Friday, August 27, 2021
Legalism vs Obedience
Next time someone accuses you of legalism because you believe in obeying God, you might want to give them clear definitions of legalism vs obedience.
Obedience is seeking God's Word for truth and doing what He says to do. Legalism is following man's rules that God never gave.
Never allow someone to guilt you into obeying man's rules that God never commanded. If they are good rules feel free to honor them, but if they are not necessary and do not enhance your walk with Christ feel free to ignore them without blame or shame.
Those who wish to control others will attempt to guilt or shame them into obeying them. We are only responsible to obey God, using His Word as our standard for all things.
John 14:15
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
What are God's commandments? The answer is easy, everything in His Word are His instructions to us. Not all things were written to us but all things were for our benefit.
Hallelujah!!!
Judging Outwardly is Sin
People who judge outwardly are those who assume things they know nothing about. Usually, their assumptions are based on what they want to believe rather than what they know.
Avoid people like this, they make wild accusations based on their own desired opinion of someone not on facts or truth.
Those who love to assume or guess about the actions of others are those who desire to be superior to others. These people must be avoided if it is a continual practice.
Ephesians 4:29 "29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Reading the Bible to Discover God's Heart!
Most Christians today do not read the Bible to find the heart of God, they read it to see what they can praise themselves about and reject the things they don't like in it.
We are living in the days of deep deception and resistance to the truth. Stubbornness is more prominent than humility.
Proverbs 29:1
"He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing."
Psalm 81:11-12
“But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels."
The last verse was written to Israel but applies to us today too. We are a stubborn nation who will not listen to reproof or correction, even becoming angry when chastised for ignoring God's Word.
This country has nothing to be proud about, rather this country should be ashamed and broken over the sin that abounds here. I understand that its the entire world now but I live in this country so it is what I address here.
We do not deserve good leaders, we deserve what God has given us, that is wicked leaders who care nothing about the people. Now we can experience toward us what we have dished out toward others, family and community.
Zechariah 11:4-6
"4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter.
5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no compassion for them.
6 For I will no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will let the people fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not rescue them from their power.”
This passage was not written to us but it was written for our understanding of the way God operates with nations when they refuse to listen to Him.
We are not safe in this nation, we are not protected by God, we have been given over to our lust for power, pleasure, and wealth and it is ruining us. This is a judgment against us. Anyone who thinks we are "doing well" as a nation is believing what they wish to believe and not what is real.
Proverbs 14:34
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."
The sin of pride has filled our nation, the very same pride that got the devil and his minions thrown out of heaven.
Isaiah 59:2
"But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear."
Our nation has indulged in "cultural Christianity" from the beginning, thinking going to church gatherings helps us be better people, but without a dedication to the Word of God and to Christ, Who is the Word.
From the beginning, "cultural Christianity" served us well in terms of keeping outward sin at bay making it a better way to live, but the hearts of many remained proud about how good they thought they were. They believed the "being good" was saving them but in fact, it was leading them further into pride in self while turning their back on Christ. Self-exaltation became the norm while Christ was ignored and pushed away in favor of the traditions of man that made those who followed the rules feel special.
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
So here we are today, having progressed the logical end of this sort of thinking, deeply entrenched in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
There is only one hope for individuals of this nation and that is 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The entire nation will not do this but individuals can confess their pride and sinful self-worship and become born again. Yes, the nation is going to fall but those who trust in Christ will be saved from hell and their sin and that is what matters.
If those who are prideful about their country would stop worrying about "making America great again" and begin evaluating their own hearts they might see their own need for repentance from that pride.
Yes, our country, America, is number one in the world, it is number one in every evil thing possible, there is nothing to be proud about.
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