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Four Antilegalistic Strategies?


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This is great! What do you think?
Summary:

  1. Keep standing firm in your freedom.
  2. Stop seeking the favor of everyone.
  3. Start refusing to submit to bondage.
  4. Continue being straightforward about the truth.

 

Four Antilegalistic Strategies

by Charles R. Swindoll
 

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1 NLT)
 

Grace killers cannot be mildly ignored or kindly tolerated. You can no more allow legalism to continue than you could permit a rattlesnake to slip into your house and hide. Before long, somebody is going to get hurt. So then, since liberty is worth fighting for, how do we do it? Where can our personal grace awakening begin? I can think of four strong strategies:
 

Keep standing firm in your freedom.

I'm reminded of what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1: "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Stand your ground. Ask the Lord to give you courage.


Stop seeking the favor of everyone.

This may be a stubborn habit to break, but it is really worth all the effort you can muster. If you're in a group where you feel you are being coerced to do certain things that are against your conscience or you're being pressured to stop doing things that you see no problem with, get out of the group! You're unwise to stay in situations where your conscience tells you it is not right. That is nothing more than serving men, not God. I don't care how spiritual sounding it may be. Stop seeking the favor of everybody.


Start refusing to submit to bondage.

Call it what it is: slavery. It's trying to be "spiritual" by performance. Think of how delightful it would be to get rid of all the anxiety that comes with the bondage to which you have submitted yourself; think how clean you could feel by being real again, or perhaps real for the first time in your adult life.


Continue being straightforward about the truth.

That means live honestly. If you don't agree, say so kindly but firmly. If you are the only one, be true to yourself and stand alone. When you blow it, say, "I blew it." If you don't know, admit the truth. It's okay not to know. And the next time your kids spot hypocrisy, even though you may feel embarrassed, agree with them, "You know what, kids? You're right. I was a first-class hypocrite. What you saw and pointed out is exactly right." Tell them that. It may sound embarrassing to you now, but they will admire and respect your admission. And they won't grow up damaged. Best of all, they will learn to model the same kind of vulnerability and honesty, even if you are in vocational Christian work . . . especially if you're in vocational Christian work. Nobody expects perfection, but they do and they should expect honesty.
 

We need affirmation and encouragement to be all we're meant to be, and because so many are rather delicate within, they need those who are strong to assist them in their fight for liberty. And so, if for no other reason, liberty is worth fighting for so others can breathe freely.
 

If fighting for liberty sounds too aggressive to you, perhaps too selfish, then think of it as fighting so others can be set free—so others can be awakened to the joys and privileges of personal freedom. Those who do that on real battlefields are called patriots or heroes. With all my heart, I believe those who square off against legalism should be considered the same.
 

link: http://www.insight.org/resources/articles/grace/four-antilegalistic.html?t=grace

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I like it! I live in a very legalistic area, and am strong in freedom and grace, but this is helpful, also to share with others not so strong yet

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The hard part for me has been recognizing that which is legalistic bondage and that which is not the Truth.

 

I appreciated the which helped clarify some key points in regards to that.

 

Swindoll's advice is good for someone who is either of strong character to begin with or someone who has gone through several processes of healing to where they can understand and accept the bondages and  lies for what they are.

 

Those are my thoughts.

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Guest Butero

 

This is great! What do you think?

Summary:

  1. Keep standing firm in your freedom.
  2. Stop seeking the favor of everyone.
  3. Start refusing to submit to bondage.
  4. Continue being straightforward about the truth.

 

Four Antilegalistic Strategies

by Charles R. Swindoll

 

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1 NLT)

 

Grace killers cannot be mildly ignored or kindly tolerated. You can no more allow legalism to continue than you could permit a rattlesnake to slip into your house and hide. Before long, somebody is going to get hurt. So then, since liberty is worth fighting for, how do we do it? Where can our personal grace awakening begin? I can think of four strong strategies:

 

Keep standing firm in your freedom.

I'm reminded of what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1: "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Stand your ground. Ask the Lord to give you courage.

Stop seeking the favor of everyone.

This may be a stubborn habit to break, but it is really worth all the effort you can muster. If you're in a group where you feel you are being coerced to do certain things that are against your conscience or you're being pressured to stop doing things that you see no problem with, get out of the group! You're unwise to stay in situations where your conscience tells you it is not right. That is nothing more than serving men, not God. I don't care how spiritual sounding it may be. Stop seeking the favor of everybody.

Start refusing to submit to bondage.

Call it what it is: slavery. It's trying to be "spiritual" by performance. Think of how delightful it would be to get rid of all the anxiety that comes with the bondage to which you have submitted yourself; think how clean you could feel by being real again, or perhaps real for the first time in your adult life.

Continue being straightforward about the truth.

That means live honestly. If you don't agree, say so kindly but firmly. If you are the only one, be true to yourself and stand alone. When you blow it, say, "I blew it." If you don't know, admit the truth. It's okay not to know. And the next time your kids spot hypocrisy, even though you may feel embarrassed, agree with them, "You know what, kids? You're right. I was a first-class hypocrite. What you saw and pointed out is exactly right." Tell them that. It may sound embarrassing to you now, but they will admire and respect your admission. And they won't grow up damaged. Best of all, they will learn to model the same kind of vulnerability and honesty, even if you are in vocational Christian work . . . especially if you're in vocational Christian work. Nobody expects perfection, but they do and they should expect honesty.

 

We need affirmation and encouragement to be all we're meant to be, and because so many are rather delicate within, they need those who are strong to assist them in their fight for liberty. And so, if for no other reason, liberty is worth fighting for so others can breathe freely.

 

If fighting for liberty sounds too aggressive to you, perhaps too selfish, then think of it as fighting so others can be set free—so others can be awakened to the joys and privileges of personal freedom. Those who do that on real battlefields are called patriots or heroes. With all my heart, I believe those who square off against legalism should be considered the same.

 

link: http://www.insight.org/resources/articles/grace/four-antilegalistic.html?t=grace

 

As an individual, there is really nothing making you submit to anyone.  If you choose to do so, you are acting of your own accord.  If I choose to join a church that is very controlling or legalistic, I did so by my own choice.  I can just as easily choose to leave that church.  As I read this post, I have come to the same conclusion I usually do when I hear people complain about legalism.  Who was ever really making you submit? 

 

Lets look at these points one by one. 

 

1.  Keep standing firm in your freedom.  That is kind of your choice isn't it, and wasn't it all along?  I can also say to those who are legalistic, "Keep standing firm for your convictions."  If you believe something is sinful, don't do it, even if you are made fun of and called a legalist.  I know I won't back down.

 

2.  Stop seeking the favor of everyone.  That kind of cuts both ways.  As a matter of fact, you will find more people who love you and accept you if you are against legalism than for it.  I would suggest that those who are legalistic listen to his advise very carefully.  Don't listen to those who will claim you are alienating others by being legalistic.  Stand for what you believe in. 

 

3.  Start refusing to submit to bondage.  This is interesting, because Biblically, you can be in bondage to sin, and think you are not in bondage.  You can be 100 percent against legalism because you are continuing to live in sin and don't want anyone making you feel bad about it.  I am 100 percent with you about not submitting to bondage, so I won't let the anti-legalist crowd cause me to return back to sin because they give me assurances the things I abstain from are really ok.  I won't do things that would violate my conscience and return to bondage because someone tells me I am ok to do so. 

 

4.  Continue being straight forward about the truth.  I can't agree more.  The Bible is the truth, and we should stand for every jot and tittle in it.  Jesus said that if we want to be great in the Kingdom, we will keep the least commandments and teach others to do the same thing.  I will continue to do so. 

 

Once again, as I read your article, I found myself in some ways agreeing with the sentiments, but not as the author intended. 

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Guest Butero

The hard part for me has been recognizing that which is legalistic bondage and that which is not the Truth.

 

I appreciated the which helped clarify some key points in regards to that.

 

Swindoll's advice is good for someone who is either of strong character to begin with or someone who has gone through several processes of healing to where they can understand and accept the bondages and  lies for what they are.

 

Those are my thoughts.

That was Chuck Swindoll?  I never did like his teachings.  I listened to this "Route 66" series he did, and he is very confused.  He was teaching that it was a Christian freedom to drink alcohol.  How did Jesus come to set us free so we could drink in moderation, when there was never anything in the law of Moses or anywhere that ever prohibited us from drinking in moderation in the first place?  How could Jesus die to set us free to drink alcohol, when sinners do it all the time.  Jesus came to set us free from the bondages of sin, not so we can do things.  I challenge anyone to listen to what Chuck Swindoll teaches.  You can find him on radio stations in nearly every market.  Ask yourself why Jesus would come and die on a cross to give me freedom to do anything really, when I was perfectly free to do those things as a sinner?  What I needed freedom from was sinful habits.  That is where the blood of Jesus comes in. 

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2.  Stop seeking the favor of everyone.  That kind of cuts both ways.  As a matter of fact, you will find more people who love you and accept you if you are against legalism than for it.  I would suggest that those who are legalistic listen to his advise very carefully.  Don't listen to those who will claim you are alienating others by being legalistic.  Stand for what you believe in.

 

Legalism is a system of condemnation and comparison. It sets us up to put others down. If I can’t ever be good enough, I can at least be better than you. We learned to judge and condemn others, rather than to understand them. We learned to compare ourselves with them, rather than to listen and care. We learned to keep them at a distance just in case, rather than to love them. In legalism, we learned to mistrust God, others, and ourselves. But the Lord gave us each other for good. We learn love from each other and others give us an outlet for our love. Relationships are good. Yes, they can be difficult, but they are meant to teach us about ourselves and how to trust God. The message from the beginning, according to John (1 Jn 3:11) was that we should love one another. But legalism pushes us away from each other.

 

from Stolen Treasures

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I like it! I live in a very legalistic area, and am strong in freedom and grace ...

... yet you and others on these forums embrace a latter day Galatianism called Lordship Salvation.

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3.  Start refusing to submit to bondage.  This is interesting, because Biblically, you can be in bondage to sin, and think you are not in bondage.  You can be 100 percent against legalism because you are continuing to live in sin and don't want anyone making you feel bad about it.  I am 100 percent with you about not submitting to bondage, so I won't let the anti-legalist crowd cause me to return back to sin because they give me assurances the things I abstain from are really ok.  I won't do things that would violate my conscience and return to bondage because someone tells me I am ok to do so.

 

I think you missed the OP article's disclaimer brother: It's trying to be "spiritual" by performance.

People often try to show their "spirituality" by outward measurements: how they dress (or don't dress), what they drink (or don't drink), etc. Our relationship to Jesus should be less about what we DO but instead more about HE's done. How we interact with others should be more about love for God and alignment with His missional purpose instead of being about a list of do's or don'ts. Would you agree?

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I like it! I live in a very legalistic area, and am strong in freedom and grace ...

... yet you and others on these forums embrace a latter day Galatianism called Lordship Salvation.

For the readers who may not know, will you expound on what you mean by "Lordship Salvation"?

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Once again, as I read your article, I found myself in some ways agreeing with the sentiments, but not as the author intended. 

 

I guess it's all about perspective brother :thumbsup:

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