Yesterday I wrote about legalism. Today I’ve come face to face with Jesus’ attitude about it.
Legalists are gatekeepers. They guard the way into the Kingdom of God to make sure anyone who breaks the law doesn’t get in.
Legalists are hypocrites. They’re not interested in going in themselves because they love the law, not the Kingdom. The only way into the Kingdom is through Jesus’ grace, not through the law.
Legalists don’t live by grace and they make sure others live by the rules too.
Legalists are standing at the door Jesus is knocking on, making sure no one who isn’t worthy opens it.
They ask, “Have you done this? You can’t go in until you have.”
Or
“Have you done that? You can’t go in until you make amends.”
I’m grateful that God has shown me His grace and that I’ve accepted it. I may like rules, but I know I’m saved by grace, not by the law. I just pray that I remember that when I judge others for breaking the law. I have such a strong idea of how a Christian should live that I sometimes wonder at another person’s actions. No, to be honest, I judge others. I ask how they can act a certain way if they’re Christians. I’m afraid my judgment may block the door for them. I need to step back and be the first in line, after Jesus, to welcome them into the Kingdom.
Jesus loves sinners. So should I.
The scary thing about legalists is that they will have such sorrow when they realize they were on the wrong side of the door.
To quote the Sunday School chorus: “One door and only one, and yet it sides are two. I’m on the inside, on which side are you?”
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