Legalism and Liberalism
Moses was the law-giver. God gave him the 10 Commandments and the other laws, and he gave them to the people, so they could practice them and be holy to the Lord. It was not very difficult really. They just had to do everything the Lord commanded them to do without adding anything or taking anything away. (Deuteronomy 12:32) Unfortunately, they found that very hard to do. In fact, believers have always been guilty of these two sins. I pray that we will not fall into either one of these traps.
When we add to the commands of God by making new requirements that are not in God's Word, we are practicing legalism. We have all seen Christians who did this to make themselves feel more righteous and to make non-Christians feel badly. It is a very bad testimony before people who do not know the Lord. It could be a rule about the length of our hair or a rule about ladies not wearing pants. The Bible does not give specific commands about either of those things. However, some people make it seem that if we do right with our hair and clothes that we are more holy than others. The problem is that God looks at the heart. Yes, He does want us to be modest and look nice, but He has not made any commands as to exactly how we do that, so let's not do it either.
When we take away some of God's commands that is liberalism. Liberals think they can interpret the Bible better than everyone else, so they can leave out things they think are not exactly right. When they do this, they are acting as God. We are not to judge God's Word, but simply to obey it. We must not leave out the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus, or the physical return of Christ. We must not tell others that the Bible is not fully inspired. These are examples of liberalism, and God is not pleased when we take away from His Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 15-17.
When we add to the commands of God by making new requirements that are not in God's Word, we are practicing legalism. We have all seen Christians who did this to make themselves feel more righteous and to make non-Christians feel badly. It is a very bad testimony before people who do not know the Lord. It could be a rule about the length of our hair or a rule about ladies not wearing pants. The Bible does not give specific commands about either of those things. However, some people make it seem that if we do right with our hair and clothes that we are more holy than others. The problem is that God looks at the heart. Yes, He does want us to be modest and look nice, but He has not made any commands as to exactly how we do that, so let's not do it either.
When we take away some of God's commands that is liberalism. Liberals think they can interpret the Bible better than everyone else, so they can leave out things they think are not exactly right. When they do this, they are acting as God. We are not to judge God's Word, but simply to obey it. We must not leave out the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus, or the physical return of Christ. We must not tell others that the Bible is not fully inspired. These are examples of liberalism, and God is not pleased when we take away from His Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 15-17.