This will take years of practice but here are some practical steps you can take in order to get the process started.
I am writing this from experience and some years ago could fit into most if not all of these descriptions. This is a deadly disease and it creeps up frequently disguised as religious behavior.
We walk a fine line or as Dr. Howell at C.I.U. would say in constant tension as we apply the Scripture. Of course we need to be truth and grace but how frequently do we move to one extreme or the other. So where this is a blog on steps to legalism maybe down the road I will write one on liberalism or easy believism. But without further ado...
1. Stay totally away from the local church
2. Get isolated from others except close family and do nothing but study
3. Always demand either orally or silently that you are right no matter what you say or do.
4. Learn to be critical of everyone else and their puny theological takes on the Scripture
5. Tell others that church history for 2000 years is virtually unimportant and you have some new and very unique takes on God's word
6. Talk about yourself at every opportunity, your favorite word is "I"
7. Write letters to constantly correct leadership in the church in order to get those dummies back on track, remember you are right!
8. Never submit to anyone, especially pastors or elders even if it is Biblical
9. Constantly talk about those around you in a way that is condescending and negative
10. Learn the best way to twist Scripture so that when you are confronted with sin you can justify it in your own mind
11. Tell others to read the Bible and do it, even if you don't. (For example: no church attendance, no small group, no submission to leadership, no humility, no repentance, no church discipline)
12. Make fun of others that go to seminary, because of their lack of discipline to learn it all on their own.
13. If you find that much of your theology is bad, wrong and dangerous call every one else a heretic!
14. Intimidate all those in your family, business or sphere of influence in order to always be in control
15. Pretend to repent if others confront your sin but never allow them to hold you accountable. Because in your heart you know you are right.
16. Make a list of all the places you used to go to church and then rationalize how they were wrong.
17. If you can teach, tell people how much you have studied, give lots of research in order to impress, and tell them they can use none of your materials!
18. Find one or two people that you can constantly put down in order to bring yourself up
19. Never ask family members if they see your main problem as one of legalism, because they might get brave and tell you what they really think
20. Be comforted with this constant and ongoing thought "I'm always right."
Friday, October 31, 2008
Bush Resignation Speech
The following 'speech' was written recently by an ordinary Maine-iac [a resident of the People's Republic of Maine]. While satirical in nature, all satire must have a basis in fact to be effective. This is an excellent piece by a person who does not write for a living.The speech George W. Bush might give:
Normally, I start these things out by saying 'My Fellow Americans.' Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.
I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: There's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people. I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media.
Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security.We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this 'blood for oil' thing. If I were trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq 's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this 'Bush Lied...People Died' crap either. If I were the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty.
Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named ' Clinton ' established that policy. Bet you didn't know tha t, did you?
Now some of you morons want to be led by a junior senator with no understanding of foreign policy or economics, and this nitwit says we should attack Pakistan , a nuclear ally. And then he wants to go to Iran and make peace with a terrorist who says he's going to destroy us. While he's doing that, he wants to give Iraq to al Qaeda, Afghanistan to the Taliban, Israel to the Palestinians, and your money to the IRS so the government can give welfare to illegal aliens, who he will make into citizens, so they can vote to re-elect him. He also thinks it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and we should stop our foreign aid to Israel. Did you sleep through high school?You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to out spend and out-tech them.
That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you, and the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement, and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor.'Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dang it, you might just as well Fed Ex a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times, USA Today, or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol or Dancing with Stars.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's bel ow sea level and has a hurricane approaching.I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient for years. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So that's it. God bless what's left of America.
Some of you know what I mean. The rest of you, kiss off.
PS - You might want to start learning Farsi, and buy a Koran.
Election Day or Judgment Day?
I have spent some time thinking about election day next Tuesday. But as I ponder many of the things that occupy my mind the one thing that most occupies it is the judgment day. Election days will come and go but at the judgment day all things become final.
Jesus Christ, God incarnate did come to planet earth, was born of a virgin, was fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life and was sinless, died on a cross was buried and on the third day and He really rose from the dead. I thankfully have cast myself on the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and have received Him as LORD and savior of my life. There was nothing in me deserving of nor meriting my salvation. Since it was nothing I did but everything that He did there is no way I can boast. How can I boast about a gift that was freely given and also knowing that I had nothing to offer. If someone were to ask me how do I know these truths it would be based on God's word which I have learned through much study and research is:
1. Inspired
2. Infallible
3. Inerrant
Even if I had not done the research these things about the Bible remain true, whether I believe them to be or not. I have used the example before in training about gravity. You can go to the top of the Sears building in Chicago and say all day long that you don't believe in gravity. But as soon as you jump, your wrong and incorrect belief system will yield to a natural law that will overcome your belief system.
Election day is about who will be our President for the next 4 years but at the judgment day we will have our eternal destinies either secured in heaven or in hell.
I have heard that C.S. Lewis would argue this way with his non-believing friends and family members. He would say something to this effect "Let's say you are right and there are many ways to heaven and no hell at all. Then my believing in Christ this way will still result in me reaching the same destination for eternity. However if I am right in this regard in which Jesus says in "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me" and you are wrong then you will spend an eternity away from God in hell. C.S. Lewis was arguing a protect yourself from a worst case scenario. If you don't believe in Christ then hell is the non-believers only alternative, and that is worst case.
Election day is a cause for some anxiety and worry based on the candidate of choice and future implications. But judgment day is a cause for the most critical and important thinking one can ever do because your eternity is what hangs in the balance.
Romans 3:23 says this "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Your sin and my sin have offended a holy God to the decree that if not paid for will result in our everlasting punishment. Folks you could spend 50 years building hospitals in third world countries that might save millions of lives and still go to hell. Because your works will not earn your way into heaven. We need someone to pay the full price for our sins and that person is Jesus Christ. When we cast ourselves on the mercy of Christ at the cross, trust and receive Him as Lord and Savior, then He pays the penalty of our sin (past, present and future) and breaks the power of sin in our life. At the cross of Christ there is a great exchange. All of my sin is imputed to Christ and all of Christ's righteousness is imputed to me. Just think of this transaction, He doesn't deserve my sin but takes it on and absorbs it, I don't deserve any of His righteousness but He gives it to me freely. And the truth of the cross of Christ is as follows, to those who are perishing it is complete foolishness but to those who are being saved it is the power of God!
Therefore my time, effort, attention and energy will be spent by God's grace teaching and exhorting others to keep the main thing the main thing. And that is judgment day not election day!
Jesus Christ, God incarnate did come to planet earth, was born of a virgin, was fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life and was sinless, died on a cross was buried and on the third day and He really rose from the dead. I thankfully have cast myself on the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and have received Him as LORD and savior of my life. There was nothing in me deserving of nor meriting my salvation. Since it was nothing I did but everything that He did there is no way I can boast. How can I boast about a gift that was freely given and also knowing that I had nothing to offer. If someone were to ask me how do I know these truths it would be based on God's word which I have learned through much study and research is:
1. Inspired
2. Infallible
3. Inerrant
Even if I had not done the research these things about the Bible remain true, whether I believe them to be or not. I have used the example before in training about gravity. You can go to the top of the Sears building in Chicago and say all day long that you don't believe in gravity. But as soon as you jump, your wrong and incorrect belief system will yield to a natural law that will overcome your belief system.
Election day is about who will be our President for the next 4 years but at the judgment day we will have our eternal destinies either secured in heaven or in hell.
I have heard that C.S. Lewis would argue this way with his non-believing friends and family members. He would say something to this effect "Let's say you are right and there are many ways to heaven and no hell at all. Then my believing in Christ this way will still result in me reaching the same destination for eternity. However if I am right in this regard in which Jesus says in "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me" and you are wrong then you will spend an eternity away from God in hell. C.S. Lewis was arguing a protect yourself from a worst case scenario. If you don't believe in Christ then hell is the non-believers only alternative, and that is worst case.
Election day is a cause for some anxiety and worry based on the candidate of choice and future implications. But judgment day is a cause for the most critical and important thinking one can ever do because your eternity is what hangs in the balance.
Romans 3:23 says this "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Your sin and my sin have offended a holy God to the decree that if not paid for will result in our everlasting punishment. Folks you could spend 50 years building hospitals in third world countries that might save millions of lives and still go to hell. Because your works will not earn your way into heaven. We need someone to pay the full price for our sins and that person is Jesus Christ. When we cast ourselves on the mercy of Christ at the cross, trust and receive Him as Lord and Savior, then He pays the penalty of our sin (past, present and future) and breaks the power of sin in our life. At the cross of Christ there is a great exchange. All of my sin is imputed to Christ and all of Christ's righteousness is imputed to me. Just think of this transaction, He doesn't deserve my sin but takes it on and absorbs it, I don't deserve any of His righteousness but He gives it to me freely. And the truth of the cross of Christ is as follows, to those who are perishing it is complete foolishness but to those who are being saved it is the power of God!
Therefore my time, effort, attention and energy will be spent by God's grace teaching and exhorting others to keep the main thing the main thing. And that is judgment day not election day!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Workhorse not a Showhorse
Here is John McCain's best speech in exhorting Americans to "stand up and fight."
Free John MacArthur
From Between Two Worlds blog site:There's some great news coming from Grace to You, the ministry ministry of John MacArthur.
I'm told that starting next Wednesday, November 5 (the day after the election), Grace to You will announce a new policy, effective immediately, that all of their mp3 downloads of John MacArthur's sermons will be completely free.
That's 3500 sermons for free--with no strings (like required registration) attached.
Hats off to Grace to You for this generous move!
Make sure to visit the site next Wednesday.
False Prophets and the last days
In the disciples ask Jesus this question; what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age? And Jesus answers and says "Be sure that no one misleads you." In other words as the last days draw to a close so will the false teachers increase and mislead people.
Here are two false prophets based on what they say as opposed to what the Scriptures say.
Both of them are well known and sell books, tapes and all sorts of material but it isn't Biblical. Beware of Paula White and Larry Huck and here is some video evidence that supports the warning!
Now read what the Bible says about Jesus being the only begotten Son of God:
¶ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
¶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
Folks, always check what is being preached or taught against the plumb line of God's word.
Here are two false prophets based on what they say as opposed to what the Scriptures say.
Both of them are well known and sell books, tapes and all sorts of material but it isn't Biblical. Beware of Paula White and Larry Huck and here is some video evidence that supports the warning!
Now read what the Bible says about Jesus being the only begotten Son of God:
¶ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
¶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
Folks, always check what is being preached or taught against the plumb line of God's word.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Connecting the Seeker-Friendly Dots
Granger Community Church (6th most influential church in America) where the following statistics have been revealed by senior pastor Mark Beeson.
Granger’s own qualitative study revealed that:
47% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in salvation by grace.
57% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in the authority of the Bible.
56% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Would you say this is a church or a conference center?
Folks when almost 60% of the people attending don't believe in the authority of the Bible there is a problem.
Now go to this website LINK which is Innovate 2008. And scroll down the page and look whose name and church appear:
You'll also hear from a combination of innovators outside of Granger:
▪ Steven Furtick, Elevation Church
If these statistics are true of Granger Community after 22 years then what might Elevation Church expect by doing things the same way.
If you want to have your eyes really opened about the danger of this type of ministry and why just click on this LINK.
Granger’s own qualitative study revealed that:
47% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in salvation by grace.
57% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe in the authority of the Bible.
56% of those attending Granger DO NOT believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Would you say this is a church or a conference center?
Folks when almost 60% of the people attending don't believe in the authority of the Bible there is a problem.
Now go to this website LINK which is Innovate 2008. And scroll down the page and look whose name and church appear:
You'll also hear from a combination of innovators outside of Granger:
▪ Steven Furtick, Elevation Church
If these statistics are true of Granger Community after 22 years then what might Elevation Church expect by doing things the same way.
If you want to have your eyes really opened about the danger of this type of ministry and why just click on this LINK.
Legalism
At the present Nancy and I are in ministry teaching a SS class here in the Queen City. It has been great and probably from time to time I will post some of the blog articles from that website.
I received a call from a good friend yesterday who mentioned to me great Bible teachers that seem prone to legalism. He went on to name two very well known people in Charlotte based on his personal observations. So if Larry should be reading this blog site in the near future here are a couple of articles on legalism.
Our class can be summarized as follows: “Back to the basics of the Bible in such a way that Christ is demonstrated as great and glorious in each of our lives.” However as I have taught over the years, one of the dangers of intense Bible study can be legalism. We need to be on alert constantly against this very deadly disease. And the only antibiotic that can provide the cure is the cross of Christ.
Therefore, before we continue moving forward in our survey of the Bible, I am pulling our tour bus over to the next overview stop in order to look out into the valley of legalism. As many of you know that have been with us for the last 9 weeks, I have exhorted us as a class back to the Bible. In doing so I have encouraged you with a number of tools that can help in your Bible reading, Bible devotion and Bible study. But I also know that some people have processed this information through the filter of “I need to start building a task list or to do list for my spiritual life.” One of the points this past Sunday was as Americans we are hard wired to be legalists. Should you want to hear that flushed out in more detail just refer to the audio link for October 26 or these power point slides from last Sunday.
This Sunday instead of focusing our attention on the problem we will in fact be emphasizing the cure. Now before I give you the homework assignment let me give you a pastoral heads up. The problem that existed in the first 100 years of the church and the big problem that we face now is the same. And the name of the problem is SIN! Please don’t ignore this but seek rather to understand this from the Bible. Read carefully the apostle Paul’s conclusion about the entire human race (pagan, moral man and religious man) in Romans. Remember Romans is the most thorough epistle we have on the doctrine of salvation.
Rom. 3:10 as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Rom. 3:11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
Rom. 3:12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
Legalism is sin rooted in pride which focuses the attention on my effort and ability in order to merit or get God’s approval. But in me there is nothing good so all I can bring to God are deeds that are in fact unrighteous. I once heard a prominent theologian proclaim “ the best work you ever do in your lifetime, needs to be bathed in repentance.” When I heard it I backed the tape up and listened again. He did not say the worst thing you will ever have done but the best thing needs to be bathed in repentance. Why is that? Because our sinful nature is so utterly sinful that it even taints the most wonderful things that we do in our kingdom work. I must admit hearing that did not help my self esteem or self concept one little bit. But isn’t that the point! If I don’t admit and deal with the problem then I will never appreciate nor apply the solution. Class we are sinners in need of a savior and that savior is Christ. Did you ever see the movie “Amazing Grace?” Well, in that movie there is a conversation between Wilbur Wilberforce and John Newton. At this point Newton is old and looks to be a bit senile. But he says to Wilberforce the following statement, “one thing that I know, I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”
The key to killing the deadly disease of legalism is the cross of Christ. It may be that legalism has never been a problem for you but what about lust, envy, jealousy, lying, anger, coveting, hating, gossiping, and I could go on but you get the idea. Romans 3:23 states “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Therefore all need the one cure for that problem that is common to every man, woman, boy and girl that has ever lived or will live except for Christ Himself.
I want you to know that this class has not been designed nor will it be taught from a “you” centered perspective. This class will be taught from a “Christ-centered” perspective. We somehow have gotten the notion today that if we market Jesus to unbelievers as the One who can fix their marriage, smooth all relationships, guarantee financial prosperity, take away all their guilt and also keep them out of hell then we are involved in kingdom building. But wanting to not go to hell is not a saving affection because I can want to avoid hell and still not want to be with, love and praise Christ. We in evangelicalism have fallen into the deadly trap of promising the blessings but leaving out the Blessor. We have guaranteed the gifts and yet at the same time diminished the Giver. Many churches today will not talk about the sinful, evil and wickedness in the heart of man that can only be solved by the blood shedding of Jesus Christ. By the grace of God I will not allow that to happen in this class. This will not be about getting your best life now, but rather it will be about how to lose your life now in order that you can save it!
Class, can I teach you this hard but very important truth? In you, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. there is NO GOOD THING, your heart is evil and desperately wicked! The only thing you want to do is rebel, be in charge of your own life and you do not want to submit to God in any way. As a matter of fact prior to Christ you were at war with God. No, that needs to be stated the other way God was at war with you! So what could possibly allow you in your wicked and evil state to be reconciled to a holy and righteous God. It was God’s gracious gift to you of repentance and faith that turned you away from self as you cast yourself on the mercy of Christ in order to trust in Him.
So this week we look at, yes, the solution to legalism but we could say the solution to sin. You see when we started the four obstacles I listed to Bible study were as follows:
1. Motivation
2. Priority
3. Skills and Tools
4. Spiritual Condition
I could have wrapped all of these up in one word which is SIN. Because SIN will be the one thing that keeps you from the Bible whereas the Bible will be that which keeps you from SIN.
Here are the important study verses that Lord willing I am going to teach on this Sunday:
Romans 1:16
Ephesians 2:8-9
1 Corinthians 1:17-31
Galatians 6:14
Galatians 2:20
1Corinthians 2:1-2
Titus 3:3-7
Here are some words that I would like you to pay attention to as you read and meditate on these verses prior to Sunday.
Gospel
Christ-crucifed
Saved
Regeneration
Justification
Mercy
Boasting
There is only one cure for legalism and that is Christ crucified for our sins! This is not something you can
do but rather it is something that must be done for you! When we start to understand that kind of GRACE,
a GRACE that saves rebellious, evil and wicked men, women, boys and girls then we will start to be
amazed. As GRACE comes down JOY rises in the form of delight, satisfaction and a genuine treasuring of
Christ. And naturally from our satisfaction in Christ a love springs forth from our lives in the form of our
LOVE for others. And now when I perform deeds in the body of Christ they are done not out of a “DUTY”
mentality but rather from a “DELIGHT” mentality. The only cure for legalism is the cross of Christ!
I received a call from a good friend yesterday who mentioned to me great Bible teachers that seem prone to legalism. He went on to name two very well known people in Charlotte based on his personal observations. So if Larry should be reading this blog site in the near future here are a couple of articles on legalism.
Our class can be summarized as follows: “Back to the basics of the Bible in such a way that Christ is demonstrated as great and glorious in each of our lives.” However as I have taught over the years, one of the dangers of intense Bible study can be legalism. We need to be on alert constantly against this very deadly disease. And the only antibiotic that can provide the cure is the cross of Christ.
Therefore, before we continue moving forward in our survey of the Bible, I am pulling our tour bus over to the next overview stop in order to look out into the valley of legalism. As many of you know that have been with us for the last 9 weeks, I have exhorted us as a class back to the Bible. In doing so I have encouraged you with a number of tools that can help in your Bible reading, Bible devotion and Bible study. But I also know that some people have processed this information through the filter of “I need to start building a task list or to do list for my spiritual life.” One of the points this past Sunday was as Americans we are hard wired to be legalists. Should you want to hear that flushed out in more detail just refer to the audio link for October 26 or these power point slides from last Sunday.
This Sunday instead of focusing our attention on the problem we will in fact be emphasizing the cure. Now before I give you the homework assignment let me give you a pastoral heads up. The problem that existed in the first 100 years of the church and the big problem that we face now is the same. And the name of the problem is SIN! Please don’t ignore this but seek rather to understand this from the Bible. Read carefully the apostle Paul’s conclusion about the entire human race (pagan, moral man and religious man) in Romans. Remember Romans is the most thorough epistle we have on the doctrine of salvation.
Rom. 3:10 as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Rom. 3:11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
Rom. 3:12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
Legalism is sin rooted in pride which focuses the attention on my effort and ability in order to merit or get God’s approval. But in me there is nothing good so all I can bring to God are deeds that are in fact unrighteous. I once heard a prominent theologian proclaim “ the best work you ever do in your lifetime, needs to be bathed in repentance.” When I heard it I backed the tape up and listened again. He did not say the worst thing you will ever have done but the best thing needs to be bathed in repentance. Why is that? Because our sinful nature is so utterly sinful that it even taints the most wonderful things that we do in our kingdom work. I must admit hearing that did not help my self esteem or self concept one little bit. But isn’t that the point! If I don’t admit and deal with the problem then I will never appreciate nor apply the solution. Class we are sinners in need of a savior and that savior is Christ. Did you ever see the movie “Amazing Grace?” Well, in that movie there is a conversation between Wilbur Wilberforce and John Newton. At this point Newton is old and looks to be a bit senile. But he says to Wilberforce the following statement, “one thing that I know, I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”
The key to killing the deadly disease of legalism is the cross of Christ. It may be that legalism has never been a problem for you but what about lust, envy, jealousy, lying, anger, coveting, hating, gossiping, and I could go on but you get the idea. Romans 3:23 states “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Therefore all need the one cure for that problem that is common to every man, woman, boy and girl that has ever lived or will live except for Christ Himself.
I want you to know that this class has not been designed nor will it be taught from a “you” centered perspective. This class will be taught from a “Christ-centered” perspective. We somehow have gotten the notion today that if we market Jesus to unbelievers as the One who can fix their marriage, smooth all relationships, guarantee financial prosperity, take away all their guilt and also keep them out of hell then we are involved in kingdom building. But wanting to not go to hell is not a saving affection because I can want to avoid hell and still not want to be with, love and praise Christ. We in evangelicalism have fallen into the deadly trap of promising the blessings but leaving out the Blessor. We have guaranteed the gifts and yet at the same time diminished the Giver. Many churches today will not talk about the sinful, evil and wickedness in the heart of man that can only be solved by the blood shedding of Jesus Christ. By the grace of God I will not allow that to happen in this class. This will not be about getting your best life now, but rather it will be about how to lose your life now in order that you can save it!
Class, can I teach you this hard but very important truth? In you, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. there is NO GOOD THING, your heart is evil and desperately wicked! The only thing you want to do is rebel, be in charge of your own life and you do not want to submit to God in any way. As a matter of fact prior to Christ you were at war with God. No, that needs to be stated the other way God was at war with you! So what could possibly allow you in your wicked and evil state to be reconciled to a holy and righteous God. It was God’s gracious gift to you of repentance and faith that turned you away from self as you cast yourself on the mercy of Christ in order to trust in Him.
So this week we look at, yes, the solution to legalism but we could say the solution to sin. You see when we started the four obstacles I listed to Bible study were as follows:
1. Motivation
2. Priority
3. Skills and Tools
4. Spiritual Condition
I could have wrapped all of these up in one word which is SIN. Because SIN will be the one thing that keeps you from the Bible whereas the Bible will be that which keeps you from SIN.
Here are the important study verses that Lord willing I am going to teach on this Sunday:
Romans 1:16
Ephesians 2:8-9
1 Corinthians 1:17-31
Galatians 6:14
Galatians 2:20
1Corinthians 2:1-2
Titus 3:3-7
Here are some words that I would like you to pay attention to as you read and meditate on these verses prior to Sunday.
Gospel
Christ-crucifed
Saved
Regeneration
Justification
Mercy
Boasting
There is only one cure for legalism and that is Christ crucified for our sins! This is not something you can
do but rather it is something that must be done for you! When we start to understand that kind of GRACE,
a GRACE that saves rebellious, evil and wicked men, women, boys and girls then we will start to be
amazed. As GRACE comes down JOY rises in the form of delight, satisfaction and a genuine treasuring of
Christ. And naturally from our satisfaction in Christ a love springs forth from our lives in the form of our
LOVE for others. And now when I perform deeds in the body of Christ they are done not out of a “DUTY”
mentality but rather from a “DELIGHT” mentality. The only cure for legalism is the cross of Christ!
Monday, October 27, 2008
"For men will be lovers of self"
Pastor, hello pastor...can we have a little less of you in this message and more of Christ crucified for our sins! Listen to the last part of the video as Steven talks about something he wrote. He says was so good that he gave an offering to himself.
Hmmm...check out Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
Hmmm...check out Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
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