Tag Archives: Legalism
Man’s Standards Always Fail
If standards are raised which are not really scriptural… it can only lead to sorrow. If we try to have a spirituality higher than the Bible sets forth, it will always turn out to be lower.
Legalism Aborts Relationships
Legalism aborts relationships with God and others by its negative focus. The evil we seek to avoid grows — with concentration — into targets we cannot miss. Instead of limiting our sin, rules define sin, rivet our attention to it and lead us to desire it. In legalism, the flesh is in charge, taking the Holy Spirit’s place, and thus is strengthened.
Rockwell L. Dillman in K. Neill Foster & Douglas B. Wicks, eds., Voices on the Cross, p. 44
Performance Based Relationships
We believers are apt to fall into a servile fear if we don’t fully understand the grace of God and His acceptance of us through Christ. If we believe we’re in a performance relationship with God, then He can seem to be a hard taskmaster whom we can never please. We’ll see Him as the divine ogre ready to judge us for even our least failure to live up to His rules.
Who Is Really a Legalist?
A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can earn God’s approval through personal performance.
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