Live by the Spirit

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Actually the purest Christian at the moment of his or her greatest strength is as weak as he or her was before his or her conversion. What has happened is that he has switched from his little human battery to the infinite power of God. He has quite literally exchanged weakness for strength, but the strength is not his; it flows into him from God as long as he abides in Christ. One of the heaviest problems in the Christian life is that of sanctification: how to become as pure as we know we ought to be and must be if we are to enjoy intimate communion with a holy God. The classic expression of this problem and its solution is found in Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapters seven and eight. The cry, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (7:24) receives the triumphant answer, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (8:2).

No one who has given attention to the facts will deny that it is altogether possible for a man to attain to a high degree of external morality if he sets his heart to it. Marcus Aurelius, the pagan emperor (i.e. Gladiator), for instance, lived a life of such exalted morality as to make most of us Christians ashamed, as did also the lowly slave Epictetus; but holiness was something of which they were totally ignorant. And it is holiness that the Christian heart yearns for above all else, and holiness the human heart can never capture by itself. A.W. Tozer

When we trivialize the Scriptures and Church Tradition, we reduce God’s Commandments of our Christian Life to formulas (legalism) which lead us to be “proud” of our efforts, or we rationalize away the demands (liberalism) which makes us comfortable with our lives, or we fabricate a list of things (agenda) we are going to do for God (moralist) which makes us tired, all three (legalism, liberalism and moralist) replaces God’s grace and need for Jesus Christ. If we allow ourselves to the bondage to a corruption of nature (i.e., legalism, liberalism and moralist), then we are not free.

Legalistic: My own concept of obedience makes me feel very safe that if its part of my life, I will impose on others. If they are not following my formula of legalistic beliefs, they are not being obedient according to my understanding of the Scriptures. This is why I am NOT a legalistic person.

Liberalistic: I rationalize that certain rules, regulations, laws (ceremonial) and/or any other concept of commandments in the Bible do not apply today. If I see it does not apply, then others are not being obedient according to my understanding of the Scriptures. This is why I am a liberalistic person.

Moralistic: I am following my resolutions according to my understanding of the Scriptures that being radical and focusing on agendas to accomplish God’s will even though I understand this is a “self-effort” rather than “grace-power”. I am a liberalistic and not a legalistic, I am defining moralistic according to my spiritual relationship with God. This is between God and me.