Legalism Kills - Grace Sets You Free!!!

I've been following the Lord for close to 29 years now. I spent probably close to half that time under legalism, although not real extreme legalism. I spent so many years feeling like I had to strive to please God, hearing "stop that" and "do better" from those that taught me. I never felt like I was good enough. I almost always felt like I was, somehow, "letting God down" and in fear of "waiting for next shoe to drop." I just could not be good enough. I so wanted to please God and make Him happy with me; but in spite of my attempts, I just never felt like He was pleased with me. I knew He loved me, and I knew that He would let me in Heaven but felt like He would do so reluctantly. Even though I knew my sins were forgiven, it always seemed that my sins came between me and God.

I also developed a pretty serious case of pride and self righteousness. When I was operating out of striving and self effort, I had a tendency to look down on those I believed "aren't as serious as I am" or "aren't trying hard enough." I also looked down on "those sinners out there" because I didn't want to be tainted by associating with them, as if somehow their sinfulness would be contagious. After all, I wanted to please God and be holy. Certainly, someone who is a new believer may need to distance themselves from people who may tempt them to return to old unhealthy behaviors; but that wasn't the case for me. I just developed a judgmental attitude, plain and simple. This killed humility and compassion for me. I also did a lot of self protecting because, like many legalists, I had this image that I felt I needed to present myself as something that I just was not. I still continue to battle that because I still have this compulsion to be in control that God is still helping me to deal with.

To borrow from one of my favorite books, TRUE FACED, there are two paths we are faced with as believers. The first one is "Pleasing God" through my own effort. I pretty much detailed my experience there in the beginning of this blog. To sum it up, I felt frustrated and unfulfilled. The second path would be "Trusting God." This involves living out of who GOD says I am. This involves humility and submission. If anything is to come out of this whole deal, GOD has to do it. To quote from TRUE FACED, "If my motive is trusting God, then my value will be living out of who God says I am, and my action will be standing WITH God, with my sin in front of us, working on it TOGETHER." Do you see the difference here? My sin isn't between me and God, He stands with me, looking at it, and walks me through working on it. He's not mad at us or disgusted with us. He's walking us through the process of dealing with our sin and gives us the strength to do it and only reveals as much about ourselves as He knows we can handle at that particular point in time.

Sin cannot be managed. Grace teaches us to trust God with our sin. This heart set will change our whole approach to sin. Jesus is depended upon, submitted to, and trusted to resolve our sin issues. His death on the cross is the only solution, not only for eternal life, but also for every sin we've ever committed or had committed against us. What if we really believed God when he says He will never leave us? What if we believed that God loves us perfectly and that there's NOT A THING we could do to make Him any more pleased with us than He already is when we're in Christ? What if we really believed we are not condemned when we're in Christ (Romans 8)? If we live like we really believe all that, our sin issues begin to resolve themselves because we begin to live "from the inside out." In other words, understanding what God says is true about us, when we're in Christ, and actually believing that will produce humility, gratefulness, and a dependency on God to live His life in us and through us. Changing behavior then becomes a natural byproduct of believing that, as we submit to God making us into the image of His Son.

This also changes our attitudes towards others. Our focus is taken off us and on God. As that happens, we begin to see others through God's eyes. We look past the behaviors and offenses to the woundedness that drives them and see the need for others to have a change in heart rather than nagging them about changing their behavior. We aren't competing or trying to look better than someone else any more because we're trusting God with us! When we live in humble submission to God, that doesn't leave too much room for pride. We see that all we are and all we may accomplish is because of God and God alone.

As I look back on this road I've been on, I can really identify with that Relient K song, "Who I am hates who I've been." In legalism, I was a wounded person and caused some wounds to others out of my pride and self righteousness. Yet, if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have the deep appreciation for grace I now have! I've heard all the objections about "going overboard" on grace, like "you're giving people a license to sin." Well, based on my observations, people sin whether they "have a license" or not. Grace is risky because it involves a total trust in God with you as well as others. Living out of grace was scary for me at first because it meant total trust and submission to God and giving up my own control and self sufficiency. It meant humility. Now that I've gone down both paths, I'm sticking with the Trusting God one. I've found it much more joyful and fulfilling.

I'll close with THE CREED OF GRACE. All this is true of those in Christ because of grace and grace alone! I don't know who wrote it, it's part of my support group materials:

I believe that the only self I need to measure up to is the self my Maker meant me to be.

I believe that I am accepted by the grace of God without regard to my deserving.

I believe that I am accepted along with my shadows and the mix of good and bad I breed in them.

I believe that I am worthy to be accepted.

I believe that grace has set me free to accept myself totally, and without conditions, though I do not approve of everything I accept.

I believe that nothing I deserve to be ashamed of will ever make me unacceptable to God.

I believe that I can forgive anyone who has ever infected me with shame I do not deserve.

I believe that I can forgive myself for anything I have ever done to shame myself or another person.

I am gratefully proud of being who I am and what I shall be.

I believe that the grace of God heals the shame I do not deserve and heals the shame I do.

I believe that grace is the best thing in the world.