SearchingOut,
I always premise my lessons on holiness by first saying: holiness does not make me better than someone else; holiness makes me better than myself. Those who live 'holiness' to be better than another person or to be accepted by another person are doing so for the wrong reason. Convictions are to be lived because a person loves Jesus, not because they seek the approval of men.
Focusing on performance can cause a person to become disillusioned, hurt, or legalistic. Disillusioned because they never are able to reach their goals through their efforts; hurt because they feel betrayed since the very things Jesus and His Word projects they should be, they do not reach; legalistic because they start comparing their position with others so they can make excuse for their shortcomings. I have seen each of these manifested in individuals who focus on fruit from their own performance. What we must do is find our identity IN CHRIST! I have learned that an identity crisis is the result of a lack of an identity in Christ.
Walking with the Law is about obedience; walking with Jesus in His New Covenant is about relationship. Time and again Jesus referenced a husband and wife’s relationship to this latter type walking. Is the husband any more married to the wife if he does the stuff on her honey-do list? Is the wife any more married to the husband if she fries his chicken exactly how he likes? No, they are married not because of what they do, but because of their commitment to each other. So WHY does the husband work the list and WHY does the wife cook a certain way—not to be MORE married, but instead to please the one to whom they are married. So this is not about doing to remain in love, but about doing because of love.
Similarly, the issues and particulars of the way I walk in my relationship with Jesus is governed, not by fear of losing my salvation, but by desiring to please the one with whom I have my salvation—Jesus. Therefore, my choices do not make me more saved, but instead remove obstacles that may limit me from growing closer to Jesus.
Why would I not want to do all that I can to please Jesus? He is the one who said to love Him with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. God does look a man’s heart; but their neighbor only sees what is on the outside. Jesus was very down on those who offended and caused others to stumble through their outward actions and relationships. Paul agreed with this stance and told believers not to eat meat in the market if it might cause others to fall. Because of such things, we see that the age old question is still in effect: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Bible—especially the New Testament—clearly answers this with an echoing “YES!”
Many think legalism is just harsh demands forced upon another to make them DO something to be saved. Really though, legalism is self-inflicted and deceptive. Its true nature causes one to become self-righteous about their current achievements. Such complacency causes such a person to then barter away the new man’s opportunity to mature into more Christlikeness in preference to the old man’s struggle for self-preservation and self-gratification. Because they were in this latter crowd, the Pharisees are more aligned with liberals than they are with conservatives. Not that what they did was always against the things of God, but rather what they made allowances and excuses for not doing; these caused Jesus to speak out against their ranks.
The Pharisees’ unwillingness to change caused them to work against the very salvation they thought they were partaking of and protecting. It’s sad to think the freedom one thinks they have may actually be imprisoning them from growing in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where men get confused is in not realizing it’s not about being set-free from enslavement, but rather in being enslaved to the correct master. One master is self-serving and binds and constricts his servants from spiritually maturing; the other master looks after his servants’ best interests, and because so, he keeps and protects them as his own, always seeking ways whereby they can grow into matured Christlikeness. Isn’t this second view what the scriptures are conferring when saying Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith,” and that we are “complete in Him” (See
Heb 12:2;
Col 2:10)?
Remember, holiness does not make me better than someone else; holiness makes me better than myself. Because of this I think questions like “can I still do such-in-such and remain saved?” are better replaced with, “what more can I do to please Jesus since He saved me?” Every issue and circumstance of life may not always be salvational, but certainly they will always be relational; such are the issues of holiness.
I pray that Jesus gives you His peace and His wisdom!
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