When we first become
Christians, when we confess and repent of our sins and accept Christ as the
Savior of our souls, we begin a long and exciting journey. God’s plan for us is to grow and mature and
he gives most of us three score and ten years to experience his growth plan. I looked at my new- born grandson a few
months ago and felt the softness of brand new skin. I peered at his new little ears and looked
into his eyes as he struggled to hear my voice and focus on my face for the
first time.
New Christians experience so
many new sensations. They now have eyes
that can see more clearly. Spiritual
discernment gives to them ears that hear differently, minds that think
differently and a heart that has been cleansed of evil and bathed in
goodness. The darkness that pervaded in
the deepest part of their souls has been replaced by a light that reflects the
brightness of His glory. Unbelievers
become accustomed to the feeling of the emptiness they must always be burdened
with. Like a ball and chain on the
prisoner’s leg, they carry this emptiness everywhere they go. But those who experience conversion have had
their chains broken and the empty void in their soul is filled with the
inexplicable fullness of God.
Once the new Christian sets
out on this journey with Christ he is instructed not to look back. Lot’s wife looked back and suffered horrible
consequences because she still desired the things that would bring destruction
to her soul. We are instructed to leave
the old sinful habits at the foot of the cross and move forward into
maturity. Our cry echoes the cry of
Hosea, “Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him.” (Hosea
6:3)
So how does a young seedling
grow into a massive oak? After
experiencing the miracle of germination and emerging from the darkness of the
soil, the fledgling plant absorbs the light, drinks in the moisture and
nutrients made available to it. A
Christian, after the miracle of regeneration, emerges from the dark, sinful soil
of spiritual death. New life enables him
to absorb the light provided by One who said, “I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life." (John 8:12) He sponges up
the water of One who promised “living water” (John 4:10), a water that permanently
quenches the thirst of a troubled soul.
Young Christians are reminded
that “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing
power is from God and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:7). We are instructed to strive
for perfection; “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
(Matthew 5:48) But we are reminded that we can never achieve the absolute
perfection that belongs only to a Holy God.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways," declares the LORD. (Isaiah
55:8)
The admonition toward
perfection is an admonition toward spiritual maturity. We are instructed how we might become a
mighty oak in the kingdom forest. We are
to make provision to saturate ourselves with the word of God because it is a “lamp
to my feet and a light for my path.”
(Psalm 119:105) We become strong
in the Lord by spending time with him.
We are to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). While lifting our
voice to him we are assured that he hears us because the shepherd knows the
voice of his sheep. “I know my sheep and
my sheep know me.” (John 10:14) We should become so intimate with God that we
also know his voice. Elijah recognized
it as a small still voice. (1 Kings
19:12) The flow of gentle, spontaneous
thoughts that come unexpected into your mind may very well be the voice of God
speaking to your soul. We are instructed
to “test the spirits to see if they are from God.” (1 John 1:4)
The practice of certain
disciplines becomes the vehicle through which we come closer and closer to
God. Maturity without discipline is an
illusion.
There is a movement that is
quite prevalent today that provides a subtle opposition against the practice of
such disciplines. I would refer to it as
the “legalism” movement. Christians who
purpose in their hearts to have a closer walk with God, to follow him into the
deeper, more abundant life that he offers will inevitably be accused of
practicing legalism. There seems to be a
fine line between legalism and holiness.
Some of Christ’s harshest words were reserved for those who practices
legalism. Nothing offends God more than
the humanistic idea that we can somehow achieve salvation through our own
efforts. This devalues the precious
blood Christ shed on the cross and stirs the anger of God. Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for their
legalism when he referred to them as vipers and said, “You also outwardly
appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness". (Mat 23:28)
How might one know when he is
practicing legalism or when he is using the disciplines provided to strive for
holiness? He will know by discerning
whether he is in bondage or whether he is free.
Legalism leads to bondage, holiness leads to freedom. Legalism brings death, holiness brings
life. If one feels a whip on his back he
is being driven by legalism. If he feels
a yearning in his heart to spend time with one he loves more than words can
tell, he desires holiness. Legalism is
an attempt to please a demanding taskmaster.
Holiness is a desire to emulate One whom you love, admire and
adore. Legalism is because you ‘have to’. Holiness is because you ‘want to’.
Dr. Kent Hughes wrote a book
entitled Disciplines of a Godly Man, in
which he declared, “There is a universe of difference between the motivations
behind legalism and discipline. Legalism says, ‘I will do this thing to gain
merit with God,’ while discipline says, “I will do this because I love God and
want to please him.’ Legalism is man-centered; discipline is God-centered.”
The legalist trusts in his
own actions to make him righteous. He
relies on traditions like regular church attendance, prayer-time and paying of
his tithes to achieve favor with God. These
become traditions for the legalist but they become disciplines for one in
pursuit of holiness. The one who hungers
for holiness realizes that his righteousness is as “filthy rags”. (Isaiah 64:6)
Praying just to ease one’s
conscience or to impress others because a babbling of “vain repetitions”. (Matthew 6:7)
The prayer of a truly righteous man is very powerful and affective. (James 5:16)
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.
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