Dear ...
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. And what you brought up spoke to the heart of confusion many Christians are bound in even with a sincere heart to embrace the truth of the gospel.
The pitfall of legalism is acknowledged, preached and accepted by most believers. It is as clear as black and white. But how one interprets legalism often becomes the very justification of it -- and even unwitting reinforcement of the idea incorporated in the sermons and belief. This is where I insist we need a clear divide between law and grace by which a believer can escape that twilight zone of uncertainty. Then and only then a firm foundation of grace (and not just a cursory recognition and appreciation of it but still deeply rooted in law) can take hold in the hearts and minds of God's select in the truth of faith, hope and love.
But the separation and definition I urge goes beyond description of what is really meant by "law" in the new covenant, and how it is different from legalism. I have had feedback from brothers and sisters steeped in legalism insisting they are only for the spirit of law in the commandment of Jesus to love God and love our neighbors. If not for the insidious influence and subtlety that plays to our core nature as human beings most believers are intelligent and devoted enough to avoid legalism proper in not just following to the strict letters of law but needing the love to first flow out of our hearts.
What you wrote centered on clarifying what law really means in terms of the gospel; and you nailed it on the head. Law (or more specifically the spirit of it) is an outflow of love, and without love law is made moot and even becomes a curse. In your full description of the origin, essence and purpose of law you will find no disagreement from believers of all sides to the grace argument. Therefore that is what most responses to my thoughts on grace protest of -- that why bash them constant over their heads about law and grace when they already know what Christ really meant to manifest by "law" in the gospel?
What I (and Paul, I believe) speak to in terms of law is not of the external behaviors but the internal motivator. It is the mentality of law; a psychological, philosophical and even emotional belief steeped in the worldly tradition translated unchecked in to the spiritual walk. The world is a merit-based system where rewards need to be earned and all things need justification by equal value in return. Just the term: "I obey because I love God" seems innocent and reasonable enough but in truth is legalistic -- especially when what should be a devotional and worshipful promise from a revelation and acceptance of God's love becomes elevated to a doctrine of "should" from the pulpit. This in essence becomes law in terms of commandment from man. What Jesus describes as fruits of love morphs into terms of law that justifies love. This is prevalent when the teaching is based on how a Christian should look like, behave like and talk like if he is filled with love and the holy spirit. Then all this mad dash to convince, encourage, even coerce, observe and and the inevitable judging/condemning oneself and one another when any should fall short.
This is not the spirit of grace, which centers not on how we behave but just the faith God will work in us for the good of His will. Instead of "I obey because I love God (or God loves me)" grace teaches us that "the spirit of God that indwells me lives through me," or "Jesus living in me is my obedience." When our faith is in Him that works in us then it is no longer about our performances but His sovereign power to transform and sanctify us.
The spirit of law doesn't change and remains perfect. But it is our attitude and perspective that needs to be re-focused. And in such case we must be very forceful and decisive to extinguish law as a necessary part of faith from a believer's mind. Again, that is not to be critical of law and relegate it to irrelevancy. God found fault with the law (first) covenant, so we should as well even though there is no flaw in law. The flaw is in us but God's love delivers us from it where otherwise law only sentences us to death. Knowing the flaw and insufficiency of law to deliver His people God still conveyed law to us. Where the grand plan of salvation is of love, yet the original intent of Mosaic law was not love but to bring us to a fearful state of discovery of how inadequate we are. The law was meant to condemn us so we may be in need of salvation. No, God's love is found, magnified and glorified in grace and only grace, which we have no part in but faith. From faith (believe His grace redeemed us from the bondage/strength of sin -- law) we have hope (confident expectation of goodness and life, not just a baseless wish), and the sweet flow of love pours forth, not because it is commanded of us, but love commands us.
What you wrote in the last sentence is very lovely: "...we then complete the law out of love of God. This doesn't mean we are perfect, but every act of love is perfect in God's eyes." Moving as that statement is when view from the perspective and revelation of grace, it is ripe to be twisted to mean, "if we love God then we need to complete the law by obedience." Certainly the motivation is out of love, but once made a law in and of itself it voids the very love intended to express, and the propagation of a natural expression of love calcifies into a rigid doctrine that chokes the very life from that love. That is the true danger of a law-based belief -- it literally makes one's Christian walk into a litany of dos and dont's, cold as stone and lifeless. Worse it is in keeping a believer under condemnation of not good enough and not doing enough, and the daily chore of confessing, rededicating and failing instead of the effortless joy in trusting Jesus Christ living inside us and enjoying the intimacy we already have resting in His grace and redemption.
Some may view this as spiritual laziness, but it is the truest expression of faith, hope and love. There is no shame in waiting when we are in grace, but the flesh is stirred by law (mentality) to justify and return what is received, and interprets fruits of life to be fruits of the knowledge of good and evil for us to bear. By faith in grace, our hope is confidence that He will work in us according to His time and His way that love may bear fruits of the sweetest kind. Amen
James
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. And what you brought up spoke to the heart of confusion many Christians are bound in even with a sincere heart to embrace the truth of the gospel.
The pitfall of legalism is acknowledged, preached and accepted by most believers. It is as clear as black and white. But how one interprets legalism often becomes the very justification of it -- and even unwitting reinforcement of the idea incorporated in the sermons and belief. This is where I insist we need a clear divide between law and grace by which a believer can escape that twilight zone of uncertainty. Then and only then a firm foundation of grace (and not just a cursory recognition and appreciation of it but still deeply rooted in law) can take hold in the hearts and minds of God's select in the truth of faith, hope and love.
But the separation and definition I urge goes beyond description of what is really meant by "law" in the new covenant, and how it is different from legalism. I have had feedback from brothers and sisters steeped in legalism insisting they are only for the spirit of law in the commandment of Jesus to love God and love our neighbors. If not for the insidious influence and subtlety that plays to our core nature as human beings most believers are intelligent and devoted enough to avoid legalism proper in not just following to the strict letters of law but needing the love to first flow out of our hearts.
What you wrote centered on clarifying what law really means in terms of the gospel; and you nailed it on the head. Law (or more specifically the spirit of it) is an outflow of love, and without love law is made moot and even becomes a curse. In your full description of the origin, essence and purpose of law you will find no disagreement from believers of all sides to the grace argument. Therefore that is what most responses to my thoughts on grace protest of -- that why bash them constant over their heads about law and grace when they already know what Christ really meant to manifest by "law" in the gospel?
What I (and Paul, I believe) speak to in terms of law is not of the external behaviors but the internal motivator. It is the mentality of law; a psychological, philosophical and even emotional belief steeped in the worldly tradition translated unchecked in to the spiritual walk. The world is a merit-based system where rewards need to be earned and all things need justification by equal value in return. Just the term: "I obey because I love God" seems innocent and reasonable enough but in truth is legalistic -- especially when what should be a devotional and worshipful promise from a revelation and acceptance of God's love becomes elevated to a doctrine of "should" from the pulpit. This in essence becomes law in terms of commandment from man. What Jesus describes as fruits of love morphs into terms of law that justifies love. This is prevalent when the teaching is based on how a Christian should look like, behave like and talk like if he is filled with love and the holy spirit. Then all this mad dash to convince, encourage, even coerce, observe and and the inevitable judging/condemning oneself and one another when any should fall short.
This is not the spirit of grace, which centers not on how we behave but just the faith God will work in us for the good of His will. Instead of "I obey because I love God (or God loves me)" grace teaches us that "the spirit of God that indwells me lives through me," or "Jesus living in me is my obedience." When our faith is in Him that works in us then it is no longer about our performances but His sovereign power to transform and sanctify us.
The spirit of law doesn't change and remains perfect. But it is our attitude and perspective that needs to be re-focused. And in such case we must be very forceful and decisive to extinguish law as a necessary part of faith from a believer's mind. Again, that is not to be critical of law and relegate it to irrelevancy. God found fault with the law (first) covenant, so we should as well even though there is no flaw in law. The flaw is in us but God's love delivers us from it where otherwise law only sentences us to death. Knowing the flaw and insufficiency of law to deliver His people God still conveyed law to us. Where the grand plan of salvation is of love, yet the original intent of Mosaic law was not love but to bring us to a fearful state of discovery of how inadequate we are. The law was meant to condemn us so we may be in need of salvation. No, God's love is found, magnified and glorified in grace and only grace, which we have no part in but faith. From faith (believe His grace redeemed us from the bondage/strength of sin -- law) we have hope (confident expectation of goodness and life, not just a baseless wish), and the sweet flow of love pours forth, not because it is commanded of us, but love commands us.
What you wrote in the last sentence is very lovely: "...we then complete the law out of love of God. This doesn't mean we are perfect, but every act of love is perfect in God's eyes." Moving as that statement is when view from the perspective and revelation of grace, it is ripe to be twisted to mean, "if we love God then we need to complete the law by obedience." Certainly the motivation is out of love, but once made a law in and of itself it voids the very love intended to express, and the propagation of a natural expression of love calcifies into a rigid doctrine that chokes the very life from that love. That is the true danger of a law-based belief -- it literally makes one's Christian walk into a litany of dos and dont's, cold as stone and lifeless. Worse it is in keeping a believer under condemnation of not good enough and not doing enough, and the daily chore of confessing, rededicating and failing instead of the effortless joy in trusting Jesus Christ living inside us and enjoying the intimacy we already have resting in His grace and redemption.
Some may view this as spiritual laziness, but it is the truest expression of faith, hope and love. There is no shame in waiting when we are in grace, but the flesh is stirred by law (mentality) to justify and return what is received, and interprets fruits of life to be fruits of the knowledge of good and evil for us to bear. By faith in grace, our hope is confidence that He will work in us according to His time and His way that love may bear fruits of the sweetest kind. Amen
James
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