My mom!

 It is now March and so much is happening mostly good but still some struggles.  I am posting today to recognize my mom.  At 67 she has finished her Masters Degree in Apologetic's.  Of course she is now considering going for her Doctrate.  This is a woman who did not get her High School Diploma until she was in her 40s, She obtained her Associate of Arts in her 50's and her Bachelors and Masters now in her 60s.  IT IS NEVER TO LATE.

Her final paper I wanted to share as it touches on some very good points regarding our belief in God the modern practices and how we as Christians need to stay true to the bible teachings, not the politics, cliques, or glamour of a church or organization.  Please give it a read, ask any questions you may have.  She would love to interact with anyone who has questions. #apologetics #holinessvslegalism  shirleypraysalot.blogspot.com  

Holiness vs. Legalism

By

Shirley Thurman

      We want to be saved, safe, have our sins washed away by the blood of Jesus and put away.  But, do we really see a need to be holy, today?  If we are truly saved by grace with no effort on our part, with salvation having originated in the heart of God, then what possible difference can Holiness make?

     Interesting questions.  After all if we are saved by grace and not by our own efforts then what is the big deal about Holiness?  Why can’t we just go on doing our own things as before?  According to Romans 5:8;  God loved us while we we were still sinners, will he stop loving us now that we are saved if we continue in sin?  Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God's love for us.

Romans 5:8 (GW)

     Well, it states in Ephesians 2: 8-10   For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them

Eph 2:8-10 (KJV)

We are saved by grace (completely and totally) not of ourselves , so there is no way we can boast about it.  But, then it goes on to say we are saved by grace UNTO good works.  These good works don’t save us, but they are works we do to show our appreciation for His great grace.  Not to be saved, but because He saved us already. Scripture also tells us that these works were created for us from the beginning of the world.

     God calls us to be Holy as He is Holy, I Pet 1:18  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Peter 1:15-16 (KJV)

He wouldn’t call us to be something that was impossible for us.  We cannot be Holy without the grace offered to us in salvation or apart from the Holy Spirit at work within us.  God saved us with a purpose in mind and the purpose is to serve Him in loving obedience to His word.  So, what does it mean to be Holy in God’s eyes?

     Holiness is a beautiful thing and not burdensome.  It is something to be sought after as it is of great value to a Christian.

·        Joseph Carlyle “Perfect Holiness is the aim of the saints on earth, and it is the reward of the saints in heaven.”

·        John Whitlock; “the Christian’s way is holiness, his end happiness.”

·        Oswald Chambers:  “God has one destined end for mankind-holiness!  His one aim is the production of saints.  GOD IS NOT AN ETERNAL BLESSING MACHINE FOR MEN.  He did not come to save men out of pity.  He came to save men because He Had created them to be holy.”

     As a Christian holiness is, or should be, our goal, our destiny; our portion.  It expresses the very essence of the nature and character of God and describes the highest level of spirituality attainable by man.

     Why do so many Christians fight against Holiness?  Many claim it is a gospel of works as opposed to grace.  Why?

     Some don’t want to be challenged or shaken from their comfort zone, others don’t want to pick up their cross and follow Jesus thereby denying themselves of their own will or desires.  Maybe they don’t want to be confronted with God’s high standards, preferring to hide in their shelter of snug justification. Rather than to deal with the truth.  Just like the Israelites, Isa 30:10,11. These people are rebellious and deceitful children, children who refuse to listen to the Lord's teachings. 10 They say to the seers, ‘Don't see {the future}.' They say to those who have visions, ‘Don't have visions that tell us what is right. Tell us what we want to hear. See illusions. 11 Get out of our way! Stop blocking our path! Get the Holy One of Israel out of our sight.'”

Isaiah 30:9-11 (GW)

 To these God said Repent, vs. 12-17.

     But, for most the problem isn’t  rebellion, self-will or love of the world.  It is that they equate holiness with legalism.  They see it as a joyless, judgmentalism, producing futility instead of freedom.  They believe this message to be man-made governed by the law and not love.  Following the rules without a relationship.

     Is this Holiness?  What is holiness?  Holiness is being like Jesus in thought, word and deed.

     Samuel Lucas put it is way;  “The essence of true holiness consists in conformity to the nature and will of God.”

     Where legalism grasps part of this truth, namely that holiness requires us to put away sin and uncleanness, calling for a change of conduct and attitude.  It misses the mark by failing to understand the essence of holiness ( concentrating on outward forms and not inner realities) and the process of holiness (emphasizing human effort without the grace and power of the Holy Spirit)  Legalism kills.

     So, what it legalism?  It comes in several forms, but all have the same source, religion without relationship, emphasizing standards more than the Savior.

     For instance:  Legalist preacher might say “You’re a wicked sinner and you need to get rid of all your filthy habits if you want the Lord to accept you.”  No grace here, no exalting of the life-changing, sin cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, no mention of mercy or grace.  In fact the proof of the new birth is almost entirely in what someone no longer does.

     What does it mean to be a Christian?  Don’t smoke drink or run around with women. The story is told of two farmers and one of them became a Christian.  One day while talking one of them men asked Joe, what it was to be a Christian.  Joe  replied, Well, I don’t smoke, drink or run around with women.  The other farmer thought a moment and said hey, I have a fine mule that doesn’t smoke, drink, or chase other mules he must be a Christian too.

     There is legalism in a nutshell.

     In the church it’s easy to recognize because it judges by externals.  Condemning those who don’t conform to their particular outward norms, with particulars concerning dress or behavior making them the standard by which everything else is judged.  Rather than the word of God, which is our standard for all things.

     Bonnet churches,  King James Only churches, Apostolic churches, church of Christ, etc. Where your response to their rules are much more important than your relationship with the Lord.

     Problem with legalism is it

 1) tries to change a person from the outside in (while God deals with us from the inside out).

 2) they don’t present a balanced picture of the Lord, putting too little stress on His mercy and too much emphasis on His wrath.

 3)  They do not point the sinner to the Lord’s supernatural empowerment, making holiness a matter of human effort alone.

 4)  They add laws, standards, commandments, custom, and traditions that are not found in the Word, making them even more important than the biblical commandment’s themselves.

 Holiness vs. Legalism

     What does it mean to be holy?  Does God require Holiness?  Can we be Holy?

      Legalism:  Overlooking the major things, like love, gentleness, goodness mercy, etc for things like wearing makeup or jewelry or tatoo’s, men with long hair, etc.

     You can always count on the fact that the legalist is full of passion.  He cannot depend on God to change people; he must change them himself!

     Contrast this to Biblical holiness which begins with the heart and flows from an encounter with God and His Word.  It calls for repentance in response to the Lord’s gracious offer  of salvation and it offers a way to be holy through the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God.  Biblical holiness is free, although it requires discipline and perseverance.  For the legalist, nothing is free.  Everything must be earned.  Legalism leads to bondage; Holiness leads to liberty.

     Legalism is loveless.  It tends to grow when the true religion grows cold, but the outward form of that religion is maintained.  It remembers what true spirituality produced in the previous generation of believers including turning from sin and embracing a holy lifestyle and then imposes those end results on those who have not had that same experience.

Christian service that once arose out of a heart ablaze for God is now a requirement performed out of habit and motivated by fear.  Acts of giving and sacrifice that once came as a natural expression of gratitude to the Lord are now forced on the believer and used as a measure of spirituality.

     There is a vast expanse between motivations behind legalism and discipline.

     Legalism says, “I will do this to gain merit with God,” while discipline will say “I will do this because I love God and want to please him.  Legalism is man centered.

     Discipline is God centered.  Legalism is not only man centered in its orientation but also in its efforts, calling us to walk in the Spirit in the power of the flesh.

     Holiness is God centered in its efforts calling us to “walk in the Spirit in the power of the Spirit.

     A bird flies  easily because the air is his domain.  A legalistic  Christian is one who is trying to live in a world that is not natural to him.  Jesus said if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.  Free from the inside, born from above, lifted into another world with no strenuous effort to live in a world that is not alien to us, but rather where we can soar continually higher and higher because we are in the natural domain of spiritual life.

     The law itself does not give us the power to live for God, it only points out that we are not doing it.  Even thought the law itself is good.  Romans 8:1-4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

This Lord is the Spirit. Wherever the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom.

2 Cor 3:17 (GW)

       Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  This is not a  freedom to live as we please, rather it is a freedom to become like Jesus, freedom to fulfill the Law’s demands, freedom to be holy.  There is no room for license here.  Through this power of the new covenant we are presently being transformed into the Lord’s likeness.

One poet put it this way:

To run and work, the law commands

Yet gives un neither feet nor hands.

But better news the gospel brings;

It bids us fly and gives us wings.

I Cor 5:9-13,  tells us ( Cor 5:11, not to even eat with a brother who is immoral, crooked, slander, etc.)   In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. 10 I didn't tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. 11 Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people. 12 After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside {the Christian faith}? Isn't it your business to judge those who are inside? 13 God will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you.

1 Cor 5:9-13 (GW)

·        Externally imposed religion brings death

·        Internally birthed religion brings life.

Conclusion

     Following God’s Word means peace, joy, and blessing.  It means harmony with our maker and intimacy with our Savior.  It also is the only sane way to live.

      As Robert D. Brimstead observed, “The idea of living strictly by what the Bible says has been branded as legalism.”  It’s time, my friend, that we dispel that notion.  It’s time that we preach holiness (but not with legalistic judgments) and live holiness, but from the inside out.  It’s time we show the world the image of our Savior instead of the image of the flesh.  Time for people to see Christ not carnality, in the church.

    How do we strive for holiness

1.     Make every effort to keep your first love

2.     Live a life of thanksgiving and praise.  Be a worshipper, not a murmurer or complainer.  Keep things in focus.  A liberated believer will be overflowing with thanksgiving; a legalist primarily thanks God that he is not like you, sinful and unclean.  Luke 18:9-14).

3.     Be very conscious of your own sins and shortcomings.

4.     Give yourself to private prayer for those who are different and those you may not like.

5.     Learn to appreciate the beauty of holiness

6.     Be quick to recognize narrow judgmentalism arising.

7.     Never use the bible as weapons against other believers.

Stand firm for holiness 2 Cor 3:18 Such lofty heights of holiness are foreign to the legalist and forbidden to the libertarian.  But they are familiar to those of us who have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness.

Almighty God is at work in us to make us like His Son.  That is not legalism.

References: 

God’s Word Bible

KJV Bible

Brown, Michael.  “Go & Sin No More.