This is the third in the series, Destination Grace, outlining how to get from where we are, to an experience of grace and a place of gracious living.
Sadly, some Christians give the impression that to be a true Christian, you have to keep a list of rules. Consequently, many non-Christians choose not to become believers, not because they reject Jesus, but because they don’t want to follow the list of rules Christians have created.
Let’s be clear. We are made right with God by receiving his grace, not by obeying a list of rules. There is no list of rules anywhere, that if you will follow them, you will become a Christian. The only way to be right with God is to receive his gift of grace.
We desperately need grace but we live in a world marked by ungrace. Ungrace is a word that describes how our world functions. We live in a world where we feel we must do something in order to earn acceptance. That’s why, whenever we get a glimpse of grace, we find it so appealing.
When we were still in need, deserving God’s justice, God lavished his grace on us. Grace is misunderstood in our culture, but it’s something worth knowing, understanding and celebrating.
SPEED BUMPS ON THE ROAD TO GRACE
There are speed bumps on the road to grace. One speed bump is man-made rules – Relentless, Unbending Legalistic Externals. Rules are the alternative to grace. There are people who know they are saved by grace, but who, after conversion, try to please God by keeping rules rather than living by grace.
There’s a tendency after being saved to revert to a relationship with God based on rules – a whole bunch of man-made do’s and don’ts. The fact is, just as we can’t be saved by following a list of rules, so we can’t have an ongoing relationship with God based on obeying a list of rules.
Many evangelicals say they’re saved by grace, but what they rarely say, but often practice, is that they believe they are kept in God’s favor by following a list of rules. They live and act as if they have to keep a list of rules in order to stay in good standing with God.
Remember, we’re saved by grace, kept by grace and ought to live by grace.
There are three possible responses to rules. Two have dangerous consequences; one is the way to fulfillment.
REJECT LEGALISM
The history of religion is marked by making lists of rules. Some of the rules have been good; some have been bad. If you want to belong to a religious group, you have to keep the rules. This is true for Shintoists, Buddhists and Hindus; there are rules to follow. Judaism is based on a system of rules, the 10 Commandments plus more than 600 hundred others.
Over the centuries, Christians have had a tendency to make lists of rules. Many churches have taboos – places you don’t go, words you don’t say, things you don’t eat or drink and people you don’t associate with. The spirit behind these rules is called legalism. Note several things about legalism.
Legalism reduces religion to following a list of rules. Making lists isn’t new. In the first century, Christians argued about their lists of rules – what kind of food was permitted, which day of the week was more spiritual than the others and who should or shouldn’t be circumcised. You weren’t considered a Christian unless you followed these rules.
Legalism is based solely on externals. Legalism has nothing to do with the condition of the heart. Legalism chooses to live by a mindless list of rules regardless of the condition of the heart. True spirituality is the pursuit of internal purity.
Paul told the Galatians, the moment you get into a system of rule-keeping, Christ’s hard-won freedom is squandered.
Legalism negates the grace of God. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4).
Legalism says, if I do this or that, I’m going to impress God. But you can’t do anything to make God love you more and you can do nothing to make God love you less. Your relationship with God is based on his grace, not some reward he gives you for your good behavior.
You have a choice: grace or list-keeping. We know “works” – the keeping of rules, doesn’t cut it with God; salvation has to be by grace. The moment we revert to following a system of rules to satisfy God, we negate God’s grace.
Legalism robs you of God’s joy. Dr. Karl Menninger, who wrote the book, Whatever Became of Sin, calls legalists “Troubled people who are rigid, bitter and chronically unhappy people.”
Legalism is grim, rigid and exacting. Jesus avoided legalists. The people who irritated him the most were legalists. One day Jesus said to the legalists, I don’t know what to do to make you guys happy. John didn’t drink wine and fasted and you said of him, he’s demon possessed. I feast and drink and you say I’m a glutton and a friend of sinners.
I have never met a happy list-lover. Living by a list robs you of your joy. When you live by a list, you miss out on so much of life. Grace is the opposite. The Greek word for grace, in its verb-form, means, “I rejoice, I take pleasure, I am glad” For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17).
Legalism poisons those who are already believers. Legalism makes people critical and judgmental.
In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy turned to Charlie Brown one day and said, “Charlie, life is a mystery, do you know the answer?” Charlie answered, “Yeah. Be kind. Don’t smoke. Be prompt. Avoid cavities. Smile a lot. Eat sensibly. Mark your ballot carefully. Avoid too much sun. Send overseas packages early. Love all creatures above and below. Insure your belongings. And try to keep the ball low.”
Before he could go on to the next platitude on his list, Lucy interrupted and said, “Hold still, because I’m going to give you a very sharp blow to the nose.”
Legalistic people are tough to be around. Jesus could handle drunks, prostitutes and thieves but couldn’t stomach Pharisees because they were legalists.
Legalism sends a wrong message to those outside the church. Some Christians are only known for what they don’t do and the places they don’t go. Too few are known for joy and fullness of life.
Church legalists create big problems for those outside the church by sending a faulty signal to the world about the gospel. Too often the only thing the world knows about the gospel is our list of rules and our rules have nothing to do with the gospel.
Some non-Christians think they can’t become Christians because they’d have to follow the list. Whether or not Christ accepts you has nothing to do with whether you drink, smoke or any other habit. It has only to do with the grace of God. There is nothing you can do to earn God’s forgiveness and there’s nothing you have to do to remain in a relationship with God. It’s all grace. Salvation and forgiveness are based on God’s free gift of grace.
REFUSE LICENSE
Some people ask, “OK! I’m not saved by keeping a list of rules. Does that give me license to do whatever I want? Does grace mean I can do whatever I want and still be a Christian?”
Grace does not give you the right to indulge in explicitly sinful behavior. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:13).
When the Bible is clear about right and wrong, we need to do right and avoid the wrong. There are some specifics outlined in the Bible such as don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet, honor your parents, reserve one day a week for God and no sex outside of marriage. Grace doesn’t give you permission to break those God-given, moral absolutes. Those commandments are not legalism; they are God’s holy standard for behavior.
Grace does not override the law of sowing and reaping. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7-8).
Grace does not nullify the law of the harvest. When you go to a restaurant, you are free to order whatever you want. However, if you eat something to which you are allergic, grace won’t protect you from getting sick. If you have trouble with indigestion and you eat something that is extremely spicy, grace will not exempt you from that burning sensation.
The Christian life is like that. You can choose anything you like, but if you choose sinful things, there will be consequences. The Christian who follows a sinful lifestyle, still faces the consequences.
Grace does not give us the right to become grace-abusers. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? (Romans 6:1).
There’s a big difference between grace and grace-abuse. Grace-abusers try to justify doing things that are wrong, thinking grace sets them free to do whatever they want, because God will always forgive.
Assume it’s your wedding day. Everything has been beautiful and you head off. But before you reach the hotel, you pull your car over and say something like this. “Darling, you know I really love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t believe that we are finally together. But you know honey, I believe true love means true freedom. Darling, you know the saying, if you love something set it free and it will come back to you? Well, I hope you won’t mind if I stray just a bit now and then. You know, a little affair here and there. It might be painful to you but think of the opportunities you will have to forgive me after I have been unfaithful to you.”
There is no way that is going to fly! Yet that’s the game that grace-abusers play with God.
REJOICE IN LIBERTY
So legalism is out. It won’t save you and doesn’t impress God.
And license is out. We don’t have the right to do whatever we want. There are consequences for our behavior.
If we are recipients of grace, we want to become Christ-like and please him in our actions.
The gospel offers us a life of freedom based on grace, a life with personal convictions based on a desire to love God and a life built on genuine love.
“Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12).
“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive. (1 Corinthians 10:23).
Grace makes you free to forgive your friend, free to say no to sin and yes to God, free from the tyranny of a list and the expectations of others, and free to be the person Christ made you to be.
Legalism is based on a false understanding of who God is and what he is like. God is not an austere judge waiting to pounce on us; God is our friend and is on our side. God is our ally, not our adversary. Because of grace, God is our best friend.
In a world dominated by demands and controlled by rules and regulations, Jesus operated with an entirely different mindset. Jesus came to set us free and he did that because he was motivated by grace.
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