Navigating a path between the Scylla rock of antinomism, on the one hand, and the caribdis whirlwind of legalism, on the other, is an incessant responsibility for Christian life. it can be a reaction to our education, to the unbalanced preaching that once dominated our churches, or to an earlier stage of our own Christian march, when we turn to complacency or self-ification. And even if we must never give up the struggle to stay on course and avoid the dangerous reefs that still lurk just below the surface, we must remember that there are other people who also make the journey, and that our reactions when we see them chart an insecure course, can be shaped both by our own history of our mistakes and by their present mistakes.
Those of us, of fundamentalist origin, who have known Christ, may be in the midst of a reaction to legalism, excessively restrictive demands added unnecessary burdens to Christ’s soft and light yoke, but at some point, in God’s good providence, we rediscover the riches of sovereign grace; we understand that having been justified freely, without our works, we have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ, forgiven, accepted and loved fully and immutably; we have come to cling with gratitude to the wonderful truth of our adoption. In Christ, we who were once enemies of God are now his children, heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ.
- “The Spirit Himself bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God; However.
- If we are children.
- We are also heirs.
- Heirs of God.
- And co-heirs of Christ; if we suffer with him.
- We will also be glorified with him.
- ? (Rom 8.
- 16.
- 17).
The shame we felt in the past, when we did not meet the legalistic demands imposed on us, dissipated when we appropriated our freedom as sons of the king; now we know that we don’t need to try to earn a place in God’s house. for our own efforts, as we have been adopted forever in His family.
But, having rediscovered the joys of these precious evangelical truths, we are still in danger. Fortunately, the first danger is well known, and although it is harmful, most of us distrust it. This is the danger of overreaction. We know that we must not hear, in the strong assurances of God’s rich grace, a denial of the equally strong demands of God’s holy law We know that by the works of the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:16) However, we are not outside the law of God, but we live under the law of Christ (1 Cost 9. 21). The law, stripped of its power of condemnation, has become our friend. To continue the metaphor of the sea, the law becomes for us a Christian as a pilot of a ship, guiding the ship through treacherous waters and establishing a safe course.
However, the second danger is easily ignored. Establishing a safe course for us is one thing, but patience with other Christians who can deviate from this path is another. As recovering legalists, we must recognize how quickly our patience with others can fail when they still cannot see the immense rocks of legalism, from which we always make sure to move away. We wonder how they can be so blind that they are completely lost in the sharp stones of justice itself and in the hidden reefs of shame. How happy we are to stop making your mistakes. How naive. They are the ones who do not see the way of true evangelical freedom.
But legalism takes several forms, and one of the most subtle is exposed in our pride that we know better, unlike our poor legalistic brethren. And so, as we welcome our wisdom to safely navigate away from the dangers of excessive limitation and strong artificial constraints. , we found ourselves stranded on the same rocks from which we thought we would escape. J. Grésham Machen, reflecting on the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18. 11, once pointed out this danger in his book What is faith?is faith?).
We certainly believe that we can avoid the Pharisee’s mistake. God was not for him, we say, because he despised the tax collector; we will be tender with the tax collector, as Jesus taught us to be, and then God will be for us. It’s certainly a good idea; It is good that we are sensitive to the tax collector, but what is our attitude towards the Pharisee?Unfortunately, we despise him in a truly honest way. We go up to the temple to pray; we get up and pray like this:?God, I thank you because I am not like other men, proud of my own righteousness and without love for the publicans, even so?Pharisee?.
If we hope to save others from the rocks, we can’t do it if we fail too. The practice of patience is the best defense against becoming legalistic legalism and Pharisee in relation to the Pharisees.