Articles

     The article(s) listed below deal with specific topics that were submitted by readers of this site.  These topics help to reinforce the absolute need for a legalism-free relationship with Christ.

Article Index:

1. "Freedom in Christianity" -Pastor Steve Stuhlreyer

2. "Faith, Works and Eternal Security" - Pastor Adam Parchert

“FREEDOM IN CHRISTIANITY”

by Pastor Steve Stuhlreyer

            "Christianity is a “one-of-a-kind” religion. I’m not talking about the kind that many churches teach. I’m talking about the kind the Bible teaches. And they are not always the same thing.

            Christianity as a religion, the way a lot of churches teach, is about doing certain “things”, rituals and routines to bring pleasure to God with the hope that He is pleased with us. It is a never-ending system of performing a duty, waiting for God’s blessing to come, which would validate God’s approval of us. True, biblical Christianity couldn’t be farther form this practice.

            This idea that following certain rules and rituals brings God’s blessing to us is called “legalism”. Some of the legalistic rules in the day that Jesus walked on earth surrounded the washing of hands before a meal, offering the proper sacrifice for a specific sin, not doing any work on the Sabbath (a notion that Jesus soundly rejected; see Luke 6). Today’s legalistic rules look like this: one must read only a specific version of the Bible; you must only attend church on a specific day; no work of any kind on the Lord’s Day (again a teaching that would be soundly rejected by Jesus).

            What is true, biblical Christianity? What is the type of Christianity that Jesus would teach if He were walking on earth today? I think the answer to this question is in the verse in the Bible that says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (see Romans 8:2).

            The “law of sin and death” is a reference to the laws that all good Jewish people were supposed to keep if they wanted God’s blessing on their lives (see Romans 7:14-25). It was believed that if you were a Jew and you kept all 613 laws that you were taught, and then God’s favor would be yours. The problem was, nobody could keep all 613 laws! So, if you broke one of these 613 laws, you had to offer a sacrifice to “regain” God’s favor on your life. Wow! Talk about a burdensome religious system!

            The verses of the Bible that immediately follow Romans 7:14-25 reveal the true nature of biblical Christianity, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). True, biblical Christianity teaches that you do not need to try to be obedient to a list of rules in order to have the favor of God in your life, you already have His favor!  If you are a Christ-follower, then you are “in Christ” and the favor that rests on Christ from the Father also rests on you! “See how great a love that the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). How much better can we get to have God’s love lavished upon us?

            This freedom in Christ does not give us a ticket to live our lives however we want to (Jesus soundly rejected that belief as well), but that our lives should reflect that freedom. It is with this freedom that we can “love the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul….and to love your neighbor as yourself.” This freedom prevents us from being self-centered and gives us the freedom to be other-centered; it prevents us from serving ourselves and gives us the freedom to serving others (sounds like a life that is imitating Christ’s).

            Freedom in Christ is not something to be afraid of, but something to embrace Let’s go for it! Let’s embrace the freedom that Christ offers! And let’s go serve somebody in the process!" q

The article was written for www.freefromlegalism.com.  This article can be copied and reused under conditions that it is not altered or edited in any way and is distributed free of charge.

“Faith, Works and Eternal Security”

by Pastor Adam Parchert

   The following article was written as a reply to a series of questions I was asked by a visitor to this website.  I will list the original questions and my response to it.

   The question: 

   I was just wondering if you might tell me if God has any expectations from believers or is a believer eternally secure through simple faith alone without any resulting change in thinking or living pattern?  Is apostasy possible?

   My response:

   These are VERY important questions to answer correctly from a Biblical perspective.  I will do my best to do that.  The first question, 'does God have any expectations from believers beyond simple faith?', is answered with a resounding 'yes, absolutely'.  Simply, God has the expectation that faith in His Son Jesus will cause the believer to conform their life to Christ and no longer be conformed to the world. 1 Peter 1:14-15 reads, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior"  This 'conforming' to Christ or 'being holy' is achieved by allowing one's personal faith in Christ to be a faith that permeates them so deep to their core as to effect and alter their actions, deeds and mindset.  This 'being holy' can't be achieved through legalistic ritual or rules as my website strives to point out.  The second question asked was 'is a believer eternally secure through simple faith in Christ alone without any resulting change in thinking or living pattern'.  For just a second, let me set the issue of eternal security aside to address the issue of faith and works.  Can a person have a saving faith in Christ without allowing themselves to be conformed to Christ and have resulting Godly works?  With the exception of a 'last minute' salvation or 'death bed conversion', I would answer this by saying 'no'...'faith without works is dead', as stated in James 2:26.  But this passage in James is often misunderstood to mean we are saved by works AND faith.  No, we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not of works.  You have to ask what is the broader context of this statement in James 2.  James is talking about two types of faith.  One, a faith best defined as, 'a mental assent that Jesus is the Son of God'.  The second, a faith that brings a life and spiritual core change.  The first type of faith is a simple, non-salvation bringing belief.  James said that the demons have this type of belief (James 2:19 ).  The second, a life, changing experience that effects the believer to the very core of their being.  This second type of faith is a saving faith that will, and must, produce fruits of righteousness as the believer follows the command to 'be holy'.  But, an individuals salvation is not and can not be based on works.  Works alone have no saving power.  Works produced as a result of genuine, saving faith are signs of spiritual growth and Christian maturity.  A good article on this subject that goes into more detail can be found at "http://www.carm.org/questions/faithorworks.htm".  It is a recommended read.  Now, the issue of eternal security.  I personally believe, strongly, that the Bible DOES NOT teach a 'once saved always saved' style of eternal security.  Can a believer genuinely live for Christ and then willfully and consistently walk away from Christ to a point that their salvation can be forfeited?  Yes.  Scripture strongly supports this.  So then, can salvation be lost quickly or as the result of a few sins?  Absolutely not.  I do believe we are 'eternally secure' in the hands of Christ.  Once a believer places their faith in Christ, no force in hell or on Earth can remove us from His hands.  We are secure in God's hands for eternity if we wish to be.  God's mercy and grace insist that salvation can not be lost at the drop of a hat, but God gave humans free will.  Free will means we are free to accept Christ, but also free to make a wrong decision to reject Christ.  A genuine believer can choose to stand up and walk out of God's eternally secure hand.  So to answer your last questions, 'is apostasy possible?', I would say yes.  But no matter how many times a person walks away from God, His mercy and grace are always there to welcome the wayward person back.

     So I say all that to say this, God has high expectations of those who place their faith in Him.  The expectation that those who accept Christ will walk as He walked, love as He loved, forgive others as He forgave us, turn from the temptations of the sinful world as He did.  Are we eternally secure through simple faith alone?  For a time yes.  As a 'newborn' Christian, I believe the Lord understands a person must crawl before they can walk.  But, as a person matures in their relationship with Christ, so does the level of their accountability to live holy as Christ was holy.  God has mercy for the genuine believer who try's hard but continues to fall short in the 'live holy' part.  If He didn't have this mercy, none would get to heaven, because we are all sinners saved by grace.  Is a person eternally secure if they are saved but, as time goes on, never allow their deeds, actions and mindset to be conformed to Christ?  No.  A genuine saving faith in Christ will produce Godly fruit or works.  Salvation can thereby be forfeited. q

Thank you to the visitor who asked this question. 

The article was written by Adam R. Parchert for www.freefromlegalism.com.  This article can be copied and reused under conditions that it is not altered or edited in any way and is distributed free of charge.

     To submit an article for consideration, please email article along with your full name to:

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     I do not request, or expect, everyone to agree with me, but I do insist that ALL submissions be written and submitted with a 'Christ-like' attitude.  By submitting an article, you give permission for it to published on this website.