Let them Eat MEAT! Learning spiritual discernment: legalism

[GODisLOVE7]

Willie - to continue with my testimony.

The interesting thing about this is that I did not learn this gospel of the grace of God in Christ initially from any preacher or teacher. I was just going about my own business and I had won a trip to Puerto Rico with my work.

I remember in a social meeting one person in our group asked about heaven. I told them I know exactly where I am going. They said "how do you know that?"

I told them " I am going to kneel before my Father and declare that His Son, my Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood for me and I am here because of Him."

They all looked at me as if I was from another planet. "I said this will be my greatest achievement if one can even call it that - and that is to kneel down and confess Jesus and what He has done". ( they were shocked because I had won more awards then many others and to them...performance was everything )

Then a few weeks later I woke up with a scripture in my spirit - not my head. I wrote it down and then every morning for a few months the Lord would drop a scripture in my spirit.

I still to this day from time to time take out those scriptures and meditate on them ( which includes confessing/agreeing with them ) as I feel directed by the Lord.

Now, those scriptures were the gospel of the grace of Christ and as I was learning more about them the Lord started me to look on the web for things and sure enough there were preachers preaching the same thing the Holy Spirit was showing me.

I had never heard of any of these preachers before the Lord directed me to them. So, I was taught the gospel of the grace of Christ before I ever heard another preacher talk about it.

I can remember times when the Holy Spirit would come upon me ( it seemed like He came upon me - or maybe welled up within me...I'm not sure but it felt like He wrapped me up as in a blanket of pure love ) - and He was teaching me things concerning Christ and the true nature of the Father.

His power is overwhelming and very heavy and I couldn't move a muscle but just sit there and weep as He revealed His love and grace to me. His love is the most overwhelming aspect of His presence. It is so strong and you can't take much of it as it just overwhelms you.

Since then the Lord has led me to many different people from many denominations to learn what they are anointed to teach on.

I will never go back to that false system of religion or legalism in all it's forms and desert my Lord. Never!

Anyway - that is my testimony of how the Lord taught me the true gospel of the grace of God that is in Christ my Lord.

This is a beautiful example of how God works within us, individually. God doesn't always need human involvement to accomplish His plans.

Thank you for sharing, Bruce. Touching.

 

[FreeNChrist]

i think we should give it to God in prayer...sorry haven't caught up on all my reading yet.

I was thinking something else.

 

[Grace777x70]

I see your distinction. I didn't mention God's love because it never stopped being there. However our response is sometimes like Martha, when God tells us to be like Mary.

Amen...and this "seemingly resting passive" attitude resulted in an Holy Spirit inspired "work" - for she was the one that had done a good work for Jesus and preparing Him for His burial as He said after Mary poured oil on His head.

The identification of the woman is found in John 11:1-2 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)

The work done by "looking unto Jesus and taking in His love and words to us" releases His life to bring forth works that will last for all eternity.

Matt. 26:11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

So summary, God told you traditional church is legalism, and it took 15 years for God to tell
you this, not from scripture, or the Holy Spirit, or fellowship, just one morning out of the blue,
and everything before this was wrong.

Now prophets plead with God about sin, about evil, about injustice, about the state of the
society they live and God sends a vision of judgement on the society.

Never heard God talking about "religion" before. Please show me in scripture where "religion"
is dealt with as evil? I am wondering because many religious people have both been good
Cornelius and evil Caiaphas. So I suspect this is too broad a term to be meaningful.

Peter, he shared something very personal with us. Please don't act this way. All here would gladly try to answer these questions, but you aren't walking very well right now, brother.

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

Uh o my daughter is home...time for homework, dinner and family time.

Be back when God permits. Love the discussion happening. I skimmed but didn't get to read Grace testimony yet.

Something to look forward to. ....

Stunned, I have actually spent less time today on my phone. I think it's the bright Sun and driving. Suppose to have cataract surgery Feb. 7Th so maybe it will be fixed by March...that or I will go blind. Its really in God's hands.

This is so young for cataracts. What types of work have you done? Any chemicals?

 

[Grace777x70]

This is a beautiful example of how God works within us, individually. God doesn't always need human involvement to accomplish His plans.

Thank you for sharing, Bruce. Touching.

Thank you..... and yes....the Lord does things differently for different people. It's a walk with Him and however that comes about is between the individual and their Lord.

No one can dictate how that comes about and proceeds for other people. This is one area where legalism can come in and attempt to sever that union with the Lord in our minds but the Lord reigns in our new hearts - the inner person in Christ.

 

[Zmouth]

LOL..I know...it's the suit ....isn't it?...I laugh now too but the Lord honored my faith and my cry from my heart. After all - He put it in there. For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.

Oh, let's just say we all have our testimony , but the suit shows class, heck a lot better than being in 'unawares'.

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

Oh, I can't stop laughing...I'm sorry. I just imagined God waking Bruce up sometime in the middle of the night...
Bruce, Bruce...
"Yes Lord, I'm here!"
Gird yourself with your underwear and come speak with me...

Oh poor Bruce, he made us laugh uncontrollably and then he made us cry with joy. But the part we can't get out of our heads is his suit.

 

[Stephen63]

I will never go back to that false system of religion or legalism in all it's forms and desert my Lord. Never!

Anyway - that is my testimony of how the Lord taught me the true gospel of the grace of God that is in Christ my Lord.

I hear of this all the time..... person get burned in church, & leaves & eventually gets into another church at the opposite extreme of legalism. Makes sense. Whether or not it's right, well that's another story.

 

[Willie-T]

Oh my goodness, how I laughed at that suit part!! I'm sorry, Bruce, I couldn't help it!
And now he goes before the Lord in his underwear if that's what he happens to be wearing!

I think, in a nutshell, you just now came very close to describing the differences between following a Religion, and learning to know who you are in God's family.

 

[Willie-T]

What do folks think of a response such as this to another's testimony?

At one time, I might have had a fairly similar response. (I was a very good and righteous CoC member.)

 

[Willie-T]

Uh o my daughter is home...time for homework, dinner and family time.

Be back when God permits. Love the discussion happening. I skimmed but didn't get to read Grace testimony yet.

Something to look forward to. ....

Stunned, I have actually spent less time today on my phone. I think it's the bright Sun and driving. Suppose to have cataract surgery Feb. 7Th so maybe it will be fixed by March...that or I will go blind. Its really in God's hands.

I will be praying they find the proper fix. I wasn't so fortunate, so you get extra attention in my prayers.

 

[PeterJens]

Peter, he shared something very personal with us. Please don't act this way. All here would gladly try to answer these questions, but you aren't walking very well right now, brother.

Sorry. It took Bruce 15 years to realise God loves Him at the deepest level through the cross.
Amen. Trouble is the theology and preachers are heretical, not a little bit, but completely.
I was 18 when I realised Christs love for me, and it blew my socks off, and changed me forever.

But I am not on a mission to root out legalism and condemn anyone who talks about the law of
Christ as an anti-Christ, commiting sin the same as adultery.

Emotional experiences do not automatically convey spiritual authority or a correct view of God.

I wonder how anyone can be a legalist all their lives, and then get free, yet the signs
of such freedom are not there. The same condemnation of behaviour, sin and failure,
deeper extrapolations of what sin is, rather than what purity and love delivers, or
victory over sin and death.

Legalism comes in many forms, but the main one is condemnation, and a guilty
conscience.

Paul explains his conscience is clean, and that is the working of the Holy Spirit.
So for a deep spiritual experience with real spiritual liberation and authority,
I would expect to hear of the freedom of ones walk, how the burden of trying
so hard was lifted, and acceptance and love started flowing from ones heart.

But rather it is the campaign against evil religion and "legalism" and finding
preachers commited to the same revelation. So whatever this is it is not
Saul into Paul revelation and freedom.

 

[Willie-T]

Sorry. It took Bruce 15 years to realise God loves Him at the deepest level through the cross.
Amen. Trouble is the theology and preachers are heretical, not a little bit, but completely.
I was 18 when I realised Christs love for me, and it blew my socks off, and changed me forever.

But I am not on a mission to root out legalism and condemn anyone who talks about the law of
Christ as an anti-Christ, commiting sin the same as adultery.

Emotional experiences do not automatically convey spiritual authority or a correct view of God.

I wonder how anyone can be a legalist all their lives, and then get free, yet the signs
of such freedom are not there. The same condemnation of behaviour, sin and failure,
deeper extrapolations of what sin is, rather than what purity and love delivers, or
victory over sin and death.

Legalism comes in many forms, but the main one is condemnation, and a guilty
conscience.

Paul explains his conscience is clean, and that is the working of the Holy Spirit.
So for a deep spiritual experience with real spiritual liberation and authority,
I would expect to hear of the freedom of ones walk, how the burden of trying
so hard was lifted, and acceptance and love started flowing from ones heart.

But rather it is the campaign against evil religion and "legalism" and finding
preachers commited to the same revelation. So whatever this is it is not
Saul into Paul revelation and freedom.

I am really trying hard not to say, "Hey, suck my... nose!"

God didn't work the way you "would expect Him to", eh?

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

I will be praying they find the proper fix. I wasn't so fortunate, so you get extra attention in my prayers.

Did you have a cataract surgery that went wrong?

 

[Willie-T]

Did you have a cataract surgery that went wrong?

I guess the C surgery went right. But they had to use a special lens in one eye, that never quite did the trick. And, in all this, they discovered Macular Degeneration. (sp?)

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

Sorry. It took Bruce 15 years to realise God loves Him at the deepest level through the cross.
Amen. Trouble is the theology and preachers are heretical, not a little bit, but completely.
I was 18 when I realised Christs love for me, and it blew my socks off, and changed me forever.

But I am not on a mission to root out legalism and condemn anyone who talks about the law of
Christ as an anti-Christ, commiting sin the same as adultery.

Emotional experiences do not automatically convey spiritual authority or a correct view of God.

I wonder how anyone can be a legalist all their lives, and then get free, yet the signs
of such freedom are not there. The same condemnation of behaviour, sin and failure,
deeper extrapolations of what sin is, rather than what purity and love delivers, or
victory over sin and death.

Legalism comes in many forms, but the main one is condemnation, and a guilty
conscience.

Paul explains his conscience is clean, and that is the working of the Holy Spirit.
So for a deep spiritual experience with real spiritual liberation and authority,
I would expect to hear of the freedom of ones walk, how the burden of trying
so hard was lifted, and acceptance and love started flowing from ones heart.

But rather it is the campaign against evil religion and "legalism" and finding
preachers commited to the same revelation. So whatever this is it is not
Saul into Paul revelation and freedom.

Does 15 years seem that amazing? I struggled with trying to make myself loving and get control of my tongue and my anger when my toes were stepped on for at least...8 years. True, I wasn't following outwardly the law, but does it really make that much difference? I was still struggling to obey the law inwardly. I had the Spirit, but it took that long to get a real understanding that HE had to do it. I went 8 years like that and in one second I was freed from that struggle and saw that I couldn't be good and that He had to do it.

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

I guess the C surgery went right. But they had to use a special lens in one eye, that never quite did the trick. And, in all this, they discovered Macular Degeneration. (sp?)

Ah, not good. Is it just that or do you have diabetes too?

 

[Stunnedbygrace]

I am really trying hard not to say, "Hey, suck my... nose!"

God didn't work the way you "would expect Him to", eh?

Does He ever...?

 

[Willie-T]

Ah, not good. Is it just that or do you have diabetes too?

No, I have no diabetes, but I do have peripheral neuropathy in both legs. (Can't feel much below my knees. )