AVOID EXTREMES OF GRACE AND RELIGIOUS LEGALISM
By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi.
1Cor.6: 12 " "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."
This scripture underscores the degree of immunity a child of God enjoys under the dispensation of grace through Jesus Christ. This became necessary because of man's inability to fulfill the laws of Moses(Exo.24:12), therefore, forgiveness was needed through blood sacrifice that justice may be satisfied and man made eternally free from the condemnation of the laws of Moses . The law required atonement for sins through blood sacrifice (lev.4:1-4,17:11, Hebrew9:22) but this was not a sufficient cure for sin because animal sacrifice though repeatedly executed could not take away sins. There was always a sense of guilt from an unclean conscience (Heb.10:1-4,11)
By shedding His blood, Jesus Christ obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb.9:25-28a) and it was a one- size -fits -all sacrifice for humanity requiring no more sacrifice for sins. Through Jesus Christ's sacrifice we were sanctified (made holy and righteous ) once and for all ( Heb.10:10-12) and the blood of Jesus cleanses our sin consciousness (1Jn 1:7b) . The blood of Jesus is the cure to shameful addictions when acknowledged in prayer through faith.
Redemption through Christ marked the end of the law of Moses over us and the beginning of the law of Christ (Jer.31:31-33) the laws of Moses was perfect for its purpose yet inadequate (Heb.8:7-10) in that it wasn't humanly possible to fulfill (Rom.7:14) .It cannot be fulfilled by an imperfect person .Jesus' death on the cross marked the end of the law (Matthew 5:17,Rom.10:4) thus believers in Christ are not bound by the laws of Moses (Rom.6:14b,Heb.10:9) We are delivered from the law through Christ (Rom.7:4-6,8:1,2)The law is made for the sinner (1Tim.1:9) that God may have the legal grounds to judge them for where there is no law, there is no sin. The believer in Christ is under the law of liberty also known as the law of love . Love fulfills the obligations of the law of Moses (Rom.13:10,Matt.7:12,Gal.5:14).
There is the temptation to think that the law of Christ is much easier than the laws of Moses but the contrary is the case so that we would always need Jesus to fulfill His laws(John 15:5), for instance while the laws of Moses requires that we give the tenth part of our income as tithes, the law of Christ demands that we give 100% and lay it at the apostles feet as the early church did ,the scriptures says in Acts 4:32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold" again while the law encourages revenge (Exodus 21:24, Matt.5:38-42) Jesus commands that we love our enemy (Matthew 5:43-45) it commands love to those we dislike ( Lk.10:25-37) also ". Going by the law of liberty, married folks have no reason to stop loving each other because the law of liberty doesn't require a reason to love one's spouse, ,love is a duty one owes his neighbour. The misconception of the word "liberty" does more harm than good. It leads to self destruction.
We have been given liberty but it does not include the liberty to be foolish and reckless . God hates foolishness (Gal.3:1,Mk7:22) It gives no room for abuse and dishonorable lifestyles. It is not for offense because liberty is for the mutual growth of the community, therefore, consideration should be given to the disadvantaged . If one's liberty hurts more people and repels them away from the gospel, then one is not working in love.(1cor.10:23,8:9,12) therefore ,if a neighbour is offended by our display of liberty we should let him or her know that though we are free to do what we please but for the love we have for them ,we chose not do it until they can tolerate it. However, we should not allow a person's indifference to truth keep us in bondage, therefore, tolerance should have a mutually acceptable limit .
When tolerance is not operated within mutually acceptable limits abuse becomes inevitable. This is the origin of religious legalism and those Christians who are still bound by the law for selfish ends. The scriptures describes them as the 'concision', they are evil workers such as the various religious fundamentalists seeking to impose the Mosaic laws over others while exempting themselves. Act21:20,Phil.3:2-3) they project a self-righteousness which denies Jesus' sacrifice and grace(Rom 10:3,Gal.3.2:21) they fail to understand that righteousness cannot be attained by the law of Moses (Phil.3:3-9). The enforcement of the law of Moses only leads to bondage , social and infrastructural underdevelopment because it is not God's will, it brings about a curse open the lives of the practitioners (Gal.3:10) . It leads to depression and a high dependence on psychotropic substances (Matthew. 23:4,2Cor.3:6b) . Those who seek to enforce these laws are themselves guilty of violating them (Exodus 31:14-15,Jn 7:22,23)
For example, the law of the Sabbath says " s each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord . Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death ".Exodus 31:15 NLT. No task or duty is to be observed on that day, this includes, cooking, using toothbrush, using a computer or telephone , combing one's hair,driving,sweeping, washing, being on duty as a policeman, nurse,soldier, chief, if a pet or someone fell into a well, they were to be left there until the end of sabbath. There isn't a single person who hasn't violated this law and the penalty for violating this law is death. Thank God that through Jesus Christ we have been delivered from the bondage of the law.
Prayer : Heavenly Father, forgive me of my sins against you. I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation ,I receive Him as lord and receive the Holy Spirit and grace to overcome satanic addictions in Jesus name
Phone /counseling +2348098536911, +2348035536911 Email :Michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
Redemption through Christ marked the end of the law of Moses over us and the beginning of the law of Christ (Jer.31:31-33) the laws of Moses was perfect for its purpose yet inadequate (Heb.8:7-10) in that it wasn't humanly possible to fulfill (Rom.7:14) .It cannot be fulfilled by an imperfect person .Jesus' death on the cross marked the end of the law (Matthew 5:17,Rom.10:4) thus believers in Christ are not bound by the laws of Moses (Rom.6:14b,Heb.10:9) We are delivered from the law through Christ (Rom.7:4-6,8:1,2)The law is made for the sinner (1Tim.1:9) that God may have the legal grounds to judge them for where there is no law, there is no sin. The believer in Christ is under the law of liberty also known as the law of love . Love fulfills the obligations of the law of Moses (Rom.13:10,Matt.7:12,Gal.5:14).
There is the temptation to think that the law of Christ is much easier than the laws of Moses but the contrary is the case so that we would always need Jesus to fulfill His laws(John 15:5), for instance while the laws of Moses requires that we give the tenth part of our income as tithes, the law of Christ demands that we give 100% and lay it at the apostles feet as the early church did ,the scriptures says in Acts 4:32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold" again while the law encourages revenge (Exodus 21:24, Matt.5:38-42) Jesus commands that we love our enemy (Matthew 5:43-45) it commands love to those we dislike ( Lk.10:25-37) also ". Going by the law of liberty, married folks have no reason to stop loving each other because the law of liberty doesn't require a reason to love one's spouse, ,love is a duty one owes his neighbour. The misconception of the word "liberty" does more harm than good. It leads to self destruction.
We have been given liberty but it does not include the liberty to be foolish and reckless . God hates foolishness (Gal.3:1,Mk7:22) It gives no room for abuse and dishonorable lifestyles. It is not for offense because liberty is for the mutual growth of the community, therefore, consideration should be given to the disadvantaged . If one's liberty hurts more people and repels them away from the gospel, then one is not working in love.(1cor.10:23,8:9,12) therefore ,if a neighbour is offended by our display of liberty we should let him or her know that though we are free to do what we please but for the love we have for them ,we chose not do it until they can tolerate it. However, we should not allow a person's indifference to truth keep us in bondage, therefore, tolerance should have a mutually acceptable limit .
When tolerance is not operated within mutually acceptable limits abuse becomes inevitable. This is the origin of religious legalism and those Christians who are still bound by the law for selfish ends. The scriptures describes them as the 'concision', they are evil workers such as the various religious fundamentalists seeking to impose the Mosaic laws over others while exempting themselves. Act21:20,Phil.3:2-3) they project a self-righteousness which denies Jesus' sacrifice and grace(Rom 10:3,Gal.3.2:21) they fail to understand that righteousness cannot be attained by the law of Moses (Phil.3:3-9). The enforcement of the law of Moses only leads to bondage , social and infrastructural underdevelopment because it is not God's will, it brings about a curse open the lives of the practitioners (Gal.3:10) . It leads to depression and a high dependence on psychotropic substances (Matthew. 23:4,2Cor.3:6b) . Those who seek to enforce these laws are themselves guilty of violating them (Exodus 31:14-15,Jn 7:22,23)
For example, the law of the Sabbath says " s each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord . Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death ".Exodus 31:15 NLT. No task or duty is to be observed on that day, this includes, cooking, using toothbrush, using a computer or telephone , combing one's hair,driving,sweeping, washing, being on duty as a policeman, nurse,soldier, chief, if a pet or someone fell into a well, they were to be left there until the end of sabbath. There isn't a single person who hasn't violated this law and the penalty for violating this law is death. Thank God that through Jesus Christ we have been delivered from the bondage of the law.
Prayer : Heavenly Father, forgive me of my sins against you. I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation ,I receive Him as lord and receive the Holy Spirit and grace to overcome satanic addictions in Jesus name
Phone /counseling +2348098536911, +2348035536911 Email :Michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
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