A Burden You Shouldn't Have to Carry

I’ve heard this a lot in over five decades of living: “I’m a good person. I go to church on Sundays.” That’s usually followed by something like “And, at least I’m not so-and-so. Look at all the bad things they’ve done.” Well, here’s a harsh dose of reality that I learned the hard way: What you do in this life doesn’t make you a good person. God is Holy and Just and demands that same level of perfection from us, which we cannot achieve by ourselves. Why do we keep trying?

Does the term “legalism” ring any bells? What is it, you ask? In the simplest terms, legalism is a series of rules you have to follow in to be a “good Christian.” Those rules usually go hand-in-hand with the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, which is NOT how Christianity works.

Pastor Jim Perdue preached a sermon on legalism and came up with what I think is a really good definition of the topic. He said, “Legalism is the religion of human achievement.” It argues that spirituality is based on Christ on the Cross plus human works. It makes conformity to manmade rules the measure of spirituality. As long as you wear the right clothes, say the right words (or don’t say the wrong ones), look the right way, and even condemn the right people, you are righteous.

“Legalism makes shallow people feel spiritual because they’re winning at a game they rigged,” Perdue said during the sermon. They invent the game, deal the cards, set the rules, and decide who wins.”

As good a definition of legalism as I could find

As you can probably imagine, all those extra rules do is create division. Lifeway.com says it this way: The Gospel of Jesus Christ unites believers while legalism divides. Legalism breeds a self-righteousness that promotes prideful comparison and smug judgmentalism. Does that sound anything like the many teachings Jesus gave us while He was on the Earth?

Let’s look at it like this: The website gospelcoalition.org notes that legalism is based on the theory that “I do or do not.” I do the right things and don’t do the wrong things. The Gospel says, “I can’t do, but Jesus did.” There’s a big difference between those two philosophies. Legalism puts impossible pressure on you to be perfect. Jesus did His work on the Cross to take the pressure of perfection off of you.

Let’s look at the Apostle Paul, one of my Biblical heroes. The greatest of the Apostles wrote this in Romans 7:15-20; “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do….For I know that nothing good lives in my flesh (because we are ALL sinful, aren’t we). For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it in my flesh.”

If you didn’t know, Paul grew up in the sect of the Pharisees as Saul, a sect that believed in nothing BUT rules. If a guy like Paul couldn’t keep the laws because of his sinful nature, why do we think we can live under the rules of legalism today? We can’t do it, but we sure keep trying, don’t we?

We human beings do like to control each other, don’t we? Matthew 20:25 backs me up when it says, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them (NLT). The rules of legalism are more about controlling people than getting closer to God. If your church is more about rules and do’s and don’ts than the saving work of Jesus Christ, then you might need to do some serious thinking about where they are at spiritually.

Let’s take it back to what the Bible says in Galatians 2:16. “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law (keeping rules of right and wrong) but through faith in Jesus Christ. We are justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because, by the law, no one will be saved.”

THIS is where you were justified. You can't earn it!

Do you see what that means? Stop trying to live your life according to someone else’s rules that they can’t even follow themselves. Let me take a weight off your shoulders: You can’t earn your way to Heaven.

Now, here’s the Good News: You don’t have to! The grace God gives us is a free gift! Free is the keyword. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved!”

In a recent Twitter post, Max Lucado dealt with rules and right and wrong. He said, “Christ died for our sins to set us free of God’s judgment. So don’t measure yourself by keeping commandments (rules that men put into place). Measure yourself by the Cross (You’re already saved and on the way to Heaven if Jesus is your Lord!).”

Isn’t that Good News!? Even though you can’t work your way into Heaven, God showed mercy and made a way where there was no way before. Why? He LOVES you! He doesn’t want you to carry the burden of living the “right” way to get to Heaven. He’s already made the way; He IS the Way, and it’s free!

Hallelujah? I hope this is taking a burden off you that you were never meant to carry!