COMING TO GRIPS WITH LEGALISM

 Romans 2:1 (NIV)

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

               I am a recovering legalist. I say recovering because I am keenly aware that I have not conquered this flaw in my life. I was reminded of this as I drove into my office this morning.

               I have a 45-minute commute between my home and the church where I am serving currently. Often those are the most frustrating 45 minutes of my day. When I get on the freeway, I pull into the righthand lane and set my cruise control at 70 mph. Before long someone comes whizzing by me at a speed considerably greater than the speed limit. This does not happen once, but multiple times on my commute. Not only do I encounter people exceeding the speed limit, but I also have noticed an alarming number of people who are using their cell phones while they are speeding past me, even though it is against the law. We have had some bad weather lately; fog, snow, rain, low visibility. On one commute during these conditions, I counted over 20 cars without their headlights on. All these things, and a few more, cause me to be frustrated. I often make audible comments to my fellow commuters, which of course they cannot hear.

               One day God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that I was being a legalist. Have you never exceeded the speed limit? Have you never been distracted while you were driving? Have you never cut someone off unintentionally? Have you never failed to yield to another driver? Have you never forgotten to turn on your headlights? The obvious answer to all of these questions is no.

               I grew up a legalist. No one formally taught me to be a legalist, I just picked it up on my own. Somehow, I fell into the trap of works righteousness. I felt that I had to keep all the rules for God to accept me. I worked hard to be a rule keeper and routinely beat myself up when I failed. But I did something else as well. I started applying the rules, as I saw them, to others. I began judging others by how well they kept the rules.

               I have worked hard to break free from this trap. I have learned to accept God’s grace and recognize that there is nothing I can do to earn it. I have become more gracious with others when they see theological issues differently than I do. I have learned to extend grace to others more freely. But I still have a long way to go. My daily commute is a daily reminder that I have not arrived.

               Paul addressed this same issue with some of the people in the church at Rome. In Romans 1, Paul outlined the state of his fallen world. He painted a pretty bleak picture. There were those in the church who were probably applauding Paul’s words. They were standing in line to be some of the first to cast stones at those evil doers. Then Paul turned the tables on them. He challenged them to look in the mirror. What right did they have to judge others when they were doing the same things? I don’t think that Paul was saying that they were engaged in the evil acts he had just outlined, but that they were sinning in other ways. They were really no different. They had missed the point that no one can earn God’s favor by keeping the Law. It is totally a free gift of His grace.

Romans 2:2-4 (NIV)
Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

               There is no doubt that God is concerned about sin. But it is not my job to be the accuser of others. I have enough sin of my own to account for. Praise God that He is gracious and that if we come to Him in genuine repentance, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

               God has been teaching me to be less judgmental and more gracious toward others. I have made significant progress, but I have not arrived. I am reminded every time I get on the freeway.

Matthew 7:1-5 (NIV)
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”