Posts tagged legalism

How often do we hear statements indicating that Christians shouldn’t have to experience pain or suffering — or that if there is pain or suffering, it is because a wrong was committed? Many “Christian” organizations have spent a large amount of time and used a large amount of ink in furthering this idea. Well-meaning (hopefully!) Christians tell others that if they are ill, or if they have experienced loss, that it is because they have done something to offend God. If someone experiences pain, it may be that they have caused God pain. People are instructed to confess sin, purge homes of anything that could be “unclean”, and then have faith and hope to be healed. Steve Brown relates a story of a woman who had been told by some Christians that “if she had enough faith and exercised the right principles, her small child, who had juvenile diabetes, would get well… They told her she had to demonstrate her faith by stopping the regular insulin injections. If she did that, they counseled her, then God would honor her faith and heal her child.” There’s nothing quite like manipulating God and then calling if faith, is there!?

Brown continues with “The Truth About Pain“: that some things aren’t fixed, life is not easy, God sometimes grants healing, and Christians don’t get a pass. Since the Fall, there are some things in life that are imperfect and even painful. Until things are made right in the new earth, there are unpleasant things that Christians will have to deal with — we are not exempt. I don’t buy into that “Christian Perfection” teaching that misleads people into thinking that it is possible to be perfect and live a perfect life this side of glorification. Bad things will happen in life, and all we are doing is lying to ourselves and others if we believe or let others believe otherwise. In a section entitled “What Happens When We Try to Avoid Pain“, Brown writes that “the point is that we get ourselves into trouble when we think we don’t have it bad, when we try to avoid having it bad, or when we pretend it isn’t bad. If you don’t acknowledge your problem, you can’t fix it. If you pretend you don’t have a problem, you can’t fix anybody else’s problem. And if you believe that you shouldn’t have a problem, you will kill yourself with guilt over your problem.“

The Christian life isn’t one big party every day. Pain exists. Suffering exists. People do bad things and reap the consequences. Brokenness happens. And anytime we try to cover it up and put on the appearance that everything is good, we stifle freedom. People need to be able to be themselves, not who others expect them to be. Brown relates the story of a church that put on a missionary luncheon… for missionaries only. The purpose of this is so that missionaries home on furlough could talk to one another and be themselves and not have to put on the extra-spiritual, “it’s all good” attitude that the congregations expect. That’s healthy! What’s not healthy is the expectation. You already know what’s coming next… the expectations rob from the freedom each deserves.

When we don’t run from pain and hurt — but instead face it head on — we find that then we can really experience God’s grace and mercy. The self-sufficient person who has everything going great has no need of any help from God (or so it seems). But to the broken, God is everything because there is nothing else left.

Brown opens the next chapter (The Failure We Foster, and the Victory That Sets Us Free) with a quote from an anonymous individual who wrote, “I’m a failure, and it has been good for me to be a failure. I’ve learned so much from my mistakes, and God has allowed me to see him in a far different and more profound way that I did before. Thank you for your prayers. I praise God that he is in charge of every circumstance.“

Brown continues by stating that “most bad theology is bad psychology.” The emotional state of an individual — and how that individual emotionally views the world — will have a great impact on that individual’s theological beliefs. This makes the truth hard for each person to see, as their idea of “truth” is shaped by what may be a very inaccurate worldview. For a lot of people it is guilt — the idea that “I’m too bad to ever expect good from God.” These people typically try to earn God’s favor through good works, all the while motivated by their guilt. Brown writes that “guilty people make people feel guilty, and you can tell how guilty a person really is by perceiving how guilty you feel in his or her presence.” We become what others expect us to be, and what our own worldview dictates we be. But freedom comes from realizing that we can never be good enough to earn God’s grace. We can’t buy His love no matter what we do. It’s all His work anyway… so what’s there to be guilty about? I’d say there’s much more to be thankful for!

In the next section, Brown takes a look at two words that are often used wrongly by Christians. The first is success. This is almost a hallmark of evangelicalism — many books are written to teach Christians and non-Christians alike how to manipulate God in order to get blessings from Him and be successful in this world. One quasi-cult has made “success” one of its seven principles that it promotes in seminars, trying to show people how doing just the right things can result in a breakthrough to success. Success, according to Brown, “focuses on something else entirely: becoming all that God would have you to be.” The truth is that despite all the reasons why we might be undeserving of good things, God is in control and will carry out His plan no matter what. It’s not about living according to basic principles, praying the prayer of Jabez, or anything like that. Those are just feeble attempts to buy love and get earthly success. True success, for a Christian, may look much different than it does to the world (and to much of evangelicalism). True success is being who God wants you to be.

The other word is humility. We’re so proud we want everyone else to see just how humble we are, and parade our humility in churches so others can be encouraged. This is false humility, condemned by Paul. Humility isn’t even a sanctified inferiority complex. It’s knowing that everything good is from God; nothing is from our own efforts… and being grateful to God. Contrast that to pride, which often manifests itself in the church as demonstrations by pious people on just how many laws they can abide by. Now you tell me who is the more free individual.

Brown continues with a look at the Law of God. The Bible says, “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Brown writes, “That passage almost always surprises Christians. We don’t have any trouble with the first part about the law being perfect; it’s the “gold”, “honey”, and “reward” part that we don’t understand. Do you know why? Because we have come to see the law of God as a negative thing given by a negative God to negative people who will never get it right. We either nullify the law by saying it no longer applies to Christians who “don’t live under the law, but under grace,” or we give the law a condemning power God never intended. In either case we get in trouble.” Brown continues by showing that the law isn’t something designed to get us in trouble and keep us from having any fun, but is instead “a schematic for the way the world works.” It’s also “a safeguard” — following it provides protection against deviating from what is right. It is not, however, what makes us good. Legalists and others will reduce the law to a bunch of “dos” and “don’ts” so that if you follow the law, you have tapped into the higher level of religion that everyone else ignores. It becomes a pride thing… and a way to supposedly buy extra love from God. No, this isn’t what the law is for. The law, according to Brown, “is the tutor that brings you to Christ.” It’s also “the glue that keeps us there.” We’ll never be good enough to keep the law (only Christ could), but because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, the legal demands are met. Isn’t that freeing? We can’t, and haven’t, and won’t keep the law… but because of Christ, God is not angry at us? This is the stuff the legalists can’t handle. They can explain it away, call it a misinterpretation, maybe even call it heresy… but it’s true. God isn’t angry at us because we have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. And in this, we have freedom and success. And we should have humility too, realizing it sure isn’t anything we ever did that brought us to this place.

“Major premise: Christians are undeserving sinners, and I’m an undeserving sinner.

Conclusion: Therefore, I gratefully accept any blessing he deems proper for me.”

Satan wants us to believe that we are inferior. He’s an expert at using the law (and Scripture) to make us believe it — and then try really hard to work our way back to grace. Many Christians have let themselves become his pawns in accomplishing this. We need to remember that we’re undeserving but God’s love is bigger than our failure.

The last chapter in the book is “The Path We Avoid, and the Journey That Sets Us Free.” In this short, final chapter, Brown points out the spontaneity of freedom. He says, “something about freedom gets lost when one starts obeying certain rules in order to attain it. Forget about ten steps to freedom. Nobody can tell you that if you do certain things, you will be free. If someone (other than Jesus) tells you that you will be free only if you do what he or she says, you’re being lied to.” He also points out a couple things about freedom and the potential misuses people may struggle with when they realize what a gift they have. Some become “bound by efforts to be free.” These individuals try so hard to be free from legalism that they become licentious… “freedom” becomes a coverup for evil. Of course, the evil then becomes addicting, and the individual is just as bound as ever before. In other words, that’s not freedom.

Sometimes we become “so obsessed we lose it.” This refers to the kind of person who wants to be so sure he or she is doing things right that he or she becomes obsessed with the details. Why? Brown says that “if you get obsessive over rules and laws, you will end up breaking them all.” He also says, “Let it go, and quit making your goodness the issue! This isn’t about you and me; it’s about Jesus. When you obsess over anything but him — and that includes being free — you can lose it. Jesus is freedom, and to the degree you stay focused on him, you will find yourself free.

If you don’t obsess over Jesus, will he still love you? Of course he will — but you be careful out there.“

Sometimes we can also be afraid of freedom. People who have been bound in legalism for a long time can be afraid to take any steps because the old nature keeps coming back, telling us that the rules and regulations are safer and better. The past can’t be changed… only the present, which leads to the future. Move on. We also can’t be defined by others. There will always be someone who becomes angered by freedom. Let them be. They aren’t Jesus. “Jesus called us his ‘friends’ and offered us unconditional love. Jesus called himself our elder brother. God highly values us and has adopted us into his family. That is our reality, and that is how God wants us to define ourselves.“

So what is the most important thing? Our freedom isn’t something that we have to covet and guard, because it’s given freely. In this world we talk about freedom not being free, and how much it costs to remain free. Aren’t we glad that the Kingdom of God is entirely opposite?

Yet at the same time, “free people remain free to give up their freedom. They bestow freedom on others by giving up their own.” . . . “In The Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther said, “To make the way smoother for the unlearned — for only them do I serve — I shall set down the following two propositions concerning the freedom and the bondage of the spirit: A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.“

“So many people are so bound — so angry, so afraid, in such need of appearing right and righteous, so condemning, so bound by rules and regulations, so lonely, so afraid that someone will reveal their secrets, so sure that God is angry with them, so empty, in such doubt — and they can’t tell anybody.”

But we’re free from that. We need to extend this freedom to people who aren’t — even if it is offensive to them — in hopes that they may experience this freedom which is freely available. And the most important thing? To me, it’s that no matter how many mistakes we make, how many times we fall short, it doesn’t reduce God’s love for us even a tiny bit. That’s the foundation of freedom.