|
|
Why this site exists. |
|
The original thought for this
site didn't happen all that long ago. Call it 'being led
by God' or just simply being nudged by the Holy Spirit, I saw a desperate
need in the modern Christian world for a straight forward
assessment of legalism. Legalism in our personal lives and
in our churches is sometimes as obvious as fireworks on the
fourth of July, but more often it is subtle and cleverly disguised
in a Christian wrapper. The simple question is this, are
we saved by the works and things we DO or by the GRACE shown us
by Christ? The answer to this question is the key to
either furthering or quenching legalistic practices in our
personal lives and churches. What are works? Simple,
they are: deeds, laws, actions, proceedings, conduct. What is
grace? Unearned and undeserved favor from God. To
draw a distinction between works and grace, You can not earn
God's grace. Legalism in our Christian community today
is an attempt by men to work toward or EARN God's
grace. The legalist would believe or teach that a
faithful walk with God can only be attained through the close
adherence to a list of man-made traditions, beliefs and rules.
Legalism is the ENEMY of grace, and grace is our only way to be
saved. That is why this site exists,
I am reminded of the words of Jesus in John 8:7 saying, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone". I admit, I have at times been snared in legalistic thought, we all have. Heck, even the first century church dealt with the legalistic drive to work toward salvation. So before you get angry at me for shaking the legalistic house of cards, understand that we MUST realize that the cross of Christ was enough to save us. Jesus said "it is finished" and it was. There was no "*" at the end of His statement that said, "unless you do work on the Sabbath, play with cards, wear jeans, read the NIV, get a tattoo, wear shorts to church, play a guitar in church, have a occasional drink of wine, or listen to... (and the sinister background music grows to a climax)... ROCK AND ROLL. "IT IS FINISHED", He said and it was! "By grace (unearnable favor) you are saved through faith and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Eph.2:8)(emphasis added). So, should we do no 'works' and follow no rules in order to avoid the possibility of legalism? Listen, legalism has NO PLACE in the body of Christ, NO PLACE AT ALL. But, if you can do something in your life that deepens your walk and relationship with Christ then do it. If you find it a joyous and refreshing thing to refrain from work on the Sabbath day, do it. If you want to wear a dress to church because you like dresses or jeans because you like jeans, do it. Simply doing certain things is not legalism, it is the reason why you are doing them that makes the difference. If your reason in doing them is because 'it has always been done that way' or 'Rev. Killjoy said if I don't I'll be in danger of hell' or 'because I want to look and appear more Christian', then it is legalism, trying to earn favor with God and man. If you begin insisting that others do the things you do in order to be a 'real' Christian, then you are promoting legalism. If Jesus taught you to do it in His Word, DO IT out of a desire to serve Him. Don't, though, turn Christ's teachings into a power tool to manipulate or chain up others. The final reason for this website is to help people find freedom from the chains of legalism. Many pastors, church leaders and Christian individuals find a certain level of comfort in wearing the chain link jacket of rules and regulations. Many of you reading this have been led to see following Christ as a narrow and dangerous walk down a razors edge. Don't stray to the left or right even an inch, for if you do...hell and punishment await. Following Jesus is about FREEDOM AND JOY in serving Christ. The only thing we must DO to find salvation is 'call upon the name of the Lord Jesus'. That's it! My prayer is that the info on this site will lead you down the path to freedom in Christ. God bless and enjoy! q
|
|
| 2006 - freefromlegalism.com |