In my life, whether personally or in ministry, I've always had one persistent foe: legalism.
For the first few years of my life in Christ, I struggled mighty with legalism. It took a long journey for me to reach a place where I really began to even scratch the surface of God's incredible grace and mercy.
And, since I've been in ministry, legalism seems to be the one consistent foe that I typically wind up battling head-on, over and over again. To be honest, I believe it's part of God's call on my life . . . He wants me to blow the whistle on legalism and direct people back toward their position in Christ and His incredible grace and freedom.
Like many of you, I've recently read the excellent book, The Help. And, beyond the racism and so many other rich themes, legalism is certainly part of what I saw written on its every page.
Legalism can be used to justify racism, as The Help demonstrates so eloquently. But legalism can also be used to justify disdaining the lost, or despising the poor, or dismissing the hurting. Legalism is a powerful, destructive tool that many Christians wear readily as their primary weapon and armor.
If you don't mind my blog freely lifting from others, Ed Stetzer recently published a lengthy quote from Chuck Swindoll about legalism. This quote says what I want to say so much better than I could say it, so I'm simply going to post it in its entirety. Just listen to Chuck, please!
"The problem with legalists is that not enough people have confronted them and told them to get lost. Those are strong words, but I don't mess with legalism anymore. I'm 72 years old; what have I got to lose? Seriously, I used to kowtow to legalists, but they're dangerous. They are grace-killers. They'll drive off every new Christian you bring to church. They are enemies of the faith. Other than that, I don't have any opinion! So, if I am trying to force my personal list of no-no's on you and make you feel guilty if you don't join me, then I'm out of line and I need to be told that."
Wow . . . those words strike straight to my heart, not just because Chuck Swindoll said them, or because I agree with them, but primarily because they remind me of how Christ handled the Pharisees, the primary legalists of His time, during His journey to the Cross.
As a pastor who sincerely wants to reach people for Christ and continue to shepherd a growing, vibrant church that reflects authentic Christianity, the description "grace-killers" gives me incredible pause. The sentence, "They'll drive off every new Christian you bring to church," frightens me. And, to be frank, the challenge, "The problem with legalists is that not enough people have confronted them and told them to get lost," really resonates with me.
Maybe I'm not quite at the place where I have the chips to tell legalists to get lost, but I think I am ready to tell them they are out of line. I'd like to think I'll do it with grace and humility and compassion for them, too, but I may fail on occasion.
But I'd rather run off the grace-killers than see grace killed.
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