The Christian world is obsessed with sin. It's all we talk about. Most of our preaching and teaching is directed toward getting people to quit sinning. To use the analogy of the starving man, most Christian teaching is like a person following a starving man around saying, "You stay out of the garbage! Do you hear me? Don't eat the garbage!" Look, when you're truly hungry, you'll eat anything - even garbage.
But I promise you: If you get that man into the cafeteria line, and he begins experiencing what real food is like, he won't be nostalgically dreaming about the garbage out back.
But here is what legalists and sinless perfectionists do: They claim to offer believers good food, but in fact, point them back to garbage, and then condemn them for eating it. They place people back under the yoke of the Law through a works-righteousness religion. To them, it is performance that counts. How you live your life.
But think about this: If merely shaping up our actions were what God desired, then the Pharisees would have been His favorites!
Those type of Christians are better known for what they are against than for what they are for. The meanest, most unloving people on earth are legalists. And like the Pharisees, they are capable of feeling extremely righteous even in the act of stabbing a brother in the back.
People are attracted to Christ by the message of His total love and acceptance and of salvation by grace; then, once they're in the family of God, legalists/sinless perfectionists swoop down and level the believer with demands of performance and conformity. But the Bible says you can't have it both ways.
"And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." (Romans 11:6)
Legalists love to claim that works and the Law are separate things - but they are not. Both the Law and works are a means to gain the acceptance of God through performance. A standard of living.
Law/works are the realm of what you earn. Grace is the realm of receiving a free gift. How could you ever mingle the two? You can't work for a gift, or it's not a gift. Even a payment of $1 takes it out of the realm of a gift. A gift is not a gift unless it is totally free.
Because of the mingling of Law and grace, multitudes of Christians are living in daily fear, frustration, and guilt. Believing that God is far away in disapproval, they are never free to discover Christ living in and through them.
We look into the mirror of the Law and see that we are lawbreakers and therefore under it's curse. Desperately we cry out to God, "How can I be saved?' and the answer comes: "Believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Once we have come to this point, what further role does the Law have in our lives? NONE! It has done it's job! Its purpose was to drive us to Christ, and it has done so.
"Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the Law." (Galatians 3:25)
Under the Law 'the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23); but 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:1)
That's one reason why the commands in the New Testament are not laws. The second reason is that we are not obeying those New Testament commands in order to be accepted by God. Under Law, a man works to be accepted by God. Under grace, a man serves because he is already accepted by God.
The legalist will always say that an emphasis on grace will lead to more sinning. But that's not what the Bible says:
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It [the grace of God] teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:11-13)
The grace and love of God is the true motivation for the Christian life.
Legalists who believe that God likes them when they are good, but hammers them when they are bad, in turn, treat other people the exact same way!
If you have ever wondered why Christians' lives and morality often don't rise above the world's level, that is the reason.
Aside from God's unconditional love and acceptance, we have little power or motivation for true obedience. We must first receive God's unconditional love and acceptance for us, before we will ever learn to love Him in return. "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
It is that message that transforms hearts and lives - not one of endless rules, regulations, and performance. Those who try to live according to the legalist standard will discover that real, abundant life is not found there - in fact, he will probably be even more miserable than when he was lost.
The legalist is like a Cop. He isn't interested in why you were speeding; he doesn't care whether or not you did it on purpose; nor is he interested in hearing about all the other days that you did abide by the law. All he knows is that you broke the law, and here is your penalty.
The attitude of those who live by the Law is anger and indignation, and the goal is justice via punishment; The attitude of those who live by grace is love, and their goal is the benefit and development of the person.
Legalists/sinless perfectionists are never humble. They are proud and arrogant. Quick to condemn, slow in showing mercy.
That's why grace is only available to the humble. Because only the humble will receive it. The humble will always find God to be gracious and compassionate. He will open the floodgates of His love to any man, woman, boy, or girl who comes to Him in humble faith. - Bob George
