for a while now ihave been faced with the issue of legalism.

Writing about Ivanhoe and his little exploits have made me think alot about everything.

especially about legalism.how often do we wake up and go for cf or for church, or for any type of church activity thinking that it is a must to go? that by not going for one day makes us less a christian?how often do we think that of others? people who serve irregularly?people who do not seem as committed as you are in church activites, or what have you? How many of us feel guilty for sometimes forgetting to say grace?

I admit, I am guilty of them all. ANd nowadays I am being faced with the idea that perhaps all these thought are too legalistic. THe bible does not set all these clear lines that say that being a christian means you MUST do so and so and so. In fact, all it ever said was,"Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of CHrist."

In a way it does hint on all these things, but I guess alot of times we take it to mean that if we follow a certain set of rules, we will be fine.But your salvation is not based on that. DOin all these does not make you righteous. You only become righteous in our faith in CHrist, and everything else that we do is a matter of obedience and our response to his love.

But it's not easy.sometimes it's always easier to tell myself that I should follow these set of rules. and leave some of them out because I feel that I have done my part.I am not perfect,so I DESERVE the right to stumble in some way or another.

But yet I keep forgetting that "CHildren of GOd do not sin." Yes, we may struggle, we may fall, but the fact is that we as children of GOd should not be sinning.and remembering who we are is motivation enough to not sin,much less give me the excuse to strike some form of a bargain.

Sometimes I wonder if I wasn't serving in church, if I didn't tell GOd back then that if smu had a cf I would be as active as I can in there, whether I will be who I am right now. THen it makes me wonder what keeps me going. Is it the need to be a good example to my youths?the need to announce to the whole world that I am a god fearing person?Or because of my response to his wonderful love,my eagerness to learn and grow more in his word everyday.THe hunger to know christ even more.

It's really a very scary thought because while all these would probably result in the same thing, the things that I base my confidence in is different.and so very wrong. I think I have a tendency to be legalistic in nature.which is why sometimes I hate to tell others about my struggles.why i try my best not to let anyone say anything about me.

THat if I fulfil the things I think I should be following,I should be fine.which is why when I sin it's as if I am being thrown off some high mountain and left there to bounce and die.this is really something on my mind for about a week or so, ever since we started to study romans and philippians. because really, that's what it's all about.where do i base my confidence in.

Is it my works?or is it my faith?

thoughts thoughts thoughts thoughts thoughts.

This is the post left by Michelle that really hit me...

I was reading Mich's blog... And the post she had written for today really hit me. Many people say I'm an active person in church, serving passionately in ministry and in church because that's how I spent my weekends somehow.

She had touched on whether what she's doing for God is being legalistic or because of His love that she's doing them. So the term 'legalistic' was used and to me, is doing something out of obligation or doing something because the law tells you so.

Serving God should be done of out obedience, out of the love we have for Him and out of faith. But being legalistic means we are doing it not out of obedience, the love and faith but because we feel obliged to do what should be done as a Christian. And somehow I feel I'm on that track. My experience with God because hadn't been consistant, I start to depend God and know God on head knowledge rather than experiential knowledge.

It's pretty scary because we know we have to live by the guidance and the anointing of the Holy Spirit everyday. Because of my own course of actions, I tend to impose those 'laws' on other people which makes me stepping over the boundary like acting as my fellow member's leader which I'm not supposed to because I'm like a member like everyone else in the cell group. For example, I expect everyone to be on time for say, an usual cell group meeting but there's no perfect situation. They will sure be members who are late and very often I don't consider their reasons for being late and all.
But situation might be different if I don't try to be legalistic whereby I'm flexible enough to consider that situation from all perspectives and I believe it's particularly easy if the Holy Spirit is around to guide me.

In the Bible besides the 10 commandmants that God gave to Moses, there's no other law we have to follow in the new covenant. (somehow I feel like I'm a Pharisee because they are the ones who imposed the laws God never meant to impose on the people) And in the 10 laws it didn't say that you can't be late, you cannot eat food given to idols etc.

In the Bible it was stated that,"Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." By following what should be done or obeying a own set of laws doesn't make us righteous because we become righteous in our faith in Christ. Out of faith births forth obedience and the love for God. Everything that we do as a Christian should be done with faith and not obligation towards obeying the law that never existed in God's eyes.

It taught me also as I mentioned above there's no perfect situation in anything. I can't be a law imposer when I start blaming people when they don't follow the rule and every member have different level of faith in them based on how closed and how loving they are to God. Members might forget to say grace before a meal, or not attend a church event like prayer meeting or even cell group meetings. Even the desire to be punctual is an issue of how faithful you might be too.

I need to understand the needs of everyone in order for me not to live by the laws. I need to depend on the Holy Spirit everyday to make the right decisions. Everything I do must be done by faith. Of course if we see a member's life going wrong we'll still go to minister to him/her but in the Holy Spirit's way and not the lawful way where there's condemnation. The Holy Spirit's way is always so loving and understanding and it's the love of God that changes people unlike the laws.

But thank God that he taught me this lesson because I know I can go further from where I am right now with Him and changing my perspective is the only way for me to grow.

And yea, this is how I perceive it and I'm going to change that. This is really the season for change man.. =)





This post will be dedicated to my spiritual life entirely and any other private stuff I'm going to have. =)