by Steven F. Deaton<\/p>\n
When we insist men must adhere strictly to the commandments of God, is it love or legalism?<\/p>\n
Men say it is legalism. They say, “We should obey a Savior, not a system.” Or, “Give me the man, not a plan.” Their idea is that to admit the existence of a law by which man must live in order to be right with God, is legalism.<\/p>\n
God, however, calls this love. The Spirit said, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome<\/em>” (I John 5:3). Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments<\/em>” (John 14:15). Keeping the commandments of God is an expression of love, not legalism. To insist others do the same is love for God and man, not legalism in a system or plan.<\/p>\n The Holy Spirit was sent to reveal all truth (John 16:13). Why would anyone think the truth was revealed so men could be cavalier toward it? It was revealed so men could obey it and be set free (John 8:32). Paul wrote, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered<\/em>” (Romans 6:17). This does not destroy a relationship with the Savior, for it is His system — the gospel (Hebrews 5:9).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steven F. Deaton When we insist men must adhere strictly to the commandments of God, is it love or legalism? Men say it is legalism. They say, “We should obey a Savior, not a system.” Or, “Give me the man, not a plan.” Their idea is that to admit the existence of a law…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[177,843,65,54],"class_list":["post-57984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-law","tag-legalism","tag-love","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7065,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/legalism-the-un-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":57984,"position":0},"title":"Legalism: The Un-Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Klein Since the church began, the devil has concocted any number of diabolical schemes to ensnare God's people. One of his most successful gambits has been the invention of the pseudo-sin commonly called legalism. More people consider legalism to be a sin than consider 7-UP to be a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lavistachurchofchrist.org\/LVarticles\/images\/legalBooks.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/law-and-legalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":57984,"position":1},"title":"Law and Legalism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by H. E. Phillips via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0- January 6, 1994 Law is: \"A general rule of action or conduct established or enforced by a sovereign authority; as, a law of Caesar; a law of God\" (Webster's Twentieth Century Dictionary, Unabridged). 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The exact words were, \"I think it's sad that you're such a legalist.\" Since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70949,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/legalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":57984,"position":3},"title":"Legalism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton What is it? Why do people fear it? It seems that the only opposite is \"illegalism.\" However, a better definition would probably be an attitude of self-deception, which is thinking we stand right with God with no need for mercy and forgiveness. 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