| January 14, 2001 |
Vol. III, No. 37
|
A while back I saw this pithy saying on a church’s marquee: “The Bible is a guide, not a strait jacket.” Of course, I’m not a mind reader, but I’m pretty sure that whoever posted the sign probably meant to take a potshot at what they would call legalism.
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word “legalism” as “Strictness, or the doctrine of strictness, in conforming to law, or, in theology, to a code of deeds and observances as a means of justification.”
Baker’s Dictionary of Christian Ethics gives a typical definition for legalism and then says: “In the present century the term legalism has been given a new meaning. Situation ethics despises rules and laws. Anyone who conscientiously obeys God’s commandments is regarded as legalistic.”
In the two definitions above there are actually three ideas: (1) Strictness in conforming to law; (2) Perfect law keeping as a means of justification; (3) Rigorous conformity to God’s moral laws.
I must plead guilty to numbers 1 and 3. I believe in strict compliance to all of God’s laws, moral or otherwise. The New Testament teaches Christians to keep all of God’s commandments to the very best of their ability. Nowhere does it instruct them to ignore or disobey even the “smallest” commandment. John wrote, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4).
On several occasions Jesus upbraided the Pharisees for breaking the Law of Moses, or for bending it to suit themselves, but never did He criticize them for keeping it. For example, He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, WITHOUT LEAVING THE OTHERS UNDONE” (Matt. 23:23).
Jesus did not excuse Jews from tithing of even their herbs. He believed in close adherence to the Law of Moses. We are only following the spirit of Christ when we believe in, and advocate, meticulous obedience to the law of Christ. He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, :Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21-22).
However, I do not believe in “perfect law keeping as a means of justification” (point 2 above). The books of Galatians and Romans teach the folly of trying to be justified by flawless performance. A law system, when broken, condemns; it does not justify. It makes no provision for justification, but becomes instead a curse to the violator. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Gal. 3:10).
But then, neither does the liberty in Christ exempt Christians from the need to strive to keep God’s law. Gal. 5:13-21 shows that the “free” men in Christ cannot do the works of the flesh without forfeiting the kingdom of God.
We must be careful in using the word “legalism.” It has both good and bad connotations, and it is wise to make clear which we intend when we use it.
The aphorism at the first of this piece implies that a strait jacked is confining, while a guide is not. But a guide may be strict too. Consider a map through a mine field. Wouldn’t you follow it rather closely?
If I am a legalist for believing in strict obedience to the Scriptures, so be it. In that case, the Bible is both my guide and my strait jacket. I will attempt to follow it -- and to wear it -- happily.
--Jim Ward, 12th Street Bulletin, Bowling Green, KY, Nov. 7, 2000
If the Devil were to write his own beatitudes, they would possibly go something like this:
Blessed are those Christians who are too tired, too busy, and too distracted to spend time with their fellow Christians in Church - for they are my best candidates to backslide.
Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - for I can use them to slow things down.
Blessed are those Christians who are touchy - with a bit of luck they may stop going to Church and get others to quit. They are my best missionaries.
Blessed are those Christians who are very religious but get on everyone's nerves - they are my most effective stumbling blocks.
Blessed are those Christians who are troublemakers - they are my best wrecking crew.
Blessed are those Christians who have no time to pray - they are easy prey for me.
Blessed are those Christians who are complainers - they are my best discouragers.
Blessed are you when you read this and think about other people and not yourself - I've got you!
Matthew 16:
"24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever
will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
I don't know who penned this, but surely all of us could meditate on these things and be exhorted to not let Satan use us against God.
Some seek to take control of the Lord's church and see that it is run their way, really forgetting who paid for it. In so doing, they take something that is priceless and make it utterly useless (for salvation).
--David Riggs
In Matt. 19:1-6, the Bible says, “Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.’”
There is more to the Pharisees’ question and the Lord’s answer than we can cover in this brief article, but for now, let us look briefly at Jesus’ statements regarding God’s original intention and plan concerning the marriage relationship.
When God instituted the first home/family relationship, He made one male and one female. This reflects God’s desire that marriage be monogamous and heterosexual -- that is, a relationship between only one man and only one woman. He did not make Adam and Steve, but Adam and Eve. He did not provide for a man to have several wives, nor a woman to have more than one husband.
Note that it was God who joined them together into one family. Marriage was not intended to be totally a human relationship. It is a relationship in which God is intimately involved.
Note also that a Scriptural marriage should be the very closest of human relationships, taking precedence over parental relationships, etc. Only a person’s relationship with God Himself is more important, Luke 18:29-30.
In marriage, husband and wife become one flesh. This involves the sexual relationship, which within a Scriptural marriage, is right and holy. But the oneness of husband and wife does not end with their physical relationship. But the more interests and concerns they share in common, the stronger the bond between them. A house or family divided against itself cannot endure, Mark 3:25.
Finally, the husband/wife relationship is to be as permanent as anything on earth can be. Only death should release a person from the marital bond. “What God has joined together, let not man separate.”
–CRJ
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.