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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Yesterday's devotional closed with three questions for your consideration; here they are again: 1) Is the perfect law of liberty a law of the letter or a law of the spirit? 2) Is it possible for people who follow this law to become legalistic and nullify a portion of its effectiveness? 3) Is there a way to prevent and/or deal with legalism that might derive from following the perfect law of liberty? Today's message will end our three part sidebar on the Perfect Law of Liberty.
First, we address the question, “Is the perfect law of liberty a law of the letter or a law of the spirit?” These expressions and differentiations are totally biblical. Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Two “types” of law were presented; the gospel (the new covenant) was not “of the letter.” Rather, it was “of the Spirit.” Here is the distinction; under the Law of Moses if a man narrowly missed hitting his neighbor with a rock carefully aimed and intended to kill him, no law was broken; that is a “law of the letter.” However, under the New Testament (the law of the Spirit), the same man is as guilty of sin as if he had killed his neighbor with the missile!
Secondly, we asked, “Is it possible for people who follow this law [the perfect law of liberty] to become legalistic and nullify a portion of its effectiveness?” The answer is ironically and lamentably, “Yes!” Legalism is a word tossed about an awful lot, but most of the time when I hear it, it is just an ad hominem attempt to bias the hearer as opposed to being an argument of substance. Legalism as I use it here simply refers to the conscious or unconscious attempt to convert the law of the spirit into a law of the letter. These attempts typically ignore intent of the law and/or the person and put great emphasis on the deed (regardless of intent). Adhering strictly to God's law does not a legalist make! Ignoring intentions does a legalist make!
Thirdly, “Is there a way to prevent and/or deal with legalism that might derive from following the perfect law of liberty?” This admittedly is a trick question. A person can no more become a legalist while following the perfect law of liberty than one could become a murderer while following the perfect law of liberty! The only way to become a legalist is to depart from the perfect law of liberty! But, now back to the intentions of the question at hand. When a person truly grasps the principles of James 2.1-13, it will be impossible for him/her to be a legalist! The realization that comes from this passage is this: We are all sinners and from a Divine viewpoint, the deliberate breaking of one law of God is of exactly the same “class” of act as the deliberate breaking of any other law of God. James develops this theme (which we will address later in this series) and shows that the murderer is no better off than the adulterer or vice versa. Every sin is a sin against the Creator and hence belies an attitude that is contrary to what God would have His creature to be and think! Legalism can be prevented by embracing this principle and the implications (unsavory as they might be) that derive from it.
The seemingly paradoxical expression, The Perfect Law of Liberty, is just that – seemingly paradoxical! Law and liberty are not contradictory; they are complementary when fashioned by God's hand!
NOTE: This is the final message before the upcoming holidays. I want to take this opportunity to wish every reader a Merry Christmas and a God-blessed New Year. Our next message will be coming you way on January 5th, 2009.
Questions:
1. What distinctions in actions might you observe in one who is a legalist as opposed to one who truly follows the perfect law of liberty?
2. What sin has one committed under the New Covenant when he attempts to strike his neighbor without cause or provocation?
3. Whose law do I break when I willfully commit the tiniest of sins?
4. Can one become a legalist while following the perfect law of liberty? Why or why not?
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