"Now the Lord is that Spirit:
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Corinthians 3:17
(KJV)
Post #3 in the Legalism Series.
I have hit a brick wall of writer's block,
that is, on any other subject than this one.
I have wanted to write about other things for several days,
but the Lord keeps bringing me back to this burden on my heart.
First, let me say that I am surprised by the number of you, precious readers,
who have responded and shared with me.
My heart goes out to every one of you...whether you have or have not responded,
because I feel your pain, and I care.
I had no idea there were so many out there who have suffered or are now suffering
from the bondage of manrule and a legalistic spirit.
The Lord woke me early this morning, giving fresh inspiration, as I sought Him in earnest prayer,
so I proceed with at least this...one more post on the subject.
We'll see where He leads after this.
So, the pendulum swings...side to side...
from the extreme of complete lawlessness, where anything and everything goes,
and nothing, no matter how ungodly or unholy, is considered sin,
to the extreme of living life in a stranglehold straight jacket of legalism,
where everything, even the Biblically-permissable things are labeled "sin" and life is a miserable drudgery.
Temptation lurks on both sides of the narrow way.
We walk a tight rope of balance,
where the slightest misstep can send us spiraling in either direction.
My previous post
defined the greatest danger to the newly-delivered-from-a-fanatical-legalistic-stronghold-soul as being the temptation to run full speed, headlong in the opposite direction of complete and utter compromise of Biblical doctrine.
defined the greatest danger to the newly-delivered-from-a-fanatical-legalistic-stronghold-soul as being the temptation to run full speed, headlong in the opposite direction of complete and utter compromise of Biblical doctrine.
I write these things, not from ever having read or been told about them,
but from personal, firsthand experience.
Having lived and breathed and walked still walking this journey, I know where God has brought us from,
I know where satan has tried to divert our steps,
and I am aware of, at least some, of his tactics.
As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:11,
"Lest satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."
So, if I can help someone else who comes behind me, by all means, and by God's grace,
I surely want to do that.
I believe the second greatest post-legalism danger is, without a doubt,
the temptation to fall prey to a different form of legalism.
Same horse, different color.
If you are accustomed to walking fettered,
you are extremely vulnerable to being entrapped again.
If you were once enslaved by a cruel taskmaster,
you are likely to give your freedom away once more.
Because it is hard to grasp the concept that you should be free...
that you should actually enjoy your salvation...
and that it is okay to laugh, and smile, and be happy.
Because it is hard to grasp the concept that you should be free...
that you should actually enjoy your salvation...
and that it is okay to laugh, and smile, and be happy.
Because it is just easier for someone else to tell you what to do.
And it feels good to be liked...and accepted...and a part of something.
It is hard to walk alone.
To be on the outside.
To feel the sting of ex-communication and rebuke.
To buck against the religious elite and feel their scorn.
To hear of the mean-spirited things they say and not fall prey to believing them.
To hear of the mean-spirited things they say and not fall prey to believing them.
To defy man, and mind God.
So, the devil will have an alternate waiting for you.
You can count on that.
He will make it appear attractive, and of course,
he will cause it to look like the real deal.
You will be tempted by his bait, because you feel so lost, unattached,
and unsure of yourself on this unfamiliar path.
and unsure of yourself on this unfamiliar path.
You might even take the bait and get partially reeled in,
until one day, you wake up and feel that old, sickening, all-too-familiar whip come across your back,
and you kick yourself for falling for one of the oldest tricks in satan's book.
You will stand there asking yourself how you could have been so stupid...
how you didn't even see it coming...
and thinking how sly and crafty and cunning...and EVIL satan is to have set the trap in the first place.
Suddenly, the realization sinks in that the vacuum is gaining strength and momentum,
and if you don't do something quick,
you are going to find yourself right back where God just delivered you from....
entrapped, enslaved, bound up, tormented, hopeless, and unable to escape from the multiple loops
this new "spider" has wound around you.
and if you don't do something quick,
you are going to find yourself right back where God just delivered you from....
entrapped, enslaved, bound up, tormented, hopeless, and unable to escape from the multiple loops
this new "spider" has wound around you.
But, this time around, you are wiser.
You are more discerning.
You are stronger.
You are more aware...more cautious...less trusting of people...and more dependent on God.
You have more courage.
Because you have seen what God can do.
You have not only witnessed the miracle, you have lived it.
You have inhaled that first breath of freedom and felt the chains fall off your feet.
You have walked the sweet path where there is nothing....no system....no human hierarchy....
between you and Jesus.
Just sweet, precious, unimpaired communion and peace.
So, when you recognize the whip,
when you first notice that old, familiar tightening of bondage...and dreaded tightening in your chest,
you drop that hook out of your mouth like a hot potato,
and you swim away...free and unencumbered....still bewildered at your own susceptibility.
If God has delivered you and set you free, don't get drawn in again, my friend.
How terribly sad that would be!
How cruel your enemy to have the audacity to try the same tactic twice!
But, trust me on this one, he will try.
He will offer you the bait, and it is up to you to turn him down.
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
Galatians 5:1
How terribly sad that would be!
How cruel your enemy to have the audacity to try the same tactic twice!
But, trust me on this one, he will try.
He will offer you the bait, and it is up to you to turn him down.
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
Galatians 5:1
Even though it looks different than the other yoke,
even though it operates under a different name brand,
even though the people involved wear an entirely different label,
even though it feels safe.
even though it operates under a different name brand,
even though the people involved wear an entirely different label,
even though it feels safe.
Turn, and run with all your might at the raising of the first red flag.
You do not want to live that way.
You deserve better than that, because Jesus gave everything He had to buy your freedom.
How it would break His heart to see you willingly walk back into bondage,
after He has gone to such lengths to set you free!
For you to allow yourself to become entangled with yet another yoke of bondage would resemble the children of Israel's longing to return to the horrors of Egypt,
after God had so miraculously made a way of escape and entirely delivered them.
after He has gone to such lengths to set you free!
For you to allow yourself to become entangled with yet another yoke of bondage would resemble the children of Israel's longing to return to the horrors of Egypt,
after God had so miraculously made a way of escape and entirely delivered them.
So, what do those red flags look like?
What should you look for?
Of what should you be aware?
Watch for these types of tell-tale signs and legalistic situations that are similar to these
hypothetical, some not-so-hypothetical, scenarios.
hypothetical, some not-so-hypothetical, scenarios.
1. You
are terrified to make a move without running it past Bro. So-and-So first.
Surely,
if he doesn't approve, that must mean God isn't pleased either, right?
2. You
are afraid Sis. So-and-So will find out you wore pink last week.
Because if she finds out, she will tell the hierarchy,
they
won't be pleased,
and
you will be sick to your stomach for days as you dread
and try to prepare yourself for the scathing rebuke you know is coming your way.
and try to prepare yourself for the scathing rebuke you know is coming your way.
3. You
force yourself to go to church Sunday morning,
even
though you have a temperature of 102, and your body aches...
because
if you don't show up and plow against it,
Bro.
So-and-So will think you are too weak to handle your ministry.
4. You
preach a stronger-than-necessary, harsher-than-Jesus-would-ever-preach message
Sunday night
that ends up wounding 98% of your congregation, leaving them without a shred of hope,
just
because Bro. So-and-So is there, and he loves that judgmental, hateful-toned,
Pharisee-like preaching.
After all, it seems paramount to please Bro. So-and-So...never mind how it affects everyone else
or what our dear Lord thinks of the situation.
or what our dear Lord thinks of the situation.
5. You
are terrified to step foot into your sister's church,
because
the upper crust will think you "compromised" by attending services in a place
that doesn't have their label on a sign over the door.
that doesn't have their label on a sign over the door.
6. You
refrain from going to a revival meeting across town,
because
it might get back to the powers that be, and they will frown on you because you
attended services where the singing was accompanied by musical instruments.
7. You
turn down an opportunity to go hear a minister whose preaching has blessed you numerous times
because
if you do, someone might see you there and call Bro. So-and-So and tell him
you
listened
to a minister preach who was wearing a neck-tie.
8. You
feel praise bubbling from deep inside and you yearn with all your heart to
raise your hands and worship God out loud,
but
you dare not show any outward sign of praise,
because
Bro. So-and-So is sitting across from you,
glaring
at you over his mid-nose-positioned glasses,
and
he shows utter disdain at the slightest sign of
"emotionalism".
And, you better keep quiet, because you just can't cope with all of that shocked head-turning
and disapproving looks from every other eyeball in the room.
And, you better keep quiet, because you just can't cope with all of that shocked head-turning
and disapproving looks from every other eyeball in the room.
9. You
don't dare ask your grandma to pray for you,
because
it might be found out that you have confidence in someone outside your
"group".
10. You
develop an ulcer and hurt for two weeks before Bro. So-and-So rolls into
town,
because you've learned from past
experience that he will find a reason to rake you over the coals
and leave you in tears for weeks after his visit.
11. Your knees knock together repeatedly
during testimony service,
because you want to give God the deserved glory for
healing your mother and sparing her life,
but you know Sis. So-and-So will have a
fit because she found out your Mom went to the hospital,
and she doesn't think you should give God
the glory when and if medical science is involved.
Can you imagine????
12. You nervously chew your fingernails to the
quick while driving to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for your little
boy,
because you know if word gets back to the ministerial hierarchy that you gave your child medicine,
you will be in peril of a good talking to, or even ex-communication.
13. You spend two hours frantically searching
your closet for something to wear to church that adheres
to the personal convictions of Sis. So-and-So, because, by all means,
Sis. So-and-So's personal convictions should never be disobeyed or rebelled against.
to the personal convictions of Sis. So-and-So, because, by all means,
Sis. So-and-So's personal convictions should never be disobeyed or rebelled against.
14. You are petrified to call Bro. So-and-So for
prayer for your sick sister,
because you know he doesn't approve of her lifestyle,
and you don't really feel like hearing his gloating, utterly-void-of-compassion voice telling you once again
that her sickness is nothing but the wrath of God that has fallen on her.
that her sickness is nothing but the wrath of God that has fallen on her.
15. Your preacher stands in the pulpit harshly and roaringly
commanding you to wear your hair in a certain hairstyle, "just like the Bible tells you to do",
when, in reality, wearing your hair that way gives you a pounding, debilitating headache,
and, furthermore, upon diligent search, the Bible does not tell you to wear it that way at all.
I know some of these sound absurd to the general public,
but, believe me, however absurd, they are not as unusual as you might think.
Though there are many more I could mention....I feel this is sufficient to convey the ugliness of legalism,
without being any more specific.
It is not my intention to wound or offend anyone,
and I feel this is definitely enough details.
You get the picture.
and, furthermore, upon diligent search, the Bible does not tell you to wear it that way at all.
I know some of these sound absurd to the general public,
but, believe me, however absurd, they are not as unusual as you might think.
Though there are many more I could mention....I feel this is sufficient to convey the ugliness of legalism,
without being any more specific.
It is not my intention to wound or offend anyone,
and I feel this is definitely enough details.
You get the picture.
If you are being asked to do something that God, through His Holy Word or through personal revelation, does not require you to do,
but is being dictated to you by the "rules" of a particular denomination,
you should probably turn and run.
If you have to go around hiding what you do,
not because you feel the slightest condemnation by God,
but because if "they" find out, you will be condemned,
it is in your best interest to get out of dodge.
If you are being held under bondage to certain aspects of Old Testament law
that were already fulfilled when Jesus came,
you need to break free while you can.
If you are being asked to wear or not wear something based solely upon the opinions of a manmade religious hierarchy and told that your salvation depends upon your adherence to their convictions,
you need to say "thanks, but no thanks" to their bondage,
seek God earnestly for His perfect will concerning what you wear,
break free before you get drawn in any further, and move on.
seek God earnestly for His perfect will concerning what you wear,
break free before you get drawn in any further, and move on.
Once the Good Shepherd has set us free and brought us to greener pastures, it is up to us, by His grace,
to continue to follow Him alone,
and never be drawn into the confines of bondage again.
(To read Post #1 in this series, entitled "The Binding Stronghold of Legalism", click here.
To read Post #2 in this series, entitled "The Greatest Post-Legalism Danger", click here.)