The Problem with Church (part 3 of 4)

One of the most deadly diseases in the church today is legalism. It kills pastors, members, seekers of God, and entire churches! It kills the movement of the Spirit of God! Is your hair too long, do you wear the wrong clothes, do you have a tattoo, have you ever drank a beer or glass of wine, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ NIV) Paul says, related to legalism, give me Christian liberty or give me death! Christian Liberty can be friend by the following statement: Love God with all of your heart, then do whatever you want. Implied the message: if you love God with ALL your heart, everything you do will be with the goal of pleasing God. Legalism is: Do good things, stay away from bad things, then you will be spiritual and pleasing to God. It breeds hypocrisy and guilt among the members of the church. Three things that legalism does to kill the church: 1. There is only one way to God - through the grace of Jesus Christ. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! (‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭6-8‬ NIV) If you make chocolate chip cookies with a cup of salt instead of a cup is sugar, you will not follow the one road to chocolate chip cookies. Is it any less stupid to think you can get to God by following any road of religion we like? 2. Legalism tries to enslave the believer. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭3-5‬ NIV) There are people in the church who are constantly trying to redefine what it means to be spiritual by defining new and restrictive rules of behavior. 3. Legalism breeds hypocrisy in the church. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. (‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭11-13‬ NIV) Even Peter, held in esteem by some to be the first Pope, held by all to have been a great leader in the early church, became trapped in hypocrisy! It happens to all of us. Are we trying to please man or to please God? Get rid of YOUR definition of spirituality, YOUR rules of behavior, YOUR road to God, YOUR hypocrisy, and YOUR judgement of others who don't measure up. Embrace God's grace! See our website at www.truthatlife.com