Legalism can kill you

I think at any moment pastors can fall down the slippery slope of legalism. Legalism is a form of christianity that basically applies a legal standard to everything we do. It is a way to illicit obedience from people that have a tendency to wander astray from God's Word. Is it bad? Not necessarily, but it usually leads to bad habits. The problem with legalism is that it becomes subjective to one's opinion and interpretation. Of course legalists will always say that they are just trying to live according to the clear teachings of Scripture. However, by making such a claim they are immediately stating that if you do not adhere to their understanding then you are not following the clear teaching of Scripture. As a result you are open to rebuke and judgment from those who are more spiritual, in their opinion. My remarks are not meant to downplay the importance of obedience. Jesus clearly said that if we love Him we will obey Him. So obedience is important and we should live our life by certain standards. However, the danger comes when we make obedience to certain standards a criteria for salvation. Many legalists will say that if we do not live by their standards then it is a sure sign that we must not be saved. If we were saved then we would live the way they say we should live. It can get fairly wild as to what they believe is a demonstration of true obedience. I will not get into the many ways this fleshes itself out. In Mark 2:18 - 3:6 Jesus confronted the legalists of His day. Basically what had happened is that the religious leaders had made certain outward displays of obedience more important than the heart. The religious leaders were more concerned with how we do something than the why we do something. Jesus confronted their faulty interpretations of fasting and the sabbath day. Here is the crux of what I see is important. As a pastor I want people to come to the worship service. I want to see the auditorium full of people every Sunday. However, I do not want them to come because they believe it is a duty they are to perform. I want people to come because they love the Lord. I do not want people to give their tithes and offerings because they feel it is a duty to do so, but because they want to demonstrate their love for God. Perhaps I am arguing semantics here, but I think it is important that our motives are right. Jesus said what it is in our hearts will be revealed by our actions. Yet the fact of the matter is that actions can sometimes be deceptive. All the right actions in the world will not make our hearts right, but they can deceive us into thinking that if we just do certain things, the right way, then we will be alright. My thought is that instead of trying to do what Christians are to do, why not try being what a Christian is suppose to be. As Jesus confronted the religious leaders with their faulty understanding, they plotted to kill him in 3:6. The interesting thing is that legalism made strange bedfellows, the Pharisees plotted with the Herodians to kill Jesus. These groups were on the opposite ends of the spectrum and did not like one another. The Pharisees were concerned that Jesus might upset their religious control over the people and the Herodians who were strong supporters of Roman rule were afraid that He might upset the political control they had over the people. The two had nothing in common except one thing, they wanted to control the people. The warning to us is to be careful that in our desire to conform to His standards we do not become legalists and as a result destroy the very witness we are to have. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn, merit, or deserve grace. It is all of faith. If there is something we can do then we will begin to boast about our achievements over those of someone else. We like to measure ourselves against others because we make the standards. But when we measure ourselves against Christ we all fall short. Serve God out of love and devotion to Him not because you are on a guilt trip. You will be a much better follower if your heart has the right focus. Be to others what Christ would have you to be and then you will do what Christ wants you to do.