate God," which is in fact nothing short of a veiled attempt to manipulate God or to rule and therefore BE GOD. It has inferior motives: Fear of punishment and desire for reward. . . . to mature in grace is to be freed from REWARD as a Primary Motivation to obey God. This is why legalism can never break the mastery of sin.
Grace renders these inferior motives of fear of punishment and desire for reward either impotent or irrelevant. And Grace says, "We love, because He first loved us" (john 4:19) Thus love as a response to grace. The UNCONDITIONAL (no strings attached, no hidden agendas) Love of God IN Jesus Christ is the ONLY Place where worldly motives (fear of punishment and desire for reward) can be superseded by Godly motivation.
We have the Spirit of God within us (greater is He!) so that we may discern between true and false teaching. True shepherds point to the Chief Shepherd! False teachers are preoccupied with performance. . . using OT Scriptures most of the time. Works righteousness glorifies man! Grace righteousness glorifies God! Grace eliminates boasting ("I have a big ministry because I pray 5 hours every day!" or "God gave me this great job and/or money because I tithe." or "God answered my prayer because I fasted." How 'bout God takes care of me in all ways because of Jesus!
Here's a simple rule of thumb I've learned recently for discerning teaching: The actual source of all teaching and doctrine is revealed in whom it glorifies. In other words, teaching that emphasizes success through YOUR great discipline or even success through YOUR great faith also tends to aim the glory at YOU. Thus, it is frequently true that faith in faith glorifies your faith, and faith in self-discipline glorifies your self-discipline. BUT faith in God's grace and in the gift of His righteousness glorifies God, because A GIFT CANNOT BE BOUGHT OR EARNED; it can only be received.
All the above has come from my heart, notes from my journal, and highlighted notes from Jeff Harkin's book, "Grace Plus Nothing;" and notes from Dave Johnson's book, "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse."
Spiritual abuse? Yes, that's why legalism is so dangerous. There's an equation that abusers use . . .legalism + fear = control. True shepherds point to the Chief Shepherd. They do not yell at you, or cause you to feel like you're not "doing enough." They should never condescend or treat you like a sub-Christian and/or children. There are no levels. (You are either IN Christ or not. You either have the Son or not.) When they speak of levels or higher places, we are being lied to. You are complete in Christ! You have the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you and teach you and give you clear discernment. You have all the promises in God fulfilled by Christ!
Where are all the edifying messages about the Holy Spirit and His power in this Life in Christ? Where are all the faith-building message about what we have in Christ? The adequacy of Jesus!? His grace being sufficient for us? Anti-legalism messages? Jesus said many times, "beware, of the leaven of the pharisees." Why put so much emphasis on the outword (as in any religion: buddhist, islam, hindu, jewish, and cults like mormonism, jehovah witnesses, FLDS, etc.)? Where is Christianity any different? According to Jesus, we can all clean up the outside, but what about mercy, justice and faith? Why work so hard for what is so freely given? The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is given to us! We have something all the "religions" do not -- The New Life in Christ delivered and maintained by the precious Holy Spirit as a Gift of the Mercy of God the Father.
We lack NOTHING in Christ!! Legalism replaces rest in God. Therefore, resting in God recovers me from legalism. And let us now rest in, "If Jesus . . . then Fulfillment." :)
