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Two questions come to mind- what then is legalism and how do we relate with God if we aren’t to relate as under the Old Covenant?
The truth is that legalism is not fulfillment of the Old Covenant! Do you remember that before Jesus died, the Pharisees were practicing the laws of the Old Covenant? Even though they lived under that covenant, yet Jesus chided them severally about their legalistic mindsets. So, what is legalism?
It is a mindset that says obeying the Laws is the only way to please God and fulfill His desire. These mindset grants several false but grand feelings of accomplishments and distinction to the one who observes it without really walking in God’s plan for us as His children. But our relationship with God is out of love for Him so that when it comes to obeying Him, it is not only about dos and don’ts.
Therefore, this article is to help you, the believer, never to fall into these two traps:
Please, always remember this: And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. (Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP)
These are some of the traits of a legalist:
You probably are wondering why anyone would not run away from being legalistic. After all, it obviously does not benefit in ways God would approve of. Nevertheless, it can be so alluring and convenient to be legalistic. Legalism gives a feeling of accomplishment and spiritual superiority.
Many Christians practice legalism because they either do not understand the Law of grace or they fear that it would grant people a license to sin. If all that one thinks of is maintaining their name in heaven’s Book of Life, a number of things happen. That person becomes desperate to ‘score points’ and add to their spiritual pedigree before God and men.
Often times, when a person is not conscious of the state of their relationship with God or they become focused on finding God’s approval by their acts of service or works, they slip into legalism. This bondage is reinforced by what one hears daily. But relationship with God is not about what you can do and what you cannot do. No! It is about trusting God to help you love Him and lead you in His will.
Let us look at ways that you can ensure that you are protected from becoming legalistic in your journey as a Child of God. Firstly, remember that we are saved by grace, that is, our salvation is not by our effort but a free gift from God and we cannot improve on what He has done for us by obedience:
When a person receives Christ as Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit regenerates their spirit but then their mind which is their place of reasoning and will, consciousness and decision making remains unregenerate. The mind does not get transformed the way our spirits do. But it is the exposure to God’s word that cleanses, feeds and ‘resets’ the mind to think like Christ and in turn act like Him. (Ephesians 5:26)
Being aware of what enters one’s heart and mind is crucial. Words are powerful and they can sow seeds in the heart. Seeds later on grow to become well-rooted trees. Hence, every believer must watch to be certain that his or her heart is not corrupted or fooled into believing that they can save themselves or maintain their right-standing before God by their own works. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:1-2, Galatians 2:21)
When we speak of “love” here, we mean the kind of love that God has for us. It’s a self-sacrificing love that endures personal pain and seeks the benefit of the other person. This kind of Love has to be the lifestyle of a Christian. A life which manifests NO love for others is a life where the seed of God is not germinating. The basic motivations of such a person are all wrong. A person whose principal motivations are to make a name for themselves, to feed their pride, to satisfy their fleshly longings, or their desire for more stuff is a person who is living according to the flesh.
The first step to walking in the love of God is to be born again and receive a new nature from God, which is able to love.
1 John 4:12-16,19 NLT: ‘No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and thy live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love and who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. We love each other because He loved us first’.
All that we have received from God is by His grace. And God’s grace is His unconditional gift to us (through Jesus Christ) that every Christian needs to live unto God. It is not something that you earn; it is something that is freely given to us, even when we didn't deserve it. We neither earned it, nor did we work to get it. ‘So now we come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy's kiss and discover the GRACE we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness’ (Hebrews 4:16 TPT). Romans 3:24 (ESV) says "We are justified freely by His grace". Remember that to be justified implies to become ‘just as if I never sinned’. That is great news! God makes me just as if I've never sinned. Is it because I deserve it? No. Is it because I earned it? No. But it is by His grace. Titus 3:5 (ESV) says "It's not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He has saved us.”
God's grace is limitless. If you tried to measure the grace of God you'd face an impossible task. Romans 5:20 reads "The Law was added so that trespass might increase but where sin increased, grace all the more increased." (ESV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8&9 NKJV). We are not saved by our own efforts; we're saved by grace. The big problem is that many Christians believe they are saved by grace and then they go on to live the Christian life by their efforts.
This is what Paul has to say to this: ‘How foolish can you be? After starting out your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?’ (Galatians 3:3, NLT) ‘For if you are trying to make yourself right by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.’ (Galatians 5:4, NLT)
The more you rely on God's grace, the more you're going to grow. [1 Corinthians 15:10]
Grace is God freely providing for us (as we trust in the work of His Son) all that we will ever need, all that we will ever yearn for, all that we could ever produce, and all that we could never earn or deserve. Grace offers what every human desperately needs, but which only God can provide (that is the supernatural ability to live victoriously). This grace is found only in a Person: Jesus Christ. Hence, grace is accessible only through an ongoing relationship with Him.
Grace is one of the most misunderstood terms. A lot of heresies result from people not understanding grace. This lack of understanding may lead to one of two extremes: legalism or licentiousness. The legalist has a set of dos and don’ts that they believe they must keep in order for God to like them or be pleased with them. In grace, however, we realize that God already accepts us because of what Christ has done for us. God has ‘made us accepted in the Beloved’ -Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:6, NKJV). God loves you just as much on your bad days as He does on your good days. His love is unconditional this means He loves you when you are good and when you are bad! That is interesting.
The other extreme that people tend to take is: carnality (this means the Christian who is born again but decides to live a life of disobedience to the instructions of the Scriptures). Saying if God loves me by grace, I'll live it up! ‘If God loves me unconditionally, I might as well live as I please’. That is the question posed in Romans 6:1: ‘Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? (NLT). Paul answers this question in no uncertain terms: ‘Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how cn we continue to live in it?’ (Romans 6:2, NLT)
Through the grace of God, we have been empowered to overcome bad habits, temptation and those areas we habitually fall into. The only way you can change is by God's grace.
The unconditional nature of God’s love is most clearly seen in the gospel.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for unrighteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6–8, NIV).
God revealed His love toward us by giving His Son, Jesus Christ, as the propitiation (the appeasement of God’s righteous wrath) for our sins. God did not wait for us to better ourselves as a condition of atoning for our sin. Rather, God condescended to become a man and live among His people (John 1:14).
This divine rescue, based on unconditional love, resulted in a gracious act of self-sacrifice. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13 NKJV). That is precisely what God in Christ, has done.
It is important to note that God’s love is a love that initiates; it is never a response. That is precisely what makes it unconditional. If God’s love were conditional, then we would have to do something to earn or merit it. We would have to somehow appease His wrath or cleanse ourselves of sin before God will love us.
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9–10 NIV).
“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
When you think of confidence, what comes to mind? Is your confidence defined by the clothes you wear, the car you drive, or the house you live in? How about the abilities you have or the traits you were born with? Do you feel confident in yourself right now? Are you able to handle any task that is asked of you without fear of failure?
God teaches us that we are created in His image and that we are to rely on Him. If we rely on ourselves, we will never be completely confident. God gives us the strength and talent to complete our tasks Philippians 4:13 in NLT later on says ‘For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength’. The fulfillment of our confidence is found in Him.
Have you ever been put in a position where someone seeks your advice about marriage, finances, or just about living a Godly life in general? Do you doubt yourself? Why would you be picked for this? God puts people in our lives to help us in times of doubt, but he also puts us in positions to help others in times when they are in doubt, and might need someone to lift them up. Be confident in what God asks of you. Know that He is with you and will guide your words. Seek Him in prayer when you are not sure this ensures we get direction from Him and not to depend on what we can do of ourselves. Or else, legalism can creep in without our knowing.
Christian selfhood is not defined in terms of who we are in and of ourselves if we attempt thus, we fall into legalism unknowingly. It’s defined in terms of what God does to us and the relationship he creates with us and the destiny He appoints for us. God made us who we are so we could make known who He is. Our identity is for the sake of making known His identity.
The most important revelations we can get from the Word of God is to understand who we are in Christ. Identifying with Christ will change the way we live and cause us to rise above adversity. "When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!" (1Corinthians 5:17 the Living Bible).
It's time for us to stand up and be who God says we are. And we need to let the devil know that we know who we are in Christ. Then anytime he tries to attack us, we can throw our shoulders back and say, "Don't mess with me. I'm identified with Christ!"
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1 NKJV. Faith is the connecting power into the spiritual realm, which links us with God and makes Him become a tangible reality to us. How does this connect with legalism? You’ll ask. When we come into reality with who God is all we can do is to worship Him from a point of total surrender. At this point, you cannot hide, but in awe everything you will do will be out of reverence, and in spirit and truth you will honour Him with everything within you.
Faith is the assurance that God’s promises will never fail, even if sometimes we do not experience their fulfillment in our present existence. Hebrews 11 emphasises the fact that we trust God to fulfill his promises for the future (the unseen) based on what he has already fulfilled in the past. Thus, our faith is not blind, but based squarely on God’s proven faithfulness.
Faith in God is based on knowing Him and establishing a strong and lasting relationship with Him. When we know someone well and we know that this individual is dependable, trustable and reliable, then we can have faith in him or her. The same thing happens when we get to know God and establish a relationship with Him: we learn more and more about Him as we go and we learn that He is dependable, trustable and reliable. We learn that we can be rest assured that God is a soft spot to land on and a loving, protective Father that shelters His children and keeps His word and covenant with them. This love that faith brings you in contact with motivates us to love Him in response, and this response of love defeats every form of legalism.
The fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23, is made up of the following nine qualities or characters: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This fruit of the Spirit is produced when we yield ourselves to what God is working in us.
We learn from scripture that these are not individual ‘fruits’ from which we pick and choose. Rather, the fruit of the Spirit is one nine-fold ‘fruit’ that characterizes all who truly walk in the Holy Spirit. Collectively, these are the signs that all Christians should be showing in their new lives with Jesus Christ as we mature and grow in our relationship with Him.
The apostle Paul puts it this way: ‘When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit’. (Romans 7:5-6 NLT). On your own, it would be impossible. But when you operate in the Spirit, you have a supernatural ability to overcome. What a precious gift! And the more you draw near to God, praying and reflecting on His Word, the more you will experience the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Since the fruit of the spirit is born out of the work of the Holy Spirit within us, as we yield to Him, every form of legalism is lost to the power of the Holy Spirit who leads us in triumph of the new life. ‘But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of Him in every place’; 2Corinthians 2:14 NET.
Do you think you or anybody else may need our help in their walk with God? Leave your (or their) name and contact details below and we will be in touch