How Bad Is Legalism?

Recently, I've heard some folks gloss over legalism, as though legalism were just another way of "doing Christianity." God's grace and legalism nullify one another; they cannot coexist. The dictionary defines legalism as "strict, literal, or excessive conformity to law or formula." Strict, literal, excessive. Strict in the sense one does not deviate from it; literal in the sense there is no spirit of the law, only letter; and excessive in the sense a legalist will remain a legalist unto death if their heart doesn't change.  

Have you convinced yourself you're pretty good, that you'd have this "life thing" licked if you weren't surrounded by so many "problem people?" You might be a legalist. If you've never thought to yourself, "I'm tired. I really need to submit to the authority of Almighty God and follow Jesus Christ", you might be a legalist. If you have a difficult time showing mercy and grace and selflessness to others, you might be a legalist. Legalism is nothing more than an attempt to reach godliness or, at the least, goodness. It asserts the key to life is simple: obey the rules (or at least, appear to). Maybe you were raised by a legalist to be a legalist. If you have children, you just might be teaching them to be legalists as well. Hearts that remain in love with rules rather than with relationships are dead in sin. We all have sinned. None of us is capable of getting it right all the time, no matter how good our efforts and none of us will seek after God out of our own desire for Him. But grace is the way out. By God's grace, all can know what it means to surrender, to yield ourselves as living sacrifices, to die to sin, and be raised to new life in Jesus Christ, to receive and demonstrate the grace of God to others, to lead others to life rather than death. But, if hearts don't change, they and all their righteous endeavors will follow the leader straight to condemnation. 

There's another thing that hits a little closer to home with me when I think about how bad legalism is. You see, as a legalist, I was unaware of the things my heart was speaking to God. For instance, there was, "You wait here. When I'm ready, I'll be back to pick You up." God was not only an accessory to my plan, His job was to follow it-- perhaps even make it come true. All week long I'd be as good as I could (or, at least, make sure I didn't get caught when I wasn't); when things got dicey, I'd give Him a shout and He'd get things put back in order. He'd wait for me at church until Sunday, and one day, after I'd finally had all my fun, I'd call Him up and He could do my life with me. A little self-centered, don't you think? Another message I sent to God --if you think the last one was bad, this one's a doozy!-- "I've earned this." Think about that for a minute: I've earned this. I've done all the work. It's all about me. Bad, right? It gets worse. If I've done all the work, if I have earned goodness, God owes me a reward. By the standards of legalism, God is indebted to me! It almost makes me want to duck and cover just typing those words. Think about your employer: you do the work and your employer owes you a paycheck. As long as you are working, your employer is indebted to you. I hope you're making the leap here: as long as you are working, God is indebted to you --or so the legalist believes in his/ her heart. That's some pretty scary stuff.

Friend, if you are enough, it's because the blood of Jesus Christ has made you that way. If you are able, it's because your God is. If you are righteous, it's because the righteousness of Christ has been imputed unto you. Apart from our Redeemer and Lord, we can do nothing and are without hope. Only He is good. And only His grace is sufficient.

A Marriage Made in Heaven

How many times have you read the words, "Do not fear," in God's Word? "Be strong and courageous!" Does that make you strong and courageous? Do you immediately cease to fear? Maybe until the next wave comes in or the next clap of thunder, but I'm going to bet that simply reading those words doesn't necessarily send the terror packing. God demonstrates He is willing and able to back that up. He brings peace and boldness; He stops the raging storm so we catch a breath; He shows us by being there for us in all sorts of circumstances that He means what He says. As we gain experience in the faithfulness of God, those words allow us to recall God's provision behind them and we resist the panic. Words are great, but they are nothing without undertaking.

With two adult daughters in our home, a little ribbing can go too far. Sometimes Scott can feel a little tormented and a lot outnumbered. We're girls, we're verbal, and, truthfully, any man would be outclassed. That's why God told me it was so important for me to watch my words. My goal as Scott's wife needs to be to encourage and affirm. I need to speak in ways that fill him with confidence in the Lord. I need to do all I can to help him leave the house each day believing he can do anything God calls him to do. I need to speak in a way that attests to his position as head of household, as our godly authority set in place for God's purposes; I need to do all I can to help him return home each evening believing he did a great job that day and that all his hard work is appreciated. It is my privilege to solidify good truths in his spirit and help him become the best person he can be. Words are important.

But words alone will probably never do that. I can't simply send him a text telling him how wonderful he is or greet him at the door with a "Thank you," each day if I never show him physical affection. My words will never hit their mark if I spend day after day watching the Hallmark channel, mope and schlump around, throw a takeout menu at him, head out with the girls, and disparage him at every opportunity. I have to back up what I'm saying with what I'm doing. As his "helpmeet" it is on me to verbally and actively help him walk through this life as a man of God. And, of course, I want to because I love him. Choosing words to encourage and affirm him causes me to dwell on the reasons I married him, the great things I see in him, how much he means to me, and all he does for me. Those words have an impact on him, but they impact me also, moving me toward better ways to back them up with action!

Marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship with the Church (the Bride), God's people. It requires work. I am retraining my brain-- and my mouth! --in order to be a better bride to my groom. There is a conscious effort on my behalf to help our relationship improve and intensify. As my behavior changes, Scott responds. He demonstrates gratitude. He ups his game. He might even give correction or guidance in pleasing him, like telling me, "I appreciate all the bacon, but I'm getting a little fluffy and would just prefer a salad for dinner." (No, he would never tell me that, but I can dream, can't I?) Our relationship deepens and grows. Just like the Groom and His Bride, the Church. His people work toward becoming better at our role as His Beloved and God responds. There's relationship there. We draw near to Him and He draws near to us. His Spirit comes alongside us, helping us and guiding us into being a better Bride. There's no "you're saved now, have at it." He backs up what He says; He walks it out. And we need to do that as well. As in any relationship, particularly marriage, there is better and there is worse. God has promised He will be there for all of it, and His faithfulness confirms that. As long as we both shall live.

Come and See!

I've been making my way through Michael Murray's devotional, Nobody Left Out. He looks at eight encounters with Jesus recorded in the Bible-- one of which is, Nathanael. I love that Murray takes what I consider to be some of the most overlooked meetings in Scripture, and draws larger truths from them. From Jesus' encounter with Nathanael, he tells how he has felt pressure to defend every criticism of Christianity someone might make. I have as well. I've tried to answer every question and make every point-- so much so, that I've often come out of discussions feeling as though I sounded completely foolish or feeling as if the person to whom I'd been speaking walked away with word vomit all over their shirt. In Scripture, Philip encouraged his friend, Nathanael, to meet Jesus of Nazareth. When Nathanael scoffed, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip responds with a simple, "Come and see." 

I spent years teaching. There are some things people just have to be taught-- basic math facts, for instance. But there are other things a teacher simply encourages her students to learn on their own. Ever been told, "Look it up!" when you asked what a word meant? That's the encouragement to seek an answer for yourself. Some lessons are best learned when we learn them ourselves. They just seem to "stick" that way. Like finding out that spreading gossip will cause you to lose friends, or failing to maintain your vehicle on the regular can lead to costly repairs. Philip offered Nathanael the chance to find out for himself and make the lesson stick. Come and see.

In his book, Murray makes the point, "answers rarely satisfy people." Ever heard of Thomas? Maybe you can't recall, but I'm sure you've heard of Doubting Thomas. He earned his reputation by demanding to see it for himself. Even the best answers didn't convince the Bereans; they searched the Scriptures daily for themselves. Come and see.

People watch television very differently these days. I do it myself. I sit with my phone handy; when I hear a soundtrack I like or see an actor I can't place, I whip out my Google machine and search. It's crazy, I know; but what's even worse? By the time the show is over, I still can't tell you the name of the song or what other roles the actor played. Not because I am that old, but because it wasn't really about the information. It was about the solution of a problem, the end of a quest. If I'd been unable to simply retrieve the answer, if I'd had to keep digging and digging, I probably would have placed more value on the information itself. But without the quest, it was merely a box checked. "Come and see" means doing some legwork, engaging your brain, using what you already know to find what you don't.

1 Peter 3:15 says we need to be ready with a defense for the hope within us. In Luke 12:11-12, Jesus told His disciples, when they were questioned in times of persecution, the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say. Even Jesus didn't find it necessary to answer a question the moment it was asked. God's Word is the source to which we should be pointing everyone. Sometimes there's just no better answer than, "Come and see!"

Nothing Wasted

Have you ever seen the commercial with children picking teams for a basketball game? One of the choices is Charles Barkley. A pretty easy decision, right? Who wouldn't pick the most obviously talented, most obviously suitable player first? Jesus. I've spent a couple days reading Luke's account of the meeting between Zaccheus and Jesus. I have to be honest, here. For a long time, I have thought of this passage as nothing more than a cute, quirky story about a tiny guy who met Jesus. Zaccheus was a wee, little man, and a wee, little man was he! However, nothing in the Bible is trite or trivial. Someone once said, "All Scripture is God-breathed and God doesn't waste His breath." The Bible tells us, even the wrath of man brings God praise and the wicked have purpose. Nothing gets wasted, not even the story of a "wee little man." So, what is the larger point? (See what I did there? 😉)

Look at verse 3. The Amplified version says, "he was trying to see Jesus, which One He was," and the NLT says Zaccheus "tried to get a look at Jesus." (emphasis mine) This doesn't sound like some deep spiritual quest. It sounds more like curiosity to me; as though Zaccheus had heard some things about Jesus, perhaps was a little skeptical or wondered why all the fuss, and was simply curious. Which One? Based on Isaiah's words, Jesus wasn't much to look at. Was Zaccheus disappointed when he finally came face to face with Jesus? Maybe he was relieved Jesus wasn't "all that." I mean, Zaccheus was either so small or was so known for being so small, Luke makes a point of it. Maybe it made him feel more comfortable.

Speaking of Zaccheus' stature, what did he do for a living? Did you catch that? He was a tax collector-- chief tax collector (v.2). Tax collectors had terrible reputations. They were Jewish employees of a Gentile government, collecting money from their own people. They were authorized to charge whatever price so long as the Roman government got its cut. Anything Zaccheus and his boys demanded over and above the actual Roman tax was theirs to keep. To the Jews, this was evil on so many levels, and they looked down on such people. Couple that with Zaccheus' physical appearance, and he had become quite accustomed to everyone looking down on him. Everyone except Jesus. Luke tells us in verse 5, Jesus looked up when He reached the spot where Zaccheus had perched himself for a bird's-eye view. Imagine the scene: Jesus can barely take more than a step or two at a time for the crowd pressing in to Him, people are shouting, and Jesus stops. He's not looking down at His feet, making sure He doesn't step on someone's cloak or any of the people falling before Him. He's looking up. Was He the first person to ever look up at Zaccheus?

And Jesus speaks. "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." The people are incensed! How could He eat with someone like that? You know what? I don't think it was as much about who Zaccheus was as it was about who they thought Jesus was. They'd heard so much about Him. They'd wanted to see Him and, as with any famous celeb, be seen by Him. What would it do for a Pharisee if Jesus honored him? What would it do for a paralytic if Jesus healed him? But He didn't. He chose a tiny, vile lackey of the unclean who oppressed them; and He looked up to him. Maybe Jesus wasn't as holy or respectable as they'd heard. And they threw the baby out with the bathwater. He didn't pick me, so how great can He be? 

Well, Jesus did pick me. But He hasn't always picked me first or picked me best-- at least, not the way I wanted it. Why couldn't I have been picked to shoulder the burden of a worldwide ministry, or a huge home where I could host "God things," or a small fortune with which I could bless others, or a family that serves God together, or...? Maybe you've thought some of those things. God doesn't waste anything, remember? Not a tragedy, not a valley, not a troubled past, not even an ordinary life. He has chosen you according to His purpose. What will He do with you? Only what you're willing to allow.