6/22 Guest Post for Christian Foundations: ‘Hardcore Legalism’
Here is an interesting Guest Post presented by Bob Gonzales at drbobgonzales.com :
“I used to think that I could earn God’s favor and salvation on the basis of my inherent virtue and good works. Of course, I admitted I wasn’t perfect. But I foolishly presumed that my good deeds would somehow outweigh my bad deeds.
“In this respect, I thought and behaved much like the Pharisees, scribes, and Jewish people of Jesus’ day who trusted in their own inherent virtue and religious performance to merit their acceptance before God (Matthew 5:20; Luke 16:14-15; 18:9-12, 14; Romans 10:1-3).
“Thankfully, God helped me realize that my sinfulness was heart-deep (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19-20) and that the best of my moral or religious deeds were worthless for earning His favor (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:20; Philippians 3:4-9). By His saving grace, I repented of my sin and self-righteousness, placing my confidence and hope in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
“Religious “Legalism” with a capital “L” is heresy.
“It’s the belief that one’s personal virtue and obedience to religious norms or standards merits God’s favor and/or salvation. This “do-it-yourself” religion is antithetical to the gospel of Christ and the Bible’s grace-based religion.”
Elevating My Own Opinions
“Without biblical warrant, I tended to view certain practices as “wrong” and Christians who endorsed or practiced them as “worldly.” Instead of basing my understanding of “worldliness” on the teaching of Scripture (John 2:15-17), I based it largely on my own preferences, prejudices, and personal standards. As a result, I sometimes condemned what the Bible doesn’t condemn and disapproved of other Christians whom God approves (Ezekiel 13:22; Romans 14:3-4).”
Looking Down at Others
“I also had a tendency to be hypercritical of Christians and churches that didn’t share all my beliefs and convictions – while remaining to some degree blind to my own remaining sins and weaknesses (Matthew 7:1-5). Instead of focusing primarily on the central truths of the gospel, I was overly preoccupied with beliefs and practices that distinguished me from all other Christians and exalted those beliefs and practices to a place of unwarranted priority (Matthew 23:23). As a result, I so focused on minute orthodoxy that I lost sight of brotherly love (Revelations 2:2-4) and humility (1 Corinthians 4:7).”
Trusting in Human Tradition
Instead of reading my tradition in the light of Scripture, I tended to read Scripture in the light of my tradition. As a result, I proudly thought myself superior to other Christians (Mark 9:38-40; 1 Corinthians 12:21) and that I had little if anything to learn from them – only much to teach them. Worse, my veneration of human tradition sometimes invalidated the teaching and mandates of God’s own Word (Matthew 15:1-9).
Adapted from ‘Radical Confessions of a Recovering Legalist’
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/162987-confessions-of-a-recovering-legalist.html Bob Gonzales or visit Bob at drbobgonzales.com http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/162987-confessions-of-a-recovering-legalist.html
We invite you to add your comments to the posts as we go along. Agree? …or disagree? … What do you think?
Susanne Fengler, Blog Author
www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info
Tags: Guest Post - Legalism
Filed under: Challenges to the Christian Faith
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