Grace, Foolishness, or Legalism: Grace and Law?

 For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) Romans 5:17 AMPC

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...2 Corinthians 8:9a MEV 

 We've begun a series examining the practical aspects of living the Christian life under Grace. The premise of this study is in the form of a question. We are asking if we are walking in true Grace or foolishness or legalism in the practical areas of the Christian life. 

 We have looked at the areas of our understanding of the Christian Faith. We have looked at not throwing stones at others for their convictions. We have looked at what makes Grace so amazing and what diminishes it. 

 Today, it seems good to examine the Law and its place in the life of the Christian. Because the Gospel of Grace is misunderstood sometimes, the Church, the Body of Christ, sadly likes to incorporate aspects of the Law in their lives and ministries. Legalism, therefore, becomes a stronghold rooted in the minds of many.

 What's truly sad is how so many are oblivious to the amount of legalism in their thinking and approach to God. You may ask what about the foolish-minded and Law? The foolish understanding of Law and Grace can quickly be remedied by allowing the Scripture to have the final say.

 What I mean is, the foolish understand the stronghold of Law mixture, so basically they just dismiss any and all commands or any discipleship, or spiritual growth principles. If they ignore it all they won't have any stronghold of legalism. We have the commandment of Love in the New Covenant. We have principles of growth Paul laid out for us. These are not legalistic or burdensome. 

 Loving God and others is a blessing because we first know and understand God loves us and has poured out His Love upon us and within us. This answers the foolish-minded response to Law. Again the legalistic approach being such a stronghold needs much teaching so believers would gain a clear and unobstructed and uncorrupted understanding of the Gospel.  

 One mistaken concept the legalists embrace is that they see every single teaching of Jesus as a New Covenant principle. Not rightly dividing Jesus' words, they mistake the messages for the Nation of Israel, the messages to the lost, this world system, and His expounding and explaining the Law as commands addressed to us, the Church. Christ did speak New Covenant truths. Christ did speak to the Children of Israel. Christ did give warnings to the lost. Christ did preach the fullness of the Law. Which is why we must rightly divide His teachings.

 So when Jesus gives us the total weight of the Law, proving to all mankind our lost condition and need for a Savior, legalism draws the wrong conclusion. They claim Grace has a higher standard of conduct than Law. More clearly stated, they are saying under Grace there are stricter moral commandments than even the 613 commands of the Mosaic Law. 

 When Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, expounded on the Ten Commandments, He was showing Israelites and future peoples, both Jew and Gentile alike that God's standard is absolute perfection. He was revealing to whosoever has ears to hear, that here is the end of your proverbial rope. This is the end of your performance. Jesus was saying, Guess what! Your goodness, your conduct, your behavior, and your performance will never be enough!

 Grace brings us to a place where we truly see our broken and faulty condition before a thrice Holy God. No, not to judge, not to condemn, not to castigate, but to bring us to a place where we can fully receive Grace. As experts tell us, you can't save a drowning man who is still fighting. God gives Grace to the humble, those who have come to an end of themselves, that is, their efforts attempting to appease and please God in their own strength.

Throughout the Scripture we see God rejecting the proud but giving Grace to the humble. God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. Abel offered it in Faith, which means he was humble before God whereas Cain was not.  

 Another mistaken concept legalism embraces, which in turn strengthens the rooted stronghold in their thinking, is their misunderstanding of the place the Law has today. Countless times I have encountered the legalists who respond to the proclamation of the Gospel of Grace claiming we as the Church are still under the Law because Jesus said He came not to abolish the Law. Therefore, they conclude the Gospel of Grace is a false gospel. Failing to rightly divide Jesus' words and actually ignoring the full passage, they cling to one phrase and ignore the complete text.

17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one dot or one mark will pass from the law until all be fulfilled.  Matthew 5:17-18 MEV

 Jesus truly stated He hadn't come to abolish the Law. However, let's actually read what He said. He said He didn't come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill. Jesus was foreshadowing His coming work of Grace on the Cross. 

 Grace doesn't say the Law has been abolished. Grace doesn't say because we aren't under Law we can now freely steal from our neighbors, lie, covet their possessions, and commit adultery. Jesus fulfilled the Law on our behalf, pouring out His Love upon us and within us. We don't need a list of do's and don'ts to walk in love with others. 

 By fulfilling the Law and the Prophets, Jesus met every requirement justice demanded. Jesus completed the work on our behalf. We can freely receive His Righteousness because Jesus' performance was perfect and provides us all the benefits of right standing, acceptance, and approval with a Loving Father. 

 Legalism produces the confusing and corrupted cocktail of Law and Grace mixture. Legalism says yes receive what Jesus did, but it's still insufficient to find perfect acceptance and approval with the Father. You are still required to meet the standards of the Law, of course, picking and choosing which of the 613 are relevant to keep and observe. 

  Grace says Jesus' work was enough. Grace says When He said it was Finished, He didn't say to be continued, to be perfected, to be completed by our works, our actions, our behavior, or our observance of aspects of the Mosaic Law. Grace says Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law on our behalf, therefore we are perpetual right standing and acceptance and approval before God our Father.

 In summation, let's stay with Grace. Let's fully embrace the Gospel and allow the truth of Grace to uproot any strongholds of legalistic thinking. It is done, Jesus is enough!

Image by succo from Pixabay 

Grace, Foolishness, or Legalism: What's so Amazing about Grace?

 For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) Romans 5:17 AMPC

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...2 Corinthians 8:9a MEV

 We've begun a new series examining the practical Christian life lived under Grace. The practical Christian life is expressed in our thinking, our believing, our words, and our daily actions. We've established there are three basic ways of living in light of Grace; abiding under true Grace, abiding under Grace mixed with legalism, or abiding with a foolish understanding of Grace. 

 Let's look at what's so amazing about Grace. Words cannot always contain and express the wonder of His Grace when received in our hearts. We who once served our Lord Jesus in rigorous toil, hoping we'd be good enough to be accepted and approved on a daily basis, can now rest in His completed work on our behalf. 

 When we receive the free gift of eternal life in Christ, that is a time of rejoicing. Yet afterward, some believers struggle with the shame and pain of their past. Still, others, find themselves struggling with bad habits and attitudes that aren't of Love, and often find themselves laboring under condemnation.  

 Grace is so amazing because He stoops down right where we are and lifts us up to Himself. He doesn't wag His finger at us. His arms aren't crossed in displeasing disappointment. Instead, His arms are open wide receiving and accepting us and approving us to the Father. Not because of any good we've done but because of His Goodness and great Grace.

 Legalism sees Grace as momentarily amazing. This lost sinner with no hope of pardon for his many sins finds help and hope in a loving Holy God. He saves them gloriously. What a time of rejoicing. Then the party concludes and now it is time to get busy earning your place in the Father's house.

 Legalism diminishes Grace in favor of our performance, our achievements, and our disciplines exercised perfectly. Grace got us in but it's our actions and behavior that keep us in. Legalism seeks acceptance and approval on what we do and not on what He did alone.

 Legalism is like getting an invitation to a billionaire king's festive at-home reception. Once you have your invitation and enter the palace, you make merry momentarily that you are there but then you quickly begin straightening up the furniture, go help clean the dishes, prepare hor d'oeuvres, and sweep and mop the floors. After all, you're not a celebrity, you were a nobody before the invite, you best earn your place. Before Christ, we were lost and separated by sin, but His Grace remade us new and now we are accepted and approved all because of Jesus.

 Foolishness states no one was ever lost. No human was ever separated or apart from God because of their sinful condition. Some go so far as to say there never was any sinful condition. We were only separated in our thinking. The enemy lied to us telling us we were lost but in reality, we never were. If this is so why the need for the Cross? If this is true, Jesus' suffering, the stripes He took, and the death He died were a colossal waste of time. 

 The fallacy of the foolish-minded is that they believe they are proclaiming Grace but in reality, they are diminishing the impact of His Love, mercy, and Grace. If no one was an enemy of God, no one was lost, no one was born with a fallen nature, and no one was dead in their trespass and sins, then what is so amazing about Grace? 

 It is of no real consequence to show kindness, mercy, grace, and compassion to a good and decent person. How hard is it to forgive your spouse, your children, and your good friend if they make a minimal mistake? Even a stranger in public who mistakenly bumps into us, we are quick to pardon them and assure them it's ok, we know it was a mistake. 

 If God looks at men the same way, then the foolish's theory and theology unwittingly reveal God's Grace is not that amazing. I can hold no grudge against a friend or loved one. I myself can be merciful to someone who hasn't really wronged me. I myself can show Grace to someone who is a good person. It's clear if you ponder and consider that if one isn't really bad then it's not so amazing, so worthy of awe, so deserving of accolades to simply be kind to them. 

 The foolish relies heavily on human rationale, reasoning, and ratiocination. It draws conclusions, not from the Word of God, not from the Gospel proclaimed by Paul, but from emotional and intellectual reasoning. Allow me to illustrate.

 The Gospel says God is always Good. He is Love and merciful and His Grace is amazing. The foolish then rationalize and reason, God is Good, so He was always Good. Therefore no human was ever born lost or with a sinful nature. God is Love so therefore God could never have any anger or judgment whatsoever. God's Grace is amazing, so everyone must be saved, no one was ever lost either because Grace would never allow that to happen. The enemy must have lied to people to convince them they were. 

 None of these ideas or notions has any confirmation in Scripture. Because of this, the foolish rationalize the passages that proclaim the contrary aren't really true. Those words recorded were by men who didn't have an understanding of God and therefore we can reject them. 

 I trust you can see how the foolish misunderstand Grace and prop up mistaken ideas that are not confirmed with the authority of Scripture. Let's not diminish and dilute Grace by thinking we are preaching Grace by saying no one was lost or born in sin, or an enemy of God in our thinking and actions. 

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Colossians 1:21 NLT

 We don't make Grace great by diminishing its impact on humanity. By proclaiming no one was ever separated in sin, or in need of a Savior we dilute and decrease the amazing Grace of our Savior. Grace is a free gift offered to all. It reveals our impossibly lost condition and offers a hopeful, freeing, and joyful way out. Grace says your sins may be many, your condition may be spiritual death, but I have a new life, the God kind of Life, that is freely yours if you simply accept and receive it. 

 Allow me to illustrate even further how Grace and legalism and foolishness can be seen using a real-life figure in history. Adolf Hitler, the German Chancellor, systematically brought about genocide, great suffering, and war across Europe during his reign until his death. Now imagine if Hitler had been captured alive and placed before a tribunal judge who had the power to imprison and execute Hitler or simply pardon him. 

 Imagine if you will while Hitler stood before this judge, suddenly a Jewish man entered the court and ask to appear on Hitler's behalf. Imagine if this Jewish man said though this man's sin is heinous, horrendous, and has brought about unspeakable horror, I'd like to take his place. I will take his punishment of death upon myself, he need simply to accept it. The innocent would freely take the place of the guilty. This is true Grace.

 Legalism would look like this, I will take his place either in a prison cell, or an execution chamber, but first I want him to earn this favor. If he promises to not make any more mistakes, not hate anymore, not try to conquer neighboring lands then and only then will I take his place. If he fails more than once, then impose the sentence of death upon him again. 

 Foolishness would look like this, Hitler guilty? What's wrong with you judge? No one can really be that bad. Hitler wasn't really that terrible a person. Surely, we've all made mistakes in life, there is no difference, and all mistakes are the same. I don't think any good judge would hold anyone accountable for their deeds. Any good judge would pardon everyone no matter what. In fact, if you find him guilty, he will be pardoned soon after, for all are pardoned...

 In summation, let's abide under true Grace and relinquish the bonds of legalism and the error of the foolish. Let's continue under Grace. Let's live life loved by our Great Shepherd Jesus Christ.  

 

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Grace, Foolishness, or legalism: Reformation, Reconstruction or Deconstruction?

For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) Romans 5:17 AMPC

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...2 Corinthians 8:9a MEV

 We've begun a series studying the practical aspects of the Christian life lived under Grace. We are examining various areas of our lives and asking ourselves a question. Are we under Grace or are we walking in foolishness or legalism? 

 Let's again define our terms so there is no miscommunication.  Legalism is excessive adherence to Law or some formula, with the goal of achieving greater acceptance, approval, favor, love, and earned blessings from God. Foolishness means to proceed with folly, being void of understanding and sound judgment, foolishness produces the perversion and/or corruption of the genuine. 

 Grace is the Good News Gospel of Jesus and His Finished Work. When God opened the eyes of a megachurch pastor in Singapore the Grace Reformation swept the lands. God restored the Gospel of Jesus. It was pure Jesus from beginning to end. The Grace reformation took the attention away from man's performance and ability and simply placed Jesus back into the central focus of the Gospel.

 The Grace reformation simply reminded us that God isn't mad at us. God Loves us eternally. That God in Christ has reconciled us and Jesus gave us His Righteousness as a free gift. It brought greater clarity to the Finished Work. God in Christ has forgiven us of all our sins past present and future. God has accepted and approved us because of Jesus' redemptive work and the free gift of Righteousness. His blood purchased eternal redemption for all who believe therefore we are eternally secure. This is the Grace reformation.

 Legalism, birthed from the traditions of men, has instead attempted to reconstruct the Gospel. They add other steps we must take in order to find divine acceptance. Paul simply said believe in Jesus and you will be saved.  Legalism says that's not enough. We must first commit to God that we will cease all our wrongdoing and feel guilt and sorrow for our life choices and then turn away from our sin, then and only then will God save you. 

 Some other groups even insist we go back to observing Mosaic Laws and customs and the feast days. As if observing Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles will cause us to become more spiritual or create a greater power within us and greater intimacy with God. The Gospel stands alone from man's works and tradition. The Gospel doesn't need reconstructing.

 For the foolish, many have adopted the deconstruction concept concerning the Gospel. While it is true that we can gain greater insight and greater understanding by asking hard questions, deconstruction never stops there. Deconstruction ultimately wrecks and tears down the fundamentals of the Gospel in exchange for that which is more palatable to modern progressive mindsets.

 I have observed multiple supposed believers who have ascribed to this notion of deconstruction over several years. I have also witnessed whole churches and ministries embrace deconstruction. What is the end result? Without fail, the vast majority so far deconstruct the Gospel so that they end up sunk in the mire of agnosticism, atheism, and postmodernism. 

 I have seen believers fall away, churches close their doors, and ministries fold as they embrace this foolish idea of deconstruction. Of those churches and ministries that yet remain, I chuckle at the hypocrisy as they backtrack on deconstructing one aspect of the Christian Faith. They were quick to deconstruct the inerrancy of Scripture, the need to read the Word, the concept of personal faith, eternal judgment, and fellowshipping of the saints (involvement in a local church.)

 Many were also quick to deconstruct the principle of giving. Suddenly the church leaders and ministries promoting this foolish message found themselves unable to get a salary from their church or ministry as people quit giving. They quickly retracted much of what they proclaimed about giving. 

 Deconstruction seeks to form and fashion a god of man's own design. This god almost always confirms to modern progressive man's views and beliefs without objection. This god alters and updates its beliefs as the modern age changes theirs. 

 Deconstruction is not about simply seeking understanding for hard questions. It seeks to dismantle and demolish the basics of the Christian Faith. It denies the Bible as being God's Word. It pushes the concepts of universalism/inclusionism. It denies the existence of an eternal Hell and any form of future judgment from God. It also promotes the concept that going to church or being involved in church is somehow a burden and a work. 

 In summation, reconstruction and deconstruction are not the Gospel. They are man's attempt at creating a god fashioned from their own design. The Gospel is Good news. The Gospel is so good it needs no help from man to "finish" it or make it more palatable. Let's abide under Pure Grace, not foolishness or legalism.

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