Category: Practical

How to Break Free From Legalism

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

This is a continuation of my last two posts, which can be found here and here. 

Legalism is a damaging man-made religion that draws us away from relying on Jesus’ work to relying on our own work. It is defined as an excessive and improper use of the Law, which occurs when we use the Law either to attain or maintain our salvation.

Using the Law to attain or maintain our salvation is not wise, nor good because all those who rely on the works of the law for salvation are under a curse and must keep all of them (Gal. 3:10; James 2:10). Of course, that is not something we can do because none of us are, nor will we ever be perfect.

While we may know the dangers of legalism, we may still find ourselves slipping into legalistic tendencies from time to time, which means it’s important we understand how to break free from legalism.

(1) We must know the signs of legalistic living

See my last two posts here and here.

(2) We must know and preach the true gospel to ourselves often.

Galatians is a book I often turn to when talking or teaching on the incompatibility of the gospel and legalistic thoughts and actions. I find Galatians helpful because Paul is specifically employing the gospel against legalism. Reading through the book, several big ideas come to light. Let’s explore those with an eye on the gospel and legalism.

A. The gospel tells us we are saved by grace and justified by faith (1:6-8; 2:15-21; 3:7-9; 10-14; 15-18; 5:2-6).

Salvation is an unmerited free gift of God. Our faith in Christ’s work, which is given to us by God (Eph. 2:8-9), makes us righteous, not our own work. At no time in the past, has our works ever been God’s plan of salvation. His plan has always been justification through faith.

Not understanding that we are saved by grace and justified by faith is particularly harmful because those who attempt to justify themselves through their own works must keep the whole Law, which they cannot do.

B. The gospel sanctifies us by providing us the Holy Spirit, changing our desires, and motivating us to live for God out of gratitude (2:19b-20; 3:2-3; 5:16-26).

We don’t grow by trying harder, isolating ourselves, disciplining ourselves, or getting down on ourselves, instead we grow through the gospel. One of the benefits of the gospel is the Holy Spirit. When we believe the gospel, the Holy Spirit takes up resident in our lives. It’s the Holy Spirit who makes us aware of the sin and idols in our lives, empowers us to battle them, and reminds us of the gospel so that we desire to please God out of gratitude.

As well as our desire for self-gain and control are crushed by the gospel as we are made a new creation, whose heart is changed. In this way, our obedience is no longer masked rebellion (we aren’t trying to control God or put Him in our debt), rather our obedience is done out of gratitude, which means it is pleasing and acceptable to God.

C. The gospel frees us to see legalism as slavery, and the gospel as freedom (2:4; 11-14; 3:22-26; 4:8-11; 4:21-5:1).

In the gospel, we are free from performance driven living, anxiety about acceptance, the need to please others, sin, satan, and death.

D. The gospel frees us to use the law for its intended purpose (2:19; 3:19-22).

The Law was designed to point us to our need for a Savior by showing us that we are unable to keep it at all points. Even the idea of sacrifices, which are built into the Law, are meant to point beyond ourselves to a future sacrifice which is final and complete. Standing on this side of the cross, we know that sacrifice to be Jesus.

The Law also acts a guide. As a guide, the Law tells us how we can flourish as a people and please God.

As well as the Law reveals to us God’s character and for what He cares. As His people, we should care about the same things as God, and we should long to learn more about His character.

Reflecting on the intended purpose of the Law allows us to delight in it instead of seeing it as oppressive and something to be rejected.

E. The gospel frees us to see ourselves for who we really are (4:1-7).

We are made righteous and accepted by God through our faith in Christ, not through our works. Being made righteous in Christ results in our adoption as Sons of God. As adopted sons, we are made heirs along with Christ.

F. The gospel frees us to love others instead of use them to make ourselves seem more righteous than we are (2:11-14; 3:27-29; 5:13-15).

The gospel kills the need for prejudice, racism, classicism, pride, and self-loathing, which makes it possible for us to truly love others and God.

G. The gospel frees us to live for God, not man (2:11-14).

We don’t have to work to keep a certain image because we are already accepted by God, which means we can confess sin, ask for prayer, and seek accountability.

(3) We must listen to and read gospel-centered resources.

We will naturally want to run to a works based salvation. One way to guard ourselves is to surround ourselves with those things that constantly draw us to the gospel instead of away from it. There are thousands of good gospel-centered resources available. Here are a few to get your started.

Books: See my book recommendations page for several resources that are near and dear to me.

Blogs: For the Church, The Gospel Coalition, Challies.com, 9Marks, Ligioner Ministries, Albert Mohler, Desiring God

Podcasts: Timothy Keller, Matt Chandler, Acts 29, The Austin Stone, Albert Mohler’s – The Briefing

(4) We must allow Scripture to guide our spiritual life, not our own or the world’s thoughts and ideas.

The Bible is where we must turn in order to learn how we are saved, how we are to live with God as our King, and what should motivate us to live as God has called us to live.

Question for Reflection

  1. What are some other ways to break free from legalism?

Resources

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10 More Signs We Are Living As A Legalist

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

This is a continuation of my last post. 

Legalism is a damaging man-made religion that draws us away from relying on Jesus’ work to relying on our own work. It is defined as an excessive and improper use of the Law, which occurs when we use the Law either to attain or maintain our salvation.

Using the Law to attain or maintain our salvation is not wise, nor good because all those who rely on the works of the law for salvation are under a curse and must keep all of them (Gal. 3:10; James 2:10). Of course, that is not something we can do because none of us are, nor will we ever be perfect.

While we may know the dangers of legalism, we may still find ourselves slipping into legalistic tendencies from time to time, which means it’s important we are aware of the signs that point to legalistic living.

10 More Signs We Are Living As A Legalist

(11) When life doesn’t go as planned we become angry, bitter, or even depressed – This happens because we believe God owes us for our good behavior. When God doesn’t deliver, our world is turned upside down.

(12) We are prejudiced or classist – When we are living as a legalistic, we feel superior to others because we think well of ourselves, believing that our class or ethnicity is superior and worthy of acceptance.

(13) We are prideful – Those who believe they are accepted by God because they are living up to their man-made standards often have an inflated view of self.

(14) We are insecure and never feel assured of our salvation – Those who believe they aren’t accepted by God because they aren’t living up to their man-made standards often fight insecurity, low self-esteem, and thoughts of self-loathing, as well as they never feel assured of their salvation.1

(15) We are not gracious or merciful to others – Because we haven’t experienced God’s grace and mercy, we find it difficult or even impossible to be gracious and merciful to others.

(16) We believe an unanswered prayer or something going wrong means we haven’t done enough for God – We believe God’s inactivity is punishment for our bad behavior.1

(17) Our prayer life is dry – Prayer is done strictly out of duty resulting in a lack of wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in God when we meet with Him in prayer.1

(18) We obey out of fear instead of delight or gratitude – We don’t obey because we delight in the law, knowing it is what is best for us, or to please God out of gratitude, instead we obey out of fear of punishment.

(19) We believe we must work to pay Jesus back for our salvation – In some sense we believe Jesus changed our heart and desires when He saved us, but we miss the point of the change. We think it is so we can now work to pay Him back for our salvation.

(20) We fail to recognize we can never be perfect – Instead of resting in Jesus’ work for us, we work toward the unattainable, thinking one day we will reach perfection and thus acceptance with God.

Question for Reflection

  1. Does any of these signs resonate with you?

Resources

[1] Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God, 63-64

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10 Signs We Are Living As A Legalist

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical7 Comments

Legalism is a damaging man-made religion that draws us away from relying on Jesus’ work to relying on our own work. It is defined as an excessive and improper use of the Law, which occurs when we use the Law either to attain or maintain our salvation.

Using the Law to attain or maintain our salvation is not wise, nor good because all those who rely on the works of the law for salvation are under a curse and must keep all of them (Gal. 3:10; James 2:10). Of course, that is not something we can do because none of us are, nor will we ever be perfect.

While we may know the dangers of legalism, we may still find ourselves slipping into legalistic tendencies from time to time, which means it’s important we are aware of the signs that point to legalistic living.

10 Signs We Are Living As A Legalist

(1) We misuse the Spiritual Disciplines – This occurs when we base our worth, as well as God’s love and acceptance of us on whether we have read the Bible, prayed, attended church, or witnessed to X number of people in any given day or week.1 

(2) We judge or criticize other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct we deem necessary to be a good Christian – Codes of conduct may include dress, appearance, type of entertainment, how we use our money, food and drink we partake of, etc.

(3) We live by certain codes of conduct because we believe they provide us with God’s approval or acceptance.

(4) We live in constant condemnation or criticism of our own mistakes – As a result, we live with an irresolvable guilt that we can’t shake because we believe we must be perfect to continue our relationship with God.

(5) We struggle to or never confess our sins to God or others – This occurs because our identity is wrapped up in our own manufactured righteousness. Admitting we are not as righteous as what we are working to be, undercuts all our efforts, so we remain silent in regard to our sin hoping they will go away on their own.

(6) We are easily angered, become defensive, or are devastated when others criticize us – This occurs because our identity is wrapped up in producing a righteous persona for others and God to see.2

(7) We volunteer because we believe it earns us greater favor with God, not because we love others and want to serve them. 

(8) We separate ourselves from anything worldly, including friends, co-workers, and neighbors.1

(9) We blame others for our wrong attitude, thoughts, or actions – If others caused us to do it, we can’t be held responsible, which means we are still righteous and acceptable to others and God.2

(10) We are an obsessive rule follower – Following rules is not always a bad thing, it could show submission to authority and a desire to please God. But being obsessive about following rules could be a sign you are living as a legalist.

For 10 more signs see my next post.

Question for Reflection

  1. Does any of these signs resonate with you?

Resources

[1] 4 Signs You Might Be a Legalist

[2] Fighting Legalism in Your Heart

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How to Win the Battle for Your Heart

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

Christians are in a battle with the world. A battle that rages continually as we are confronted with promises of pleasure, joy, and satisfaction at every turn. These messages are often subtle, chipping away at our defenses little by little. A billboard on our commute to work, prompting us to book a bliss filled spur of the moment weekend getaway. A commercial as we relax after a hard day at work, telling us to treat ourselves to luxury by driving their latest release. Little by little the world chips away at our defenses until one day it breaks through, capturing and stealing us away from God. I know this to be true because it has happened in my own life. When I was in college, the world captured me for a time. Instead of living for God, I lived for the promises of the world. I am sure many of you have experienced the same.

The battle we fight and the captivity we endure as Christians is real. If that is true, how do we guard ourselves and break free?

Love, the Greatest Commandment

If you remember, in the book of Matthew, the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to trap Jesus in order to discount Him with the people, so they could rise to prominence once again. One of the Pharisees — a lawyer — asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Jesus responds by saying:

“You shall love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Then comes the second greatest commandment.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments [He tells us] hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40)

Jesus’ commands tell us our heart is the place from which our affections and our love for God and others arise. When we love ourselves, or the things of the world, more than God, we won’t sacrifice our desires for God’s. Instead we sacrifice God’s desires for own, resulting in us sinning against Him. When we love ourselves more than others, we won’t be able to sacrifice our desires, rights, freedoms, and resources for others either, which could result in us sinning against them or using them for our own gain or pleasure. So our hearts are the castle we must guard and the key to the cell in which we sit.

How Do We Guard Our Hearts and Escape Captivity?

I have been reading and studying the book of Colossians lately during my devotional time. It is fast becoming one of my favorite books in the Bible. One of the things I have noticed throughout the book is Paul’s gospel-centered nature. I understand Paul is gospel-centered throughout his writings, but it seems it is more apparent and condensed in the book of Colossians.

Time and time again he comes back to Christ as a way to motivate the Colossians to resist false teachers, press on in their Christian faith, and love one another. In the same way that Paul uses the gospel to motivate the Colossians to action, we should use the gospel to guard our hearts against the attacks of the world. We do that by preaching the gospel to ourselves, reminding ourselves of God’s love and sacrifice for us. As we preach the gospel to ourselves, our love for God should increase while, at the same time, our love for the world should decrease.

So the gospel is our God-given battle strategy against the world’s constant barrage of attacks, and our escape route from captivity. Preaching the gospel to ourselves, then, not only fortifies our heart against the world’s attacks, but it also forges a key to the cell in which we sit.

Christian, do not underestimate the gospel. It not only has the power to save and sanctify, but also to protect and release. Preach it to yourselves often.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you guarding your heart with the gospel?

Resources

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On Guard: Watching for the Things that Influence Us

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, PracticalLeave a comment

Like most schools, Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth has a security staff that patrols the campus 24 hours a day. One of my good friends worked for them for a while. Since he was the low man on the totem pole, he had to work the night shift, which is not really conducive for a seminary student taking classes during the day, but he took the job anyways.

At night my friend had to patrol mostly by himself. As he did, he told me he always had to be watchful, never letting his guard down because he never knew who or what he might encounter.

In the same way, Paul tells us we have to always be watchful, not getting too comfortable and letting our guard down. Instead we must always be aware of what is influencing us.

What influences should we be watchful for?

(1) Culture’s Influence 

Everyday we are bombarded with messages on the tv, in the newspaper, and on the internet that have the power to shape our worldview — how we view or see the world. That’s a problem because as Christians, our worldview should be shaped by God’s Word, not by the culture’s word.

One way to avoid being influenced by the culture is to consistently run its messaging through the lens of the Bible. In other words, we must constantly check our culture’s ideas against that of the Bible’s. The only way we are going to be effective at checking the world’s ideas against the Bible’s is for us to know God’s Word, which is where we run into a problem. As senior research Professor David Wells says,

Every study on the internal life of churches shows that they are becoming increasingly less literate biblically. With that, our ability to judge where our culture is intruding upon our souls is diminished [1].

Wells’ research not only looked at new Christians, but seasoned Christians as well. His conclusion, then, is representative of both groups, which tells us that we don’t know the Bible as well as we should. In fact we are trending more and more biblically illiterate by the year. Our biblical illiteracy is the result of a lack of prioritizing God’s Word.

How should we response to Wells’ research? 

We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over it. Instead, we should feel the conviction, repent, and then commit to making a better effort in prioritizing God’s Word in our lives.

If you don’t know where to start, let me encourage you to start by reading through the Bible. So you don’t get too bogged down, start by reading two or three chapters in the Old Testament and one or two chapters in the New Testament. By doing that, you will read the New Testament faster, which is ok. When you get finished, just start back in Matthew.

As you read, write down questions your reading sparks, then spend some time later on answering those questions. Don’t get too bogged down in all the laws and genealogies you will encounter at the beginning of the Bible. If you find your eyes glazing over, just skim them while asking yourself, what characteristics do these laws reveal about God.

(2) Bad Theology

I am often shocked by what some Christian bookstores put on their shelves, and advertise front and center as you walk in the door. Just because a book is on the shelf of your local Christian bookstore, doesn’t mean it can be trusted. There is a lot of bad theology out there, which means we have to always be on guard. Every sermon, Bible study, tv or radio broadcast; every book, article, or blog could be an opportunity for bad theology to creep in, so we must keep our guard up.

How do we guard ourselves? The same way we guard ourselves from culture’s influence — by knowing our Bible and using it. We must make it a point to check everything against God’s Word, just like the Bereans did when Paul taught them. I know many of you have heard the phrase “Be Berean’s”. Well, that’s what we have to be. We have to be Bereans in order to guard ourselves from bad theology.

(3) The Company We Keep

Back in Chapter 15 in verse 33, Paul says,

“Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor. 15:33)

As much as we would like to think that we will remain strong no matter the people we are around, it’s simple not true. If non-Christians are our only friends, we are going to be influenced by them. I know this first hand. When I transferred to the University of Georgia, I roomed with some great guys but they weren’t Christians. As a result, I started living and thinking like them.

In order to combat the influence of non-Christians in our lives, we need a solid support network of Christians. I say it like that because I don’t want you to get the impression that you should severe all relationships with non-Christians, because we shouldn’t. As Christians we can’t just gather in our holy huddles blocking out the world completely. We must have non-Christian friends. We are called to make disciples. If we don’t know anyone who isn’t a Christian, it is going to be hard for us to win people to Christ. So we must have non-Christian friends, but we must balance those relationships with a strong Christian support network, one that will hold us accountable and help us grow in God’s Word.

(4) Our Own Actions 

I include this as something we should watch out for because our actions reveal a lot about our heart. They can tell us if we are being influenced by God’s Word, the culture, the company we keep, or our own sinful flesh. So when it comes to our actions, we need to ask ourselves: Are we treating each other harshly, or with love? Are we acting self-centered, or selfless? Are we greedy, or generous? Are we practicing sexual immortality, or sexual restraint? Are we worshipping idols (the things of the world), or Christ?

Our actions tell us a lot about our heart. They tell us a lot about what we are being influenced by, so we need to watch our actions carefully.

Question for Reflection

  1. What are other influences we need to be watchful for?

Resources

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Post adapted from my recent sermon: How can we live in the world, while living for Christ?

[1] David Wells, The Soul-Shaping Reality of the Gospel, an interview in Table Talk Magazine, January 2011.

Gospel Motivation for Gospel Living

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, PracticalLeave a comment

What should be our motivation to live for God? In Colossians 1:3-14 Paul provides a model.

Paul’s Model is the Gospel

Looking at this section, you should notice that Paul mentions the gospel right after he talks about the Corinthians faith and love. Then down in verses 12-14, you should also notice that Paul expounds on the gospel, right after he calls the Corinthians to live lives pleasing to God.

Paul’s focus on the gospel tells us that he wants us to be motivated to live gospel-centered lives out of the gospel.

What Paul Could Have Done, But Doesn’t

You see, Paul could have motivated the Colossians to live for God in a number of ways. He could have told them to live for God because God said so, or because that is what will win favor with God, or because that is how we will make it to heaven, or because this is what makes you a good person. Paul could have used any number of tactics to motivate the Colossians, but he didn’t. Instead he used the gospel.

Just as Paul wants the Colossians to find their motivation for Christian living through the gospel, he wants us to do the same.

Examples of Gospel Motivation

Looking at Colossians 1:3-14, we see that if we are struggling:

  • In our faith – we need to remember that if God provides His Son for our salvation and guarantees our future inheritance, He is able to provide for our daily needs.
  • With loving others – we need to remember the love of God in giving His only Son for our sins.
  • With doing good works – we need to remember that sin no longer masters us, but God is our Master, freeing us to live for Him and not for sin.
  • With growing in our relationship with God – we need to remember that God so desires a relationship with us that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins, redeeming us from His wrath.
  • With enduring trials and tribulations patiently with joy – we need to remember that this world is not all there is. Jesus will return, defeat our enemies, and setup His perfect kingdom one day.
  • With worshipping God – we need to remember that He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, qualifying us to share in the inheritance with the Saints.

You see, the gospel is not only given for our salvation, but it is also given as motivation for godly living. So the next time you are struggling in any of these areas, meditate on the gospel; allow it to motivate you to live lives pleasing to God.

Questions for Reflection

  1. How have you tried to motivate yourself, or others, to live for God in the past?
  2. How does a gospel motivation change the way you look at living for God?

Resources

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