Where do you stand: Legalism VS License

Lol... if I saw a man with painted nails or a woman with a man’s hair-cut I think the correct response is one of love and in my heart I am sure I would pray for them...xx

Warren Wiersbe defines legalism in his Romans commentary as ‘the belief that I can become holy and please God by obeying laws. It is measuring spirituality by a list of dos and don’ts.’

So as I’m chilling at home, I thought about the perfect thing to discuss: Legalism VS License

Anything I say is taken as reference from the Bible study “Romans: Good News that changes everything by Melissa Spoelstra”

So I did this study back in January of this year, and the point of talking about Legalism VS License is that you don’t want one or the other to take over your path as a Christian.

License is the mindset of “Anything goes”, while Legalism is “Follow all the rules”, here is a explanation the author used to describe legalism and why it’s bad:

“Warren Wiersbe defines legalism in his Romans commentary as ‘the belief that I can become holy and please God by obeying laws. It is measuring spirituality by a list of dos and don’ts.’ Extreme legalism can sometimes be easier to identify, but we must guard against the subtle ways it can creep into our spiritual rhythms. God knows our human tendency to want to check boxes...When we mark these off in our minds, we can start feeling pretty good about ourselves. As we get good at being good, we also get good at being judgmental.”

So where do you stand? I’m trying to balance both, as I will try my best to follow God’s law, but sometimes I still struggle with judging people, especially if fashion wise they weird me out like a man with painted nails or a woman with a “Man haircut” basically. But I pray and repent, for I know I need to love people, as God loves everyone. But I will stand strong to the best of my ability to God’s law.

Well I think people confuse "following the rules" with the condition of a persons heart. People can follow the rules, or at least appear to, but that is no measure of their heart or closeness with God.
Following the rules is not meant as a demand you must follow to be spiritual, but rather a measure of where you are at based off of whether or not you Want to obey.
The person that follows all the rules can still be distant from God, and the person struggling to keep the rules can still be seeking to know God.

I think of it like this, if I'm talking with a friend and they inadvertently hit on a sensitive topic and I get upset, I may say things defensively. I may not mean what I say, but rather I am reacting to being triggered.
Of course I'm still responsible for my words and actions, but does it reflect my intentions? No. Those words aren't about what I believe.
I find it easier to forgive people for such things as I understand what it's like to say things from a defensive position that aren't how I feel.

I'd suggest anyone that believes they are free to do whatever they wish doesn't actually know and understand the bibles teachings, and therefore do they actually understand salvation itself? To me such people are the seeds that fall on shallow ground, then die off quickly.

From what I've seen the best way to get past being judgmental is to get to know more about the person/people/topic.
You may still disagree, but often times judgment comes from assuming negatives but having little to no facts.
To me the best example of this is when I was a teen. I was into metal and it showed, long hair, chain wallet, combat boots, black band shirts, etc... i was also a leader at my churches youth group.
One parent spotted me and questioned her children about me and was shocked I was a leader. Every week when she picked her kids up she would quiz them about me, since she was Certain I was up to no good. Yet week after week they really had nothing to tell.
One night, after youth, some of the parents were outside chatting and I walked up. This woman singled me out in the conversation quickly.
Over time we talked more and she realized i wasn't a horrible person that was there to corrupt. We became such good friends that I regularly babysat her children and was at her home so much it was like my second home.
She still wasn't a fan of the music, haha, but learned a lesson in judging nonetheless.

I dont know much about anime...but I do know that a lot of animation is done in Korea as the colouring is outsourced because its cheaper.

i dont know why you would be into porn though, its actually pretty gross.God has plenty to say about sexual immorality being wrong though but I supoose some people will always argue trying to justify it oh but it creates jobs for people otherwise they would have to go on welfare or some rubbish like that. ?!

I dont think ppl go into it thinking well this is a great art from and people would benefit so much from this porn I am making. Mostly people do it because they are forced to and it makes money, girls would be geishas in the old days as it was one of the few options open to them. sure its seductive but its degrading at the same time.

So as I’m chilling at home, I thought about the perfect thing to discuss: Legalism VS License

Anything I say is taken as reference from the Bible study “Romans: Good News that changes everything by Melissa Spoelstra”

So I did this study back in January of this year, and the point of talking about Legalism VS License is that you don’t want one or the other to take over your path as a Christian.

License is the mindset of “Anything goes”, while Legalism is “Follow all the rules”, here is a explanation the author used to describe legalism and why it’s bad:

“Warren Wiersbe defines legalism in his Romans commentary as ‘the belief that I can become holy and please God by obeying laws.

what is with the big anime.
sorry. Just wondering. Is it meant to symbolise something?

The cats in my avatar are just cats by artist Lesley anne Ivory. Im not obsessed with cats or anything. It just fits in the avatar.

left and right wing doesnt mean unholy or holy. In my country it just means labour vs national. Labour meaning workers and tenants and national usually meaning employers and landowners. You could be a christian and belong to either (or none) most people think both are as bad as each other and equally incompetent. lol

It was meant to symbolize “trying to learn” because I was responding to a post that a easy way to avoid judging people is to learn about that topic/group/person. So I was trying to relate that with my anime experience, as even though it hasn’t healthy to be into porn, I did learn and can use that knowledge to help people and I have a better understand of Japanese culture, to help prevent people going down the same road I was on, until I found the lord as my savior.

are you japanese?
just wondering. I think a lot of what people watch is rubbish and sometimes it comes with no warning. For example, american movies, I was watching one yesterday an eighties movie called Heathers. apparently it was a classic comedy about high school. But it was full of people shooting each other, sexual assualt, bullying, and one sociopath trying to blow up the school. all the teenagers get away with it. The parents dont care.

and this was meant to be FUNNY?! some people would call it dark comedy or black humour, but Im like, I dont think thats funny. Not when theres school shootings.

then I watched Bowling for Columbine afterwards and then thought. I cant handle american movies anymore. Its meant to be entertainment. They screw with your mind.