law

/Tag: law
6 September

Turning the tables on legalism

By |2019-04-11T02:08:58-06:00September 6th, 2013|Uncategorized|109 Comments

The underlying assumption made by a legalistic theology (approach to understanding God), or more accurately, hermeneutic (approach to interpreting the Bible), is that God wants his children to be law-keepers, and the Bible is his law book. Neither can be further from the truth. That is not to say I am antinomian (against law) or lawless, nor am I afraid of absolutes. I have not fallen prey to the shifting sands of moral relativism in the slightest. I will confess that I am very much afraid of imposing an absolute that God hasn't, however, because that is adding to the Word, and speaking where it is silent. My understanding of the Bible soared and it became a joy to read when I came to realize [...]

23 August

The paradigm shift from law to love

By |2019-04-11T02:08:42-06:00August 23rd, 2013|Uncategorized|72 Comments

I almost corrected her when she said "God never fails" but then I realized that since "God is love" she's actually right on. Out of the mouth of babes! This could be a book-length article, but it won't be. It's just an appetizer; something to whet your appetite before a life-long meal at God's table discovering his love for yourself. I've found the understanding of God's love to be the keystone in the arch spanning God and man, his creation. It's what makes the Bible, God's inspired history of mankind's time on Earth, make sense. Without an understanding of God's love, the Bible--yes, even the Word of God itself--becomes merely a "sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal." It is a chaotic compilation of laws, commands, [...]

10 July

What is legalism?

By |2019-06-17T07:15:51-06:00July 10th, 2013|Uncategorized|29 Comments

Legalism is a term that gets thrown around a lot, and it's generally referring to an approach to the Bible that is law-centric rather than grace- or love-centric. A legalistic theology (or more accurately, hermeneutic), does not necessarily preclude the idea of grace; but generally pushes love and grace to a very minor role in our approach to God, and establishes our compliance with God's laws as the primary means of approaching him. The Pharisees of Jesus' time were a legalistic sect. They measured their own closeness to God by their adherence to the Law, and judged harshly those who did not measure up to their own standards of law-keeping. Of course, the legalist would not describe himself that way. He thinks that his standard [...]