Part III: Joy Despite Your Past: Principle #11: Stay Clear of Legalism

 Memory Verse:

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead

--Philippians 3:13

This sermon was ahhh-mazing!  If you haven't seen it, it's a must-see!

I was really intrigued to read about this principle: Stay Clear of Legalism, because...well, that is what has kinda kept me from going to church in the first place, I mean up until Westside Family Church found me (ok, I found them, but you know what I mean) :-)

On page 121, Randy states that Legalism, on the other hand, produced guilt and competition.  Legalism keeps a scorecard, and the trophy goes to the best performer, the best religious athlete---reading the previous paragraph, Randy talks about Paul being the Theologian of Grace ("chara" / "charis")---I really wonder if this is where we get the word "charity" from?

JOURNAL

The Tetris Effect

Evaluate your life against the seven traits of a legalist

using the following criteria. Put a “1” next to the trait you

think is the hardest for you. Put a “2” next to the one that

is the next hardest for you. Keep going until you get to

the one that least represents you and mark it with the

number 7:

7 Traits of a Legalist

•  Loves rules more than the person  4
•  Loves being right more than being kind 6
•  Looks down on people who are not like them 7
•  Wants others to clean up before they come in 2
•  Struggles with the fact that the thief on the cross got in under the wire 3
•  Loves when the preacher scolds people for things they don’t struggle with personally 5
• Teaches human traditions as if they were the Word of God 1

Take some time to journal your thoughts about your

ratings. Start by celebrating your number seven rating.

Why is this not true of you? Thank God for this.

Then go to the one you ranked as number one. Write out

why this one is truer of you than the others. What is the

underlying driver of this attitude?

Take the same list of traits and think through the key

relationships in your life: at home, in your neighborhood,

at school, at church, in your friendship circles. 

Do you have any people or groups of people in your life that

struggle with these traits? Do you have any people or

groups of people in your life that don’t struggle with the

traits of a legalist? 

Write down your thoughts.

Once you have done this, find some time to share your

thoughts with at least one person who is a grace-giver to

you. 

Maybe show them the list and tell them how much joy

they bring you. Then, if you have any person or group of

people who really struggle with these qualities and you find

bring you down, consider how you will apply Paul’s advice

and “stay clear of the legalist.”

We talked about this in our Monday night A2 Group - it's humbling to know that this family (my Christian family) understands my struggles and we support each other.  It was good to discuss the 7 traits of Legalists.  Knowing that we all struggle with these---each of us were able to provide insight with how each of us handles this.  We all agreed - it's the relationship with Christ Jesus that matters most.  Accepting Him into our lives is our safe space.