This is just a short post (I may say more about this subject later), but I think that it is something important that we need to keep in our minds as we follow Christ.
Here is the deal... It is soooo important that we follow the laws and principles given in the Bible. If we are Christians I believe that we will naturally want to follow God's law. The FRUIT of the Spirit is what will come when the Spirit is in us.
But I look around and I see that people take general principles from the Bible and turn them into specific rules that are very oppressive, and then they will treat people that don't follow their specific rules as if they are not Christians or are in rebellion against God.
It is nearly impossible to be friends with people that are insistent that the people they know must follow THEIR rules or else they're not acceptable or not Christians.
But what since we are following Jesus, and since He is the only One that is perfect, we must look at what He says in Matthew 11:28-30
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
When we come to Him because we are 'heavy laden', He doesn't heap on more and more weight. His burden is easy and His burden is light.
Please don't hear me saying that we don't need to follow the Bible. WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE LAWS OF GOD. But if we are weighting others down with OUR rules than that is a problem.
If you feel yourself weighted down, depressed, or feeling trapped, think about whether you are actually under the Lord's yoke or your own. Remember, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (emphasis added)
So please think about it. If you have a friend that is under the oppression of man-made laws and rules, than pray for their release and show them the love of Christ. If you find that you have been being legalistic (I know, that is a very over-used word) than confess it to the Lord and pray that He will give you the joy and the love that is supposed to make us stand out from others. :-)
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4 comments:
I agree with you... mostly! I agree that legalism is wrong, and that you should no-way say that someone isn't a Christian, just because they don't believe the same exact things that you do. But I've also heard some friends of mine explain that they want to be careful of who they allow their children to be friends with, for fear that some people may influence their children in a wrong way. Sooo.... hm. Do you see what I'm saying? I know that you weren't really posting about THAT aspect of legalism (is it really an aspect of legalism???), so sorry for going off on a tangent! :D
You definitely need to be careful who you are friends with.
I wouldn't think of that as legalism, just being smart on the parent's part. And parents have a right to choose who their children are friends with.
"Bad character corrupts good morals".
I was more talking about people who believe mostly the same and are definitely Christians but won't talk to you if you wear (modest) pants instead of long skirts or something silly like that. ;-)
Thanks for your comment, It's good to clarify that! :-)
Ah, I understand what you're both saying .:)
Oops, sorry Joy! That was me in the first post. I really didn't mean to post anonymously! :$
And thanks for explaining a little further! :)
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