B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 1 BATTLING LEGALISM

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1 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 1 BATTLINGLEGALISM bydaniela.brown,phd Battling Legalism is an edited transcription of a teaching prepared by DanielwhilehewasseniorpastorofTheCoastlandsinAptos,CA. Editor THESPIRITOFTHEPHARISEE TheBiblesaysthatwe'reengagedinwarfare,awrestlingmatchthatgoesoninside our mind, all the time. This is not a battle against a physical, flesh and blood enemy,butagainstunseenforcesthatinvadeourmindsandhearts,andinfluence howwethinkandwhatwedo. The Bible says that there are powers and forces and spiritual entities, actual demonic personalities and beings that can create havoc and undermine our relationshipwithjesuschrist.themanifestationsofthesespiritsmaybeassimple astemptationandsinthatwecan'tseemtoovercome.somespiritscausepeople tobehabituallynegative.othersmaycausesickness,nightmares,andjustgeneral disturbances to the mind, the body, and even life around us and among these spiritsexistsaspiritoflegalism. ThisspiritoflegalismmightalsobecalledthespiritofthePharisee.ThePharisees were a group of Jewish leaders who strictly adhered to the Law of Moses. They believedthatsalvationwasbasedonflawlesslyfollowingthelaw.but,whilethey believedinfollowingtheletterofthelaw,theyalmostalwaysignoredthespiritof thelaw(thereasonwhythelawwasgiveninthefirstplace moreonthislater). AndinsteadofupholdingtheLawtopleaseGodandhaveacloserwalkwithHim, DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

2 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 2 theirpurposeinupholdingthelawwastoflaunttheirrighteousnessandpointout theflawsofothers. Legalismisaveryinsidiousspiritbecauseonthesurfaceitseemstostemfromthe bestintentions.itismadeupofpeoples'verysincereeffortstobemorespiritual, tofollowhardaftergod,tobemorerightthanwhattheyhavebeen,andtohelp other people be more right. But don't be deceived. The desires of legalism are desires of the flesh. And this legalism, this spirit of the Pharisee, is one of the greatesthindrancestoexperiencingtheintimacythatgodwantstohavewithyou, andthejoythatgoeswithit. LEGALISMDEFINED Legalismisnoteasilydefined.Itisn tasetofdoctrines,oralistoffourteenthings thateverylegalistbelieves.it smoreofamentality.thereisatonetoit,afeeltoit, it'snotjustanisolatedbehavior;itisanentirewayoflife.thewordsoftruthand thelifethatcomefromthewordofgodaremeantbygodtobringgreatblessing andgoodintoourlives.butlegalismtwiststhewordssothatwhatpeoplehearand what they end up feeling is not the goodness of God, not the sufficiency of God, notthegodwhosays, Youcan tdothisbut,ican.letmedowhatyoucan tdo, anditisnotthegraceandgenerosityofagodwhosays, ForifwhilewewereenemieswewerereconciledtoGodthroughthedeath of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans5:10 Once you have opened up your heart to receive God, what would ever make you imagine that He would say, "Oh no, you've blown it. Go away? But that's what legalism does to us. And because legalism can feel and sound so religious, so profoundandsoright,itcanhaveatremendouspowertooverwhelmus.and,by makingusfeelbadforwhatwe'vedone,itrobsusofthejoyweshouldbehaving inourwalkwithgod. WHATLEGALISMDOES Thesubtleandharmfulthingaboutlegalismisthatveryoftenitsoundsfairlytrue. Itseemssospiritual.Legalismspecializesintellingeverybodywhatiswrong.Since we know that there is a right and a wrong, and we're trying to do right, it just strikesusthatanythingthatisgoodattellingpeoplewhat swrong,probablyhas toberight. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

3 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 3 Legalismwilloftenevensaythingsthataretrue.Itdoessowithsuchatoneandan attitudetoitthatwhoeverhearsitthinkstheyarehearinggod'swords.theyare leftwithanimpressionofgodandhowgodistowardspeoplethattotallymissthe pointofwhatthetruthis. Legalism basically says that God is trying to get you straightened out because you remessedupandneedtobefixed.thathasneverbeengod sintent.godhas never been interested in just getting people straightened out. He has only ever beeninterestedin doing usgood all the days of our life.andwhatevercounsel He gives, whatever instruction, advice or commandments that He gives to us are designedforustoexperiencethemaximumamountofgood. But legalists have no concept of bringing good into anyone s life. Legalists only want clear delineations between right and wrong. They want to point and judge, and isolate. The Pharisees of Jesus' time received His most severe criticism. He reserved His harshest judgments for these very religious people who were going around telling everybody how wrong they were. It infuriated Jesus because these peopletheyweretotallymissingtheheartofgod,andworse,causingotherstodo thesame. LIFEWASN'TSUPPOSEDTOBETHISWAY! Letmeshareanexampleofhowharmfullegalismcanbe: Leah* grew up in a restrictive environment. Her parents were so insistent that therewasonewaytodothings.everyotherphraseoutoftheirmouthswas, You needto, and youbetter, and youhaveto, and ifyoudon t,then Itwasall very directive, You need to go to school, and you better study this, and you havetodomoreofthat. Noonewouldarguethatiswasallverygoodadvice.In fact,agooddealofitisprobablyverytrueformostofus.itallwasframedinan "if/then" format:"if you live the right way, then you will reap the rewards later." Leahgrewupbelievingthatifyoudogoodthingsthengoodthingswillhappento you.somepeoplecallthiskarma. Leahdidherverybesttodoalltherightthingsthatshewassupposedtodo.But whenshewasgrownshedidn'tfindtherewardsthatshewasexpectingforherlife ofcorrectbehavior.thingsdidn treallypanoutthewaythatherparentssaidthey would. She found she had a huge amount of bitterness and disappointment, and anincrediblehardnesscameoverherheart.(*leahisfictitious.) DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

4 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 4 BLOWS FROMLEGALISM You will encounter people who have been impacted by legalism and have been knocked down by it again and again. It s so intolerable that their heart has to hardenupalittlebit.thelegalistsays, Ifyoudowhatyou resupposedtodothen everythingwillbefine.ifthingsaren tfineinyourlife,andifthingshaveturned outsomewhatdisappointing,it sprobablybecauseofsomethingyoudidwrong. Peopleimpactedbylegalismliveunderthisshadowofguilt,thefeelingthatthey probably haven't done everything that they were supposed to do. They try to catalogeverythingintheirmind,"ididthis,ididthat,andididthistwice.istayed away from that...what have I missed?" And they can t really remember. All they knowisthatthereisahugegapbetweenwhattheywerepromisedandwhatthey endupexperiencing. Legalistswillcomeupwithlittlestatementslike, Well,that sjustthewaylifeis, youknow,it'sjusthard. Thesetinylittlestatementscometotheirmindtoprotect their heart from the disappointment of, "I did everything right and still things didn tturnoutthewaythattheyweresupposedto. Legalistshavelittlesayingsto popinsideofthem,justlikemedicineyoutakewhenheartacheiscomingon,like philosophicalnitroglycerin. CanyouimagineJesustalkingtoyoulikethat?No!Hesays, "CometoMe,allwhoarewearyandheavy laden,andiwillgiveyourest. Matthew11:28 And He says (paraphrased), "I have more to teach you, and if you ll just pay attention to what I have to say to you, you're going to feel a great weight lifted fromyourheart,andyouwillfeelalightnessinyourheartthatwillmakeyouwant toleap.you regoingtodiscoverthatwhatihaveinmindforyouisactuallyfairly easytocarry.itwillbringaprofoundresttothedeepplacesofyourheart. That s howthelordspeakstous. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

5 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 5 THELEGALISTFORMULA So how does legalism manifest in our thinking? There is a fairly familiar formula thatiwilloffertoyou,andalmosteveryonewhostruggleswithlegalism(whichis almosteveryone)buysintothisalittlebit. Let s say you do something wrong and soon after, you hear this voice saying, You rewrong. You rewrongissynonymouswith You rebad. Youdidn tjustdo awrongthing;you rewrongandyou rebad.legalistscan tseparate You vedone wrong from You rebad. Ofcourse,oncetheybuyinto You rebad, it sfollowed by, You reinbigtroublewithgod.waittillyour god getshome.he sgoingto take care of you! It s that feeling of being banished and sent off to your room, You know that you re going to get it; you re wrong, you re bad and you re in trouble. Nowbecausethelegalisttakesitalltheway you rewrong,you rebad,you rein bigtrouble itgoesastepfurther: Goddoesn tloveyouasmuchasheusedto. You'd better just steer clear of God because you ve already blown it bad enough andhedoesn twanttoseeyouuntilyougetyouracttogether. You'rewrong,you'rebad,andyou reintroublewithgod legalistswillfightthat toothandnail.butiftheenemycangetyouovertheedgeto, AndGoddoesn tlove youanymore, hehasyouinhistrap. AngryandDefensive? It swhymanylegalistsaresodefensive,whytheydon twanttoadmitthattheyare wrong. It's why they cast so much blame because once they track into this formula it'sdownhillfromhere!theygoallthewaydownandmoveawayfrom God.AndthatcertainlyisnotHisheart! Legalistscangetverymadandattherootoftheirangeristremendousresentment and bitterness. It goes like this: Hey look, God. Hey look people, I ve done everythingthewayi msupposedtodoit.ididthisandthatandyouknowwhat, my life is no different. The legalists have it all worked out and by golly, if I do rightiexpecttogetthereward.theycanbesoangryandresentful. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

6 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 6 THECONDEMNATIONANDCOMMENDATIONOFLEGALISM The result of legalism is always either a crushing condemnation or a prideful commendation. When legalism takes a good thing and turns it into a very hurtful, shaming and damning thing; making you feel bad about yourself or others, this is the condemnationoflegalism. Can you imagine God wanting you to feel bad about yourself feeling bad about the things that you do that you ought not to do? He never wants us to feel bad aboutourselves. AnotherStoryoftheEffectsofLegalism: Brandon*grewupinagoodandwonderfulChristianfamily.Butunfortunatelya lot of the spirituality in the family, especially from his father, was legalistic. Brandon grew up in a setting where there was always something more that he should have done, always something that he wasn't quite good enough at. Brandon'schildhoodwasfilledwithcriticismandcontention.Arebellionbeganto developandgrowinsideofhim.hefinallydecided, Ican tdoenoughright.ifeel guilty all the time. I m always a disappointment to somebody. I always blow it somehoworanother. After he moved out of the home, and was no longer living under that kind of pressure,hethought, IfI mgoingtofeelguiltyallthetimeanyway,i mgoingto havealittlefunalongtheway. Sohewentoutanddidthingsthatheknewwere totally wrong. He didn't think these things were okay to do. He knew they were wrong,butrationalized,"what sthedifference?ican'tdoanythingrightanyway." (*Brandonisfictitious.) Legalism has the power to convince people that they will never, ever be able to amount to anything. Or if you do amount to something and you re a legalist, it always slips into pride, "Look at me, look at what I have done." This is the commendationoflegalism. ThePhariseesstucktotheletteroftheLawtoshowcasetheirrighteousnessbefore others. They would proudly drop their ten percent into the offering plate in full view of everyone. The legalist says,"i'm going to do three good deeds today, and DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

7 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 7 I'llfeelgoodaboutmyself."It'slikeworkingout."I'mgoingtodotwomilesonthe treadmillandthendofiftycrunches,andtheni'llfeelgoodaboutmyself." When you re finally able to do whatever the number is that makes you feel good aboutyourself,you retotallyexhausted.maybethenextdayyou'renotabletodo anything you have a head cold or something you ll end up feeling bad about yourselfsoonerorlater.thislegalismisawicked,horrificthing. WHATTHEBIBLESAYSABOUTLEGALISM LegalismhasapparentlybeenplaguingthechurchofJesusChristforagreatlength of time. In fact, so much so, that a lot of different passages in the Bible relate to legalism to try and help people come out from under the burden and the oppressionofit. Ifyoufeelthisburdenandoppressioninyourheart,thenaggingfeelingthatyou're just not good enough, take heart! There are at least three books in the Bible Galatians, Romans, and Hebrews which will help you with this subject of legalism. Youmighttrythisforachange.ReadyourBiblelikeyouaregoingonatreasure hunt.don treaditbecauseyoufeelyouhaveto.don tbeinahurryanddon'tfeel youhavetoreadtoomuchatonce.startbysaying, Lord,Ireallysensethatthere issomethingofmyheartandmymindthatisn tquitethewayitissupposedtobe; either I have been affected and wounded by legalism, or I think I am a bit of a legalist. Lord, would you just show me things out of your word that would really helpmewithwhereiamrightnow." We serve a kind and a good God who loves to instruct us in His ways. Open His wordandanticipatethatyouwillfindwhatthelordwantsyoutosee. Youwilldiscoverthatlegalismisnothingnew.Thereisalotofstuffaboutlegalism inthenewtestament.thereisn tanytemptationthatdoesn tpesteryouorme, thathasn'tpesteredpeoplesincetheworldbegan.ifit sastruggleinyourmind, you can just bet your life that it s a struggle in the minds of all kinds of other people (1 Corinthians 10:3).Jesus wants us all to be free from this terrible and oppressiveburden. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

8 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 8 InGalatians,Paulsays, ItwasforfreedomthatChristsetusfree;thereforekeepstandingfirmand donotbesubjectagaintoayokeofslavery. Galatians5:1 Christbroughtyououtfromundertheyokeandtheoppressionthesortofheavy weightinessthatsquashesandkeepsyoudown.itwasforfreedomthatchristset youfree.hedidn tunlockyoufromtheoldlawsothathewouldhaveafreewrist toshackletoanew Law.Youhaven tbeencalledoutofonereligioussysteminto another religious system. You have been called to freedom because of the great messageofthegospelofjesuschrist thathasonceandforall timehepaidthe penaltyforsin. Interestingly,theBookofGalatianswaswrittentoagroupGentileswhohadbeen saved.everythingwasgoingalongfineuntilsomejewishbelieverscamealongand said, Well,youknow,you'renotreallysaved.You renotsavedcompletely.imean Jesus was great and all, and He does forgive us, but what you need to do if you wanttoreallybesavedisstartfollowingtheselaws.ifyouwillstartlivingtheway that you are supposed to have been living for all these years, and receive the forgivenessofjesus,well,thenyouarereallyin." Hebrews10tellsusthatthereisnolongeranykindofsacrificethatisappropriate, thereisnothingwecandothatwouldcomeanywhereclosetothesacrificechrist made.andyet,somanybelieversstrugglewiththisoldcovenant,legalisticnotion thattheymustkeeptryingtomakeatonement. FortheLaw,sinceithasonlyashadowofthegoodthingstocomeandnot theveryformofthings,cannever,bythesamesacrificeswhichtheyoffer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having oncebeencleansed,wouldnolongerhavehadconsciousnessofsins?butin thosesacrificesthereisareminderofsinsyearbyyear.foritisimpossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comesintotheworld,hesays, Sacrificeandofferingyouhavenotdesired, butabodyyouhavepreparedforme;inwholeburntofferingsandsacrifices forsinyouhavetakennopleasure. ThenIsaid, Behold,Ihavecome(inthe scrollofthebookitiswrittenofme)todoyourwillogod. Aftersaying above, Sacrificesandofferingsandwholeburntofferingsandsacrificesfor sinyouhavenotdesired,norhaveyoutakenpleasureinthem (whichare DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

9 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 9 offered according to the Law), then He said, Behold, I have come to do Yourwill. Hetakesawaythefirstinordertoestablishthesecond.Bythis willwehavebeensanctifiedthroughtheofferingofthebodyofjesuschrist onceforall. Hebrews10:1 10 Peoplestrugglingwithlegalismsay, Well,IknowIreallyblewit,butyouknow, nexttimegod,ipromisetodobetter.i'llneverdoitagain,lord! Theyinstinctivelyknowthey vedonesomethingvery,verywrongandtheyneedto convincethemselvesthattheydidn treallywanttodoit.theyfallintothetrapof just as many dos and don ts, and thou shall and thou should not s, as the people thatjesuswastryingtofree. Thankfully,Paulstepsinandsays, Youknowwhat?Thatisn tthegospelmessage. The gospel message isn t, Receive Jesus and then be good. No, the gospel messageis, Youcan tbegood.receivingjesusisyouronlyhope." There is quite a difference between Receive Jesus and be good and Receive Jesus (period)!themessageofthekingdomisamessageofincredibleforgiveness. Paulhadtoaddressthesepeopleandsay, No,no.Youhavebeenfreedfromallof that stuff. Don t come back under it again. He even tells them that if even an angel from Heaven comes and preaches a different gospel then the one that you haveheard,don tbuyintoit. PaulthenhewarnsinGalatians, Alittleleavenleavensthewholelumpofdough. Galatians5:9 Alittlebitoflegalismcanspreadtoothersandrobeveryoneofthedelightandthe joythatgodwantsyoutoexperienceinarelationshipwithhim. WORDSONUNDERSTANDINGLEGALISM Ithelpstounderstandlegalism,whereitcomesfrom,andhowtodealwithitby firstunderstandingthemeaningofthesekeywordsandphrases. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

10 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 10 FAITH:BELIEVINGINGOD The Bible says that God reckons faith as righteousness (Romans 4:6). So what is faith? Faith is believing whatever it is that God has said. Most of the time faith relates to a promise. God promises that He is going to do something for us, He s goingtotakecareofissuesinourlife.buttheimportantthingaboutfaithisnot just that we believe God, but that we believe God without any thought or considerationforourownresourcesandabilities. In other words, God says to me, I m going to pay the electric bill. I say, Okay God,You regoingtotakecareoftheelectricbill.letmejustcheckmywalletto seeifwe reabletodothat. No,it snotaboutwhati mabletodo.it saboutwhat Heisabletodo. Abraham sfaithwascreditedtohimasrighteousness(paraphrased) GodsaidtoAbraham, Abraham,I mgoingtoblessallofthenationsoftheearth throughyou (Genesis22:18).OfcourseGodwasreferringtoJesuswhowouldbe born into Abraham's lineage, and whoever believed in Him would be forgiven, reconciledtogodandgotoheavenandbewithgodforeverandever. AllthatAbrahamwasthinkingwas, I dreallylikeason. Godsays, Hey,whatcanIdoforyou? Abrahamresponds, Well,I mkindofdisappointedthatmysecondnephewthree times removed is going to inherit all of this. I d really like a boy to pass on the businessto. AndGodsays, Icandothat. AndAbrahamsays, Well,I mnotquiteasyoungasiusedtobe. Godsays, That snotaproblemforme.icangiveyouason. AndAbrahamsays, Mywifeisnospringchickeneither. ButGodsaid, Icangiveyouason. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

11 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 11 AndAbrahamsays, Worksforme.IbelieveYou. AndGodsays, Ilovethat.IlovewhenyoubelieveMeandIlovethatyoubelieve Me more than you believe the condition of your body and the condition of your wife sbody.and,becauseyoubelieveme,notthethingsthatarearoundyou,iam going to impute righteousness upon you. I m going to make you righteous (Genesis15:6). Abraham'sfaithwascreditedtohimasrighteousness,justasourfaithiscredited tousasrighteousness. Now, this is why faith and the Law are always butting heads. You feel as though Godissaying, Okay,weneedtocovertheelectricbill.I mgoingtodomostofit, butwhatcanyoudo? That snotfaith.goddoesn tneedmyresources. LegalismisalwayslookingatwhatIamdoing,whatIcando,whatIshoulddo. Faith is not looking at what I m doing. Faith just listens to God and says, Yes, Lord.Ican'tdoit,butYoucan. RELATIONSHIPISEVERYTHING Now the Law is a term that is used many different ways in the New Testament. Here showi mapplyingthewordhere:thesetofrules,regulationsandguidelines thatgodgavethroughouttheoldtestamenttohispeople.thepsalmsoftenrefer to the Law as God's precepts, statutes, decrees, commands, and His word. God gavehispeoplethelawfortwoveryspecificreasons. The Law was intended to give us counsel and instruction for these two vital relationships: The Law teaches us, first, how we are supposed to relate to God Himself,andsecond,itteachesushowwearetorelatetooneanother.Sohalfthe Law has ordinances about worship and sacrifice and how we are to be in relationship with God. The other half of the Law is how we are to be in relationshipwithpeople. Ifweseeourneighbor scowintheditchwearetopullitoutevenifitisonthe Sabbath, and so forth. This is why Jesus said that the entire Law is fulfilled with two basic commandments; if you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,andifyouloveyourneighborasyourself(matthew22:36 40). DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

12 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 12 MisconceptionsAboutWhyGodGaveustheLaw OneofthemisconceptionsisthatGodmightseewhocouldreallypassmusterand tosortofthin the herd.it'sasifgodsaid, I'mgoingtocreateatightandnarrow place that these people have to cram themselves through I m going to see who therealbelieversare sowouldallsincerepeoplepleaselineup.i mgoingtoput thisheavyweightintheirbackpacks,soanyonewhoisactuallyabletocarrythis weightforfiftymileswinstheprizeandgetstobecalled Mypeople. Bynomeans!Remember,GodgavetheLawtoHispeople;theywerealreadyHis people!god'scovenantwithabrahamthatestablishedthatrelationshiptookplace four hundred and thirty years before God gave the Law to Moses. The Law does not establish my relationship with God. The Law is given because of my relationshipwithgod.hedidn tthrowthelawupintheairlikethebridethrows thebouquetafteraweddingtoseewho sgoingtobethenext.hedidn tthrowthe Lawoutthereandsay, Okay,anybodythatwantstobuyintoit,yougettobeMy people. HedecidedaheadoftimeasitsaysinExodus, ForhowthencanitbeknownthatIhavefoundfavorinYoursight,Iand Yourpeople?IsitnotbyYourgoingwithus,sothatwe,IandYourpeople, maybedistinguishedfromalltheotherpeoplewhoareuponthefaceofthe earth?"exodus33:16 TheTreeofEternalLifeandtheTreeoftheKnowledgeofGoodandEvil AfterAdamandEveweresentoutfromtheGarden,sinmultipliedandspreadlike crazy. One of the differences between the people of God and the nations around them is that God gave to his people a standard for how things were supposed to be, a standard for right and wrong. God in his mercy gave this counsel to His peoplethattheywouldbedistinguishedfromtheothernations. EveryoneisfamiliarwiththebigmistakethatAdamandEvemadeintheGarden ofeden.theyateofthetreeofknowledgeofgoodandevil.butmanypeopleforget that in the beginning there was another tree in that Garden that was not prohibitedbygod.butonceadamandeveateoftheknowledgeofgoodandevil, Godsaid, We vegottogetthemoutofthegarden. It sactuallythereasonthey werekickedoutofthegarden.thisothertreewasthetreeofeternallifeandgod says, These people who now are aware of evil, We cannot possibly let them live forever (Genesis3:22 24;paraphrased). DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

13 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 13 Think of all the things you have done that are evil that you couldn t even have imagineddoingwhenyouweresevenyearsold.thinkoftheevilthingsthatyou canimagineyourselfdoingnow.it sfrightening.canyouimagineaworldwhere people gave themselves over to their evil desires, again and again and again, but neverdied?imagineallofhistory'sinfamouslyviolentpeople,allcontinuingtheir reign of brutality today. How horrifically distorted would this planet be with the accumulation of that kind of evil? How good do you think you d be at evil after eightythreethousandyears? SetofGuidelinestoExperienceBlessing One of the things that you should remember is that the Law was given to the peopleastheywerecomingintothepromisedland.thereisaphrasethatisoften associatedwithgodgivingthelawandhisfrequentreminderstofollowthelaw. Doyouknowwhatthephraseis?...that it may go well with you (Deuteronomy 12:25), that you may experience blessing. So here were a people who had been promisedalandtolivein.godknowsthattheworldnowisverybrokenandvery messedup.hewantshispeopletohavethissetofunderstandingsandguidelines that will help them experience the maximum amount of blessing and the least amountoftraumaanddifficultyinthelandofpromisethathehadgiventothem. Hegivesthemcounselthattheycouldfollowsolifewillbegood. YoushalldowhatisrightandgoodinthesightoftheLORD,thatitmay bewellwithyouandthatyoumaygoinandpossessthegoodlandwhich thelordsworetogiveyourfathers. Deuteronomy6:18 ItwasnotGodsaying, Iwanttoreallyknowwhoisgoingtobegoodandwhois goingtobebad. No,itwasGodsaying, I mgood,andbecausei m good,andi givethistoyou. BacktoAbrahamandGod spromise Godmadeapromise,orcovenantwithAbraham.Godsays, Iwanttogiveasign of this covenant. I want people to know that this is what I ve done for you. Abrahamsays, Soundsgoodtome,let shaveasign. Andyoushallcircumcisethefleshofyourforeskin;anditshallbeatoken ofthecovenantbetweenyouandme. Genesis17:11 DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

14 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 14 Really? Abrahamsays.He sagrownman.he snotaseven dayoldinfant.they didn thavestainlesssteelsurgicalinstrumentsinthosedays.theyhadastoneflint knife. Really! Now you have to ask yourself, how is this a sign of a covenant? It s not a very public sort of a sign. If God was looking for advertisement, that s not exactly the bestplacetomarksomebody.abrahamisnotgoingtohavemanyopportunitiesto sharethatsignwiththeworld. So,WhyCircumcision? Well,asyoumayknow,atthatveryplacewhereman slife seedcomesforththere is a fold of skin that has absolutely no part to play in the process of conception. Whether a man has this skin or doesn t have this skin doesn t affect in any way whether he is able to reproduce. So God basically says to Abraham, You can t produceachildyourself.iwantyoutoalwaysrememberthatit snotbyyourown abilityorbyyourflesh,butbymypowerthatthiswilltakeplace.thepromisethat I m giving to you is a promise that I will fulfill without any participation of your fleshwhatsoever. Soattheverypointwhereconceptionwouldtakeplace,GodsaystoAbrahamthat by removing the flesh forever, you will remember that this child and all the children to come will not be on the basis of your own flesh s ability. That is why infantsweretobecircumcised.itisnotapublicdeclarationaboutthepromiseof God to do things, but it is a frequent declaration. Every man on a very regular basiswouldbereminded, Itisnotbythepowerofmyfleshthatthispromisehas beenfulfilled;itisbythepowerofgod. Now,thetremendousironyisthatthesignofcircumcision,thiscovenantthatwas supposedtobeastatementthatgod,andgodalonecandoforuswhatwecannot doforourselves,becameequivalenttothelawinthemindsofmen.soyearslater when Moses came and declared the Ten Commandments to the people and that themenwerealltobecircumcised thiscircumcisionbecamealegalisticthingin themindsofmanypeople. In Jesus' time, most Gentile believers in Galatia weren t circumcised, and these legalisticpeoplecamealongandsaid, You'dbettergetcircumcisedoryou renot reallyabeliever. Paulsays, That sgoingbackwards. Youdon tadvanceyourself inthekingdombygoingbackandlivingunderthelaw.(refertogalatians3:23.) DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

15 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 15 Again,it ssoironic,becausethefirsttimemosestriedtododelivergod speople onhisownstrength,heendedupkillinganegyptianandgodsaid, Youknow,did Iaskforyourhelp?Howaboutifyougothinkaboutitforfortyyears. Andsohe wentofftothedeserttothinkaboutitforfortyyearsandthengodsays, Okay, you vebeenouttherelongenough.howaboutyoucomeonbacknow?i vegota deliveranceplan Ijustneedsomebodytodothetalking. So Moses is all excited about this, heads back to Egypt to be the great deliverer. AnddoyouknowthestorysaysthatGodtriedtokillhimonhiswayback?Moses says, Hey,didImisssomething?Didn tyoutellmetogotoegypt,andnowi m doingwhatyouwantmetodo,andyou retryingtopreventme,andyou retrying tokillme?what sthedeal? God essentially says to him, Yeah, you re doing it on your own strength again. Whataboutyourson?Youdidn tcircumciseyourson. Mosesgetsit, Oh,that s right. Seewithcircumcision,iftheboyisnotcircumcised,hisfleshisstillthere. God says, I want the flesh removed. That s the whole point of circumcision. I m doingthis,notyou. (RefertoExodus4:24 26.) JUSTIFIEDBYGRACE:GODDECLARESYOUINNOCENT Justifiedmeansthatyouareultimatelyinnocent.Therearetwowaysthataperson canbejustified.thefirstwaytobejustifiedistobetriedinacourtortribunalof somesort theevidenceisgiven,theargumentsonbothsidesaremade andthe jury reviews the facts of the case and delivers a verdict of innocent. You are blameless and righteous because of the evidence. This is the type of justification thatlegalistslove.theylovetobeabletosayaboutthemselves, I mgoodenough. IreadmyBible.Iwitnessedtoday.Iresistedtemptation. Theywanttolivegood enoughtobedeclaredrighteous. Thesecondwaytobejustifiedistorealizethatthoughtheevidenceshowsthatwe areclearlyguilty,thegreatlaw GiverandJudge,Himself,whoseesHisSoninus, declares us not guilty. My only hope for being righteous, my only hope for being exactlythewaythatgodwantsmetobeisbyhisgraceandhisdecisiontosay thatiamrighteous,thoughiamnot.thisistheconfidencethatwehaveinchrist. Wheneverwestartthinkingthatwecanberighteous thatwecanbegood,that we can do what we re supposed to be doing we re adding our own little effort intothemix.thetruthisthatnoneofuscanbegoodenough.thebiblesaysthat throughtheworksofthelawnofleshcanpossiblybejustified.(refertomatthew 5:20.) DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

16 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m neverthelessknowingthatamanisnotjustifiedbytheworksofthelaw butthroughfaithinchristjesus,evenwehavebelievedinchristjesus,so thatwemaybejustifiedbyfaithinchristandnotbytheworksofthelaw; sincebytheworksofthelawnofleshwillbejustified. Galatians2:16 AllthattheLawcandoisforbidsinandthencondemnyouifyoudoit.Onceyou havedonesomethingyoushouldn t,ordidn tdosomethingyoushouldhave,the Lawdoesn thaveanythingmoretosaytoyou,exceptmaybe, Shameonyou. It leaves you feeling so stuck and so bad. To try to get out of that feeling of condemnationandguilt,wemakepromises.wepromisegodthatwe lldothisor thatallinanefforttotrytomakeusgoodenoughsothatwedon thavetofeel bad.you llneverbegoodenoughonyourown. What God loves to do through His Son Jesus, is to forgive us and to give us the powertoovercomethesinthatisinourlife.paulputsitthisway.hesays, Iknow thatthelawisgood,itjustisn treallyworkingforme. Hesays, Thereasonitis notreallyworkingformeisnotbecauseitisbadinanyway,it sjustthatitrelies onmyfleshtofulfillitandmyfleshissoweak.hey,it sagreatlaw,greatplan. (RefertoRomans6:14 20.) Haveyoueverthought, ItwouldbejustgreatifIcoulddowhatIwassupposedto bedoing? TheproblemisIcan tdoit.sowhatgoodistheplan?theplanisonly as good as the weakest link. Guess who s the weak link? There is a world of differencebetweenadesiretodowhatjesuswantsmetodobecauseilovehim, andtodowhatjesuswantsmetodobecausei mafraidthatiwillloserelationship withhimifidon t. GODISYOURDADDY TheLawsaysyouhavetodothisanddothat,andifyoumakeamistakeyoumust makeatonementandthenyoucanhaveagoodrelationshipwithgod.butgrace isverydifferentthanthat.whentheholyspiritofgodcomesintoyourspirit,he does notteachyourspirittosay, Oh,Iknow,IreallyblewitLord.Iwon tdoit again. Hedoesnotteachyoutosay, OhGod,IknowI mbad. TheBibletellsusinbothRomans8:15andGalatians4:6thattheHolySpiritofGod teaches your spirit to say, Abba, which basically translates to Daddy God. The mostprofoundlanguagethatyourspiritwilleverknow,themostsignificantword thatyourspiritwilleverutter,otherthanmaybethenamejesus,is Daddy. That ishowgodfeelsaboutyou.that sallthathewantsfromyou.hewantstobeyour Daddy.It snotaboutwhatyouoridoordon tdo.justcryouttoyourdaddygod. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

17 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 17 TheHolySpiritissupposedtoconvicttheworldofsin,andwhatHeteachesyou tosayisdaddy. Ultimately, what legalism will do is to tell you that you are no longer in good standingwithyourdaddy;heismad,andthatyou reintrouble.thelawcannot possiblyestablishrelationshipwithgod.nomatterhowmanygoodthingsido,no matterhowmanyrightthingsidoandbadthingsthatidon tdo Iwillneverbe, never have been, never will be good enough to somehow recommend myself to God. It is only on the basis of His mercy, of His grace that while we were yet sinnersandhatersofgodthatchristdiedforus.godsays, Ilovedyouwhenyou hated Me. Now that you love Me, why would I want to now get rid of you for makingmistakeswhenigavethelifeofmysontosecurerelationshipwithyou? ForifwhilewewereenemieswewerereconciledtoGodthroughthedeath of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans5:10 InRomans8:16,we retoldthatgod sspiritbearswitnesstoourspirit,thatweare childrenofgod.it sallonthebasisofhisspirit,notonthebasisofwhatican musteruponmyown.thespiritteachesustocryout DaddyGod. Itidentifies witharelationship IamnowachildofGod. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be calledchildrenofgod;andsuchweare.forthisreasontheworlddoesnot knowus,becauseitdidnotknowhim. 1John3:1 Wehavetheprivilegeofbeingcalledhiskids.Isthatloveorwhat?Hehasadopted usintohisfamily,andoncetheadoptionhasgonethroughiamnowachildof God, and it is impossible that I could become so bad or do such wrong that the Lordmightsay, Sorry,you'reout! Neverwasourrelationshipstartedbecauseof works,andneverwillitbesustainedbecauseofworks. Ononeofthewallsinmyofficetherearefourpicturesofmyfourchildren.When they were younger, I would hang up their most recent school pictures. One time early in the school year, two of the pictures came down for a few days to be replaced with the new photos. Several people that came to visit me on different occasionscouldseethatthereweretwopicturesmissing,andjokinglysaid, What doesonehavetodotoberemovedfromthebrownfamily? It safunnystory,but seriously,whatcouldmychildreneverdothatwouldmakethemnotmychildren? That s notpossible.in exactlythesame way, there is nothing that you or I could everdothatwouldmakeusnotgod schildren. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

18 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 18 LAWLESSNESS REJECTINGGOD Oneofthedilemmasinspeakingaboutasubjectlikelegalismisthatthereisaflipside to the coin. As you are reminded that your standing with God is not at all dependent on how good you are, it doesn t mean that your behavior doesn't matter.itdoesn'tmean, Hey,Godlovesmeanyway,solet spartyhearty,andifit feelsgood,doitbecausegodisagodofgrace.he'llforgiveme. Legalism makes you always wonder how God thinks about you makes you so worriedthat, Ohmygoodness,I vesteppedoveraboundary nowallislost. The flip side of legalism is lawlessness. Lawlessness is the belief that, I don t care whattherulesare.idon tcarewhatgodsays.idon tcarewhatanybodysays.i m justdoingwhatiwanttodo. Lawlessnessisnottheseriesofmisstepsthatcome from our weak flesh it is a careless disregard, a defiant and rebellious posture thatsays, NobodyisgoingtotellmewhatI vegottodo. We all know how very far a field that would lead any person who follows that philosophy of life. Understand that legalism, though it seems very religious, will actually take you as far away from the intent of God for your life as lawlessness will. Instead of sending you and banishing you to some distant place, like lawlessness will, legalism will bind you up into a small prison and keep you in isolatedconfinementawayfromgod.bothlegalismandlawlessnessspinyoulight yearsawayfromwhatgodwouldhaveotherwiseintended. SPIRITUALJEOPARDY PaulsaysinGalatians, You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christwaspubliclyportrayedascrucified? Galatians3:1 Paulissaying, Whatareyouguysthinking?Youwereeitheraneyewitnessoryou have friends or acquaintances who were eyewitnesses that Jesus was crucified. Now think about it. He was crucified and went through unbelievable pain and agony in order to forgive the sins of the world. When He was in the garden of GethsemaneHeprayed, DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

19 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 19..."MyFather,ifitispossible,letthiscuppassfromMe;yetnotasIwill, butasyouwill."matthew26:39 JesusChristhadtodieontheCrossandthereasonthatHehadtodieisbecauseit wastheonlywaybywhichoursinscouldbeforgiven.so,paulissaying, Yousilly peopleknowthatjesuswascrucifiedonthecross,sowhyareyounowimagining that something is necessary for you to do something to be saved? He paid the entireprice.what scomeoveryou?whatareyouthinking? ThisistheonlythingIwanttofindoutfromyou:didyoureceivetheSpirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? So then, does HewhoprovidesyouwiththeSpiritandworksmiraclesamongyou,doit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be surethatitisthosewhoareoffaithwhoaresonsofabraham. Galatians 3:2 7 Themainreasonsthattheenemylovestogetustobuyintoalegalisticperspective isbecauseitisthepolaroppositeofwhatgodwantsyoupersonallytoexperience. Itistheoppositeofthemiraculous,andblessingflowingthroughyouforthesake ofotherpeople.whatthelawsaysorwhatlegalismsaysisthat, Youknowyou reallyneedtodomore. Whatfaithsaysis, Lord,IbelieveYoucandowhatIcan t do. RememberwhenGodcametoAbrahamHesaid, Abraham,you regoingtohavea son. Abrahamsays, Ican tdothat,butibelievethatyoucandothat. TheLordsays, Ilovethat.IlovethatyoubelievethatIcandowhatyoucan tdo. AndI mgoingtocallyourighteousbecauseofit. (RefertoGenesis12.) Now legalism comes along and says, Okay, but you need to do more. You feel thispressuretostartdoingmore,"ineedtodomore,more,more. Doyousee howthatstartsrobbingyouoffaithinthelord?becauseyouaredoingsomething nowonthebasisof, Well,Lord,Iknowyoucandosomethings,butIcandomost things.i mhappytoletyoudothecouplethatican tdo. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

20 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 20 That snotfaith.faithis, Ijustplaincan tdoit,butiknowyoucan. It sthemost amazingthingintheworld.godsays, IfyoubelievethatIcandowhatyoucan t do,thatmakesyouright. It skindoflikespiritualjeopardy.thereyouareinthefinalround,andyouhave todecidehowmuchofyourearningsyou'regoingtobetonthisonelastquestion. Ifyou reabelieverinjesuschrist,you vebetallofyourearningsthatyou llbeable toanswertheonefinalquestioncorrectly.thequestionthatgodasksyouis, Can Idowhatyoucan tdo? Youwritedown Yes andyouranswerisrevealed, Yes. Hey,youwin.Youwinitall.Youtakeyourearningsandyou refree noteventhe federal government to deal with. That s the entire issue of faith Do you believe thatgodcandowhatyoucannotdo? Legalismwillalwayspushtheedgesandtrytogetyoutofeelmoreresponsiblefor how you stand with God than you are supposed to be. Did you receive the Spirit because of faith, or did you receive the Spirit because you were such a good person? Did you receive Jesus in your life on the basis of, I m pretty good? No. WeallcomeintorelationshipwiththeLordveryawareofhowwrongweare.We needforgiveness.ifitwasthebeginningofourrelationshipwithgod,whywould weeverimaginethatrelationshipcouldbesustainedonthebasisofhow good we arebecomingnow? THELAW AMENTORTOLEADUSTOCHRIST Soyoumightsay, Wellthen,whatgoodistheLaw? Whatwe retoldinthebook ofgalatiansisthatthelawwasdesignedasakindofmentorortutortoleadusto Christ. Now, there are two ways that the Law mentors us, two things that it teachesusabouttheimportanceofreceivingjesusintoourlives. INEEDASAVIOR,AFORGIVER First, the Law tells me God has a standard that I could never reach. I m really a sinnerandidesperatelyneedtobeforgiven,toberightwithgod.thensomebody comes along and says, Would you like to be forgiven? I say, Yes, I would love that. Please, forgive me. How tragic it must be for people who have no sense of thelaw,nosenseofrightandwrong,andwhengodofferstoforgivethem,their response is, For what? Or, Oh, that s nice, but I don t need any forgiveness. Howsaditwouldbenottoknowhowsickyouare.Howsadtonotthentobeable toacceptacurethatissoreadilyavailable.so,thelawleadsmetochristbecause IknowonmyownthatIcannotbegoodenough.IneedaSavior.IneedaForgiver. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

21 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 21 InyourwalkwiththeLord,asyoubecomemoreandmoresensitivetoalltheevil goingonaroundyou,itisperfectlyacceptabletothankthelordagainforthefact that you re forgiven. When you do a wrong thing, it s not legalism to say, Oh Lord, thank You, thank You that You forgive me. That s just praise, that s just wisdom.itislegalismwhenafteryouhavedonewhateveryouknowyoushouldn t havedoneandyoujustbegintopulloutyourhairandputashesonyourhead,and wail, OhGod.OhGod.OhGod.I'msorry.OhGod.OhGod.OhGod.OhGod! It seemssoreligious,doesn tit? Yes,besorryforwhatyou'vedone,butrefusetoliveinthatbanishedplaceofguilt and imprisonment that legalism would send you to. You are forgiven! It actually takes far more spiritual courage to stand in forgiveness than it does to stand in condemnation. Jesusknewthat grace andthelawwasreallyatrickyissue, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not cometoabolishbuttofulfill. Matthew5:17 THELAWESTABLISHESHOWITISWE RETOLIVE ThesecondpurposeoftheLawistomentorushowtolivewell,besafe,andshow lovetogod.ithelpsustobegoodcitizensinhiskingdomandintheworld. Here are a couple of analogies. The Law is like the rules of grammar. The whole point of learning about subject verb agreement is not so that you can feel good that you know the rules of grammar. The whole point is so that you can communicate correctly. So, the focus as I m writing, is not on subject verb agreement. When you write a letter (or more likely an e mail) to a friend, you don't have to sit and think about subject verb agreement. You don't ask yourself whether it is correct to say, I is coming next month or, I am coming next month. The rules of grammar are a foundation. The more you learn and follow, themorecomprehensiveyourwritingendsupbeing. The point is not to get a grade on your grammar. You re not in school anymore. You re just writing a letter to a friend. Legalism is like saying, Oh man, I feel so bad.mysubjectsandverbsdidn tagree.whatamigoingtodo?i llneverbeable totalktothemagainbecausemyletterwasterrible. TheLawisalsolikethetrafficrules.Youknowthatlittlebookletthatyoupickup atthedmvwheneveryouhavetorenewyourdriver slicense?you vebeendriving DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

22 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 22 forseveralyears,whydoyouneedthatbooklet?becauseyoucan'trememberthe minute details do you start panicking because you can t remember those details you're going to be tested on, Oh man, what do green curbs mean? I don t know whatgreencurbsmean.idon tknowwhatwhitecurbsmean.ijustknowthatif theyarenotstreet colored,youdon tstaythereverylong.howfarfromthecorner doyoufliponyourblinkerwhenyou regoingtoturnright? Byacertainagemost ofussortofknowwhatwe'redoingwhenwegetbehindthewheel. Byallmeansobeythetrafficlaws.Thefewerofthemthatyouviolate,thesaferand thehappieryouaregoingtobe.theyhavetheselawstokeepussafeandtogetus wherewearegoing.butifgodweretoblessyouwitha newmercedesandtwo weeksoffandyoudecidetotakearoadtriptoyosemite,doyourunandgetyour DMVrulebook?Doyousaythatyoudon twanttodrivewrongorthistripwillbe ruined? Do you spend the whole trip with your face in the book worrying about every little law? You don t have to. You ve learned how to drive, and the whole pointistoenjoythisgreatroadtrip.ifyoukeepreadingtherulebook,you'regoing tomissthescenery. RIGHTEOUSBYFAITH,NOTBYTHELAW Paulsays, Wellthen,istheLawcontrarytothepurposesofGod? Hesays, No, butdon tyouunderstandiftherewasalawthatwassomehowabletomakeyou righteousness,thengodwouldn thavesenthissontodie (RefertoRomans7:7). ThatiswhatGodwants;Hewantsyoutoberighteous.Notlike, Oh,Iwishyou would just get righteous already! Only by being righteous can we have a future withhim,andonlyonthebasisofrighteousnesscanwebewithhimforeverand ever.iftherewereasetofrulesandregulationsthatwehadanyhopeoffollowing and obeying completely, then we wouldn't have needed grace. We wouldn't have needed a Savior. But there was no other way for us to be righteous but through JesusChrist. ForGodhasshutupallindisobediencesothatHemayshowmercytoall. Romans11:32 YourbehaviorhasneverbeenthebasisforyourrelationshipwithGod therefore yourbehaviorcanneverbethebasisforforfeitingthatrelationshipwithgod.can youheartheheartofgodinallthiswhenhesays, Waitasecond,whenIstarted this whole relationship you were a zillion miles off over there. You were doing everywrongthingthattherewastodo,andigavethelifeofmysonsoicouldget right next to you. Be my son, be my daughter! Now because you don t read your DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

23 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 23 Bibleforsevendays,you redecidingthatwedon thavetherelationshipthatihave paidfor? ItmustreallybreakHisheart.WhataflimsyfoundationifmystandingwithGodis based on how well I m doing or not doing. God will not allow this kind of relationshipwithyou.doyoureallythinkgod,afterpayingwiththebloodofhis Son,isgoingtoentrustyourrelationshipandstandingwithHimonyourabilities? Idon tthinkso. ForthisreasonIalsosufferthesethings,butIamnotashamed;forIknow whomihavebelievedandiamconvincedthatheisabletoguardwhati haveentrustedtohimuntilthatday. 2Timothy1:12 LETGODADOREYOU! Human beings love formulas. Just tell me how to do it. We love to know the plansofgod.youknowwhywewanttoknowtheplansofgod?it sbecausewe d ratherhavetheplansthanhim.gracesays, Thereisnothingforyoutodo. The mercy of God means you can t do anything. But we want to feel like we ve done something too. Legalism gives you the ability to have really done your part. The downsidetothatisyouwillalwayshavethosedayswhenyoudidn tdowhatyou weresupposedtodo.doyouthinkthatgodwhogavethelifeofhissonwould wantsuchaprecariousandvariablerelationshipwithus thatdependedonhow wellwedidinanyagivenday?idon tthinkso. Thelegalistsays,"You rewrong,you rebad,you reinbigtrouble,andgoddoesn t loveyouasmuchasheusedto.you'dbetterjuststeerclearofgodbecauseyou ve alreadyblownitbadenough,andhedoesn twanttoseeyouuntilyougetyouract together. ButGodsays, Iwanttoforgiveyou.Iwanttoforgiveyou. It s right to feel badly for what we have done, but any child who is appropriately corrected or disciplined, will come back to you in ten minutes for a hug. You ll alwaysknowthatyoudisciplinedwellifafteryourchildwantstobeclosertoyou ratherthanfurtheraway. When God disciplines, you always want to get closer to Him. When the legalist slaps your hand with a ruler saying, Bad, bad, bad, you want to disappear, you wanttogoaway,youwanttodie. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org

24 B a t t l i n g L e g a l i s m 24 LegalismwillnotletyoubelievethatGoddelightsinyoubecauseitwon tletyou believe that God just adores you. You will have a very hard time feeling close to Himandyouwillhaveafairlyhardtimebeingclosetootherpeople.Oneofthe commonstatementsofthelegalistis, Iknowitinmymind,butIdon tfeelitin myheart. That sbecausethereisalayeroflegalismthatjustwon tletyoubelieve Godadoresyou. Ifyoudon tfullygrasphowgreatlyhelovesyou,howhejustadoresyou,andif you don t understand the one Jeopardy question, Do you believe that I can do whatyoucan tdo, thenyouwillmisinterpretmostofthebible.itwillbecomea setofrulesandregulationsforyoutosomehowmeasure up.godsays, Youcan t measure up,takeheart,ihavethisgreatstepladderthatmakesyoujustashighas you need to be. This stepladder is Jesus. Stand on Jesus and you ll be exactly the heightthatyouneedtobe. IfyouareworriedabouthowGodthinksaboutyou ifyouareworriedaboutyour relationship or standing with God one of two things is true: either you have neverreallymethim,oryoustrugglewithlegalism. DanielA.Brown,PhD ctw.coastlands.org