8 Signs You Love Legalism More Than Jesus

And heres what legalism knows but wont tell you. As long as you dont believe God likes you, you wont draw
near to Him. Legalism never allows you full access to Gods presence. At some point, the Im not good
enough or God isnt pleased with me voices will speak to your heart, forcing you to retract.

If youre a Christian, God doesnt look at you with a Lee Trevino in Happy Gilmore face. God is pleased with
you. And, unlike most of us, God isnt fickle. When you suck at life, his disposition doesnt change. You can
blame Jesus for this. Way to go Jesus. No, seriously. Way to go.

You see, when God sees you, He sees Jesus. Check out Colossians 3:3. For you have died, and your life is
hidden with Christ in God.

The cross says Gods favor is on you. God likes you! Rest. In. Him.

Growing up, Sunday mornings were dreadful. Most everyone wore suits. The preacher yelled, especially when
it seemed like he had nothing to say. And the same old guy prayed marathon prayers using a host of words with
more syllables than his age. Since I was too young to understand churchy vernacular, I timed his prayers
instead. Sorry, God. It helped pass the time.

Maybe its not fair, but years of Sunday sermons painted a God who was, at least in my mind, agitated, skeptical
and shallow.

After graduation, I entered a new season, away from parents and Sunday suits. By this time, I was convinced I
couldnt earn Gods love. Besides that, I hadnt been baptized, and in my fellowship, the road to heaven passes
through a small pool of water.

So, I began my new season without God (thankfully He never left me).

Behind my earliest picture of God and my eventual (though temporary) divorce was legalism. I breathed its
toxic fumes from a young age. Breathe in Frank, if you dont give your life to God, youll go to hell. Do
you want that? Breathe out God is an angry master. Breathe in Frank, are you really going to a church
outside of the Church of Christ? Do you know what they teach? Breathe out Im right, everyone else is
wrong.

For years, legalism distorted my perspective and desire to follow Jesus.

What is legalism? In short, legalism is adding anything to the gospel. Legalism takes the words Follow me
and adds stipulations, clauses and barriers. Its a facade, and, over time, you believe its lies. The ultimate lie
being the simplicity of the gospel isnt good enough.

Legalism shifts the end goal from Jesus to something else. Legalism doesnt care where you focus, anything but
the risen Savior will do. And, it inevitably turns God into an agitated old man, skeptical about anything that
breathes.

If youre exhausted with legalisms demands, you can break free. It wont be easy or quick. Im still fighting for
freedom. But you can break the chains, and it starts with recognizing youre enslaved.
Here are eight signs youre trapped in legalism.

1.) You believe God loves you. But you dont believe He LIKES you.
If you painted Gods face right now, what would it look like? Is he smiling? Is he frustrated? For most of my
life, I pictured God with a Lee Trevino in Happy Gilmore face. It was a slow, disapproving, puzzled head
shake.

Dont get me wrong. I believed God loved me. But I didnt believe he LIKED me.
And we all know loving someone and liking them are two different things. When you like someone, you enjoy
their presence. You welcome their company. You ask them over to watch the Super Bowl or go to the movies.
You take selfies with them.

2.) You have never been sure about your salvation.

If you died tonight, where would you go (heaven or hell)? If I heard this question once, I heard it well
once. After the first time, I placed imaginary muffs over my ears. While Im not denying the question has
sincerely brought people to Jesus, it uses unhealthy fear as the entry point to Jesus. And thats unhealthy.
Dont misunderstand me. You must fear God to experience life in God. But the question above isnt about
fearing God. Its about fearing hell. This was my entry point to Jesus. And, for years, I thought more about not
spending eternity in hell than spending eternity with God.

Years later, heres what I realized. Its entirely possible to run away from hell and not run to God.
Again, legalism doesnt care where you focus as long as you dont focus on Jesus. Focus on hell, go ahead.
Yeah, God saves you from hell. But legalism knows you cant focus on hell and sustain a relationship with God.
Heres the irony.

Im afraid if I asked many Christians where they would go tonight if they died, they might say heaven, but they
wouldnt be entirely sure. They might even tell you theyre sure, but if you asked their heart, you would receive
a different answer.

I say this because, as a recovering legalist, I struggled with salvation for years. I thought (kinda, maybe) my
salvation was secure. But, in the back of my mind, I wasnt sure. In reality, my salvation was only as secure as
the present days actions.

But slowly, Jesus changed my heart. Today, Im learning to rest in what Jesus has done, not what I did.

Should you fear God? Absolutely. Hes infinitely powerful. But when you truly fear God, you dont cower or
run away. You draw near. As you draw near to God, terror turns to wonder, fear turns to love, shame turns to
forgiveness and doubt turns to acceptance.

3.) The worlds injustices arent important to you.

Its not possible to draw near to God without developing a heart for injustice and oppression. Justice is central to
Gods character.

Even the commands of God reveal something deeper about his heart for justice. Heres what Jesus says.
What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and Pharisees. For you are careful to tithe but you ignore
the more important aspects of the lawjustice, mercy and faith (Matt. 23:23).

It was never about following rules. It was always about something more. It was about justice, mercy and
faithfulness.

But legalism says doing the right thing is the weightiest matter. Dont curse. Come to church every Sunday.
Dont drink or smoke. And dont have sex before marriage.

So, this is where legalists focus their energy. Its behavior modification, and simply following commands
doesnt create Christ-followers. It creates Pharisees.

Where you have Christians apathetic about justice and oppression, unconcerned about widows, orphans,
oppression and brokenness, you can be sure legalism has drowned out the voice of God. You can be sure
following commands has become the weightiest matter. And you can be sure God, like Jesus, wont allow it to
go unchecked.

4.) You compare your righteousness to other Christians.

Legalism rarely celebrates others successes. It says heaven is a fixed space, and only the best get in. Lifes a
competition. Second place is the first loser.

With legalism, Jesus isnt the standard. The standard is the Christian beside you. As long as your life looks
better than Jim or Jill, youre good.

Except youre not.

When you make heaven a competition with other Christians, you secretly hope people fail. Rather than walking
with people through struggles, you give yourself a silent fist pump. Instead of celebrating with people who
accomplish great things, you silently hope they fall down.

Legalism pits you against your brother or sister. It makes righteousness a competition and heaven the prize. And
it leads to an exhausting life, one where you ride an emotional roller coaster because your worth and acceptance
are tied to other people.

5.) You believe outsiders must behave before they belong.

This is a core requirement of legalism. Theres a particular standard, though relative and unwritten, outsiders
must conform to before being accepted. Legalism says you worked hard to get to this point. Youve been in the
church game for a long time, and until others get on your level, theyre on the outside looking in.

If you dont allow people in, whether its in your worship, your home or your life, youre making a declaration
over them Jesus never made. Youre declaring some sins are worse than others, and certain behaviors are too
ugly or distasteful for God.

Youre also declaring yourself the standard for Gods acceptance. Thats not a weight you can bear. Eventually,
it will crush you.

6.) Your private life doesnt match your public life.

Legalism loves an audience. To the world, youre an amazing Christian. You know the words. The lingo comes
second nature. But away from the crowds, youre slightly less than amazing (and by slightly I mean youre
a different person).

This was me. In high school and college, I knew when to turn it on. When the world watched, I played the
Christian game. I was the guy parents wanted their daughters to date.

Away from the crowds, however, I was different. The lights off Frank battled pornography, lust, envy and
bitterness. He was self-centered and greedy. I knew God saw through my facade. But I was more concerned
with putting on a show.

If this is you, understand a lesson I learned the hard way. Who you are in private will inevitably be revealed in
public. Legalism wont tell you this, but its true. What you do when the crowd leaves is who you are. And you
can only put on makeup and costumes so long before life exposes whats underneath.
If your private life doesnt match your public life, its likely legalism has shifted your focus from Gods holiness
to others acceptance. You wont fool the world forever. And youll never fool God.

7.) You believe in joy and peace, but youve never experienced them.
Legalism allows you to see God, but it never allows you to swim in the ocean of his grace, joy and peace.
Legalism doesnt care if you worship God, read the Bible or pray. But its not cool with those things drawing
you closer to God.

The church today is filled with men and women who are deeply spiritual, but incredibly distant from God.
I know this from experience. For several years after becoming a Christian, I read the Bible every day. Seriously,
I didnt miss a day. I also prayed every day. I had perfect church attendance. But I was light years from God.
If your spiritual activities arent bearing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control, youre likely on the road to spiritual legalism. When youre in Gods presence, you WILL bear
the Spirits fruit (Galatians 5:22).

If youre a follower of Jesus, you should be increasing in joy. You should have increasing peace. This is the
ONLY result of being in Gods presence. But, if legalism has enslaved you, increasing joy will be replaced by
increasing skepticism toward people and hostility toward God.

Is your heart increasing in joy and peace or cynicism and unrest? Is your perspective on life optimistic? Does
God appear more like a grumpy old man or a life-giving Father?

8.) You only participate in Christian activities with other Christians.

Numerous times in his short ministry, Jesus was called a friend of sinners. But he wasnt called this by
everyone. Only religious Christians used this phrase. You see, its the ones who grew up in church, gathered
years of information, but never allowed the information to pave a road to Jesus who are in danger of legalism.

And, consequently, in danger of missing Jesus.

Many Christians make separating from sinners their primary mission, and legalism allows you to justify it.
Protecting your children from sinful people and activities makes sense. Legalism says if someone discovers you
at the bar or hears you invited a prostitute over for dinner, you will be labeled. And God cant work through a
stained reputation. So separate from evil sinners. Protecting your reputation is a stewardship issue.

Dont listen to the lies.

What message are Christians sending when they attend Christian schools, sign their kids up for Christian
activities and only have Christian friends?

Reaching the lost is difficult inside a bubble.

God knows you cant live up to his standard. You sin every day. So do I. He doesnt condemn you. Hes for you.
Breaking free from the shackles of legalism takes time. But you must start somewhere. Embrace the simplicity
of the gospel. Rest in the security of your salvation. Jesus has accomplished everything. It is finished.

I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!