How to Become a Legalist:
1. Make rules outside the Bible.
2. Push yourself to try and keep your rules.
3. Castigate yourself when you don't keep your rules.
4. Become proud when you do keep your rules.
5. Appoint yourself as judge over other people.
6. Get angry with people who break your rules or have different rules.
7. "Beat" the losers.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
How To Become a Legalist
Mark Driscoll:
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2 comments:
Thanks for reproducing this Zach. It's very helpful, and illuminating. I continue to learn from Mark and bless God for him.
I do wonder, though--is a more basic question, How to recover from being the legalist we all already are? Mark's point is of course good and helpful. But it reinforces the artificial assumption that all we Christians in here need to beware of becoming one of those legalists out there. But the legalist is already inside us; the question is how to heal it. I guess I'll only speak for myself--for me, moving forward in my walk with Christ is learning to undress the Pharisee I already am, not scrupulously avoiding becoming one. Indeed, it would be easy, in a mindset of avoiding legalism, to become the very Pharisee we think we're avoiding! I don't think this is contradictory to Mark's excellent sermon, but another angle.
Just a thought.
Thanks for all your good blogging brother. Such a blessing.
Hey Zach,
Thanks for reposting this. I am a BJU grad, did my seminary work there too.
I appreciated Mark's sermon, I am grateful to God for using Mark in my life.
FWIW, BJU is a place for Christians who are from the fundamentalist background, but the reason it has all the rules is mainly because it is a school. I remember a professor saying specifically that the rule book is not part of our Bible and not an appendix to our Bible, the rules just help the school run smoother. Many of the rules were designed to help students to serve one another.
Theologically and practically speaking I am no longer where BJU is. I don't agree with everything that is going or has gone on there. I mean, I do read your blog faithfully so... :)
Seriously, it is exciting to see the changes that are happening there. One of the big ones is what Dane referenced: people are seeing Christ and realizing that the legalist is within--we must repent, believe and repeat. The rules there sometimes enable the legalist to be justified, but Christ is being preached and hearts are being transformed!
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