How Legalism Kills the Church

In the early 70′s, a book circulated among the high school & college students at my church.  It was called, Why Churches Die. I just found it revised and updated on Amazon (2007).  I remember it being an excellent book, based on solid research.  Churches die for many reasons, the author explained. But as I remember it, the central one is LEGALISM.

Amen. If there is one core reason why the American church has missed the target, and why our whole nation tumbles downhill,  it is legalism. For a thousand years, until 1905 when it was banned, China practiced a form of torture and execution called, The Death of a Thousand Cuts. It’s self-explanatory, but you can check it out on Wikipedia if you’re feeling gruesome today.

Legalism is the church’s death of a thousand cuts.

Never forget that the Pharisees saw themselves as good guys. Jesus still ripped into them.

Legalism is invisible to the legalist.

What is legalism? There are many varieties. At root, legalism is our attempt to offer God the produce of our own hands. Like Cain, we imagine God is pleased with the harvest of human righteousness. We become do-gooders, moralists, or crusaders for a cause… in our own strength.

But our own strength never pleases God. Human effort, unaided by the Holy Spirit, not energized by the Word of God, cannot please God.

·         “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6, NKJV. (At our best, we’re like filthy rags)

·         ““God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Acts 17:24, NKJV.

The church–and I include myself, and convict myself–has gone on in her own strength. We have invited Jesus into Temples Made With Hands (human strength). We have been busy for Jesus (Martha), without first listening and loving at his feet (Mary). We are too busy fixing the world, and not busy fixing the mess in our own hearts.  This inner wholeness comes only through the Word and the Spirit.

The power for Christian living must be supernatural. And here is the great fault of our churches and pastors… We give Christians an ever expanding “to-do” list UNCOUPLED from the supernatural power to do it.  The essence of legalism, don’t you think?

·         “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” 2 Timothy 3:5, NKJV.

So our churches offer a litany of really good things to do (truly good): end hunger, fight AIDS, love the loveless, do righteousness, be a better husband, be a better wife, be a better steward, conquer your addictions, nurture your marriage, be a witness, watch your language, don’t gossip, dress modestly, avoid worldly entanglements, follow God’s laws, support missions, pray… the list is endless.

The problem is that we have uncoupled this list from the power of God. Two generations of Christians have NOT been trained in harnessing the power of God. So we do them in our own strength: legalism. We do them hyped up on temporary human emotion/adrenaline: legalism.

I am for all these things, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I am NOT for them when we do them apart from the supernatural power of God. And here is the heart of the heart of the problem: not one in ten Christians knows how to access the supernatural power of God. This returns us to our default position: do what we do the way we’ve always done stuff, by our own power, which is not acceptable to God.

Christianity is not simply an improvement on our unregenerate state. It is a whole new creation. We become a new spiritual species. It is a supernatural life (I’m not talking signs and wonders here; I’m talking about the Holy Spirit filling an increasingly mature, Scripture saturated, doctrine-loving soul). Church is not a psych-job; it is a supernatural renovation by the indwelling Christ.

Legalism is invisible to the legalist. Put yourself in the Pharisees’ shoes. You’re just trying to be a good person, and love God, and follow his laws… and then you have this long-haired, wandering carpenter/Rabbi yelling at you.  Of course you’re going to get indignant! Of course you’re going to deny his charges!  What does he charge you with?

·         ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” Matthew 23:27, NKJV.

Your behavior is right on, but your heart is a mess. Your behavior springs from a source other than the indwelling Christ, the power of God. You are offering God the produce of human effort, unaided by the Spirit, not energized by the Word. And God may love you, but he hates your offerings.

·         “Therefore the LORD said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,” Isaiah 29:13, NKJV.

·         ““To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?” Isaiah 1:11, 12, NKJV.

The impact of legalism is horrendous. It gets churches bickering over worship wars. It makes generations distrust each other. It causes Christians to judge one another. It makes us superficial. It makes us hypocrites. How many churches still argue over music? How many churches fight over petty things? One pastor I knew removed an unneeded pew from the choir loft, and his board called a special meeting over it.  Yikes!  God help us!

Legalism has the twin results of (1) preoccupying Christians with stupid intramural warfare, and (2) barricading the doors to lost people. We don’t see it that way, though. We see it as “defending the purity of the church.” Right.

Unsaved people can smell our legalism. We can’t, but they can. It may take a while to sniff it out, but they’ll find it.  And once they find it, they’ll be heading for the hills as fast as their unregenerate legs can carry them.

So the church descends into a squabbling pack of Protectors: protecting the church from innovation,  protecting their own self-interests, protecting “the way it’s always been,” protecting their rights to a low-cost country club.  (Was that harsh?) A thousand cuts… each one small… each one no big deal… but cumulatively deadly.

How far from the servant-Church God had in mind when he came to indwell us!  Revival cannot come to a legalistic Church. Before we crusade to fix even one more social ill, we need the power of God. We need to reawaken our hearts to the GRACE of God. We need to send down roots into the love and mercy of God. We need to pause in our doing that we might concentrate on our growing and learning and healing.  I know it’s counter-intuitive. But so was the monastic movement (not that I’m a big fan), but they got something right: the contemplation of God is the strength of the church.

Or, as A.W. Tozer wrote, “No church has ever risen above its conception of God.” Who is God to you? What do you know of him? Do you know his wonderful attributes? His powerful names? His glorious works? When we have best selling books on the nature and attributes of God, on the significance of Calvary, and on walking the fulness of the Spirit, you’ll know that revival is just around the corner.

Your God is too small.

Legalism makes a people-centered Church. Grace makes a God-centered church that loves people.

We need to operate in the power of God.

“What God Has Blessed No Man Can Curse” Rev Jay Dodd

“What God Has Blessed No Man Can Curse”

We must first understand that everything we get from God comes through faith.
Hebrews 11:6-“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” We get salvation by faith and we get everything else that belongs to us because we are born again children of God by faith. Once we are born again then it is up to us to allow our faith to grow and faith only grows one way. Faith only comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God according to Romans 10:17; Most Christians do not realize what belongs to them through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ blessings from God other than they are born again and are on their way to heaven. We have a far greater salvation than most of us realize. We have supernatural healing, supernatural prosperity and a supernatural life here on this earth, we have been given the power to walk victorious and to have total victory over all the power of Satan. To walk in the blessings of God takes revelation knowledge and faith in the Word of God. I would like to shed some light on what the Word says about us being blessed and to let us know that when God does something it cannot be reversed. We will start in the Old Testament with Numbers 22:1-12- 1 Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 2 Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites. 3 And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. 4 The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!”So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor[a] near the Euphrates River.[b] His message said:“Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. 6 Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”7 Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel.[c] They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him. 8 “Stay here overnight,” Balaam said.
“In the morning I will tell you whatever the Lord directs me to say.” So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.9 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 ‘Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.’”12 But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!”
What God has blessed no man can curse. If we are born again children of God then God has placed His blessing upon us and no man can curse us.
Numbers 23:25- Then Balak said to Balaam, “Fine, but if you won’t curse them, at least don’t bless them!” Balak was trying his best to get Balaam to curse the people of God but Balaam can only do what God tells him to do. Balaam told the King that He can only say what God tells him to say. You see, the problem with a lot of good Christians is they speak what the world speaks and not what the Word of God says.
Numbers 23:19-20- 19 God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through? 20Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
It took a lot of persuading to get across to the king that what God has blessed no man can curse. Sometimes it takes a lot of persuading us through the Word to understand that no one can curse what God has blessed and we are blessed. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord no man can change that. God won’t change it and the only way to lose our salvation is for us to walk away from God. He will never walk away from us. Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)- for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
It doesn’t matter who we were before we were born again. We are a new creature in Christ Jesus, we are heirs to God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ according to Romans 8:17 and if that is so and it is then we are truly blessed. We will see in this next passage of scripture who we are once we are born again.
1st Peter 2:9-10-But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[a] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
We are a chosen generation, a holy nation. The Lord is good and His mercy endureth forever. No matter where we were born, who our parents were, how we were raised, what our DNA was or what has happened in our life or what someone has said about us, God has blessed us and no one can curse us. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or does we are a blessed people. Our new DNA is in Christ Jesus.
2nd Corinthians 4:8-9-8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
We will always have trials and temptations but that doesn’t stop us from being blessed. As long as we are on this earth we will have to walk by faith. We need to learn to walk in the blessings of God and we need to say what God says about us. He doesn’t take pleasure in our conversation when it goes against His Word. If we are blessed and we are then we need to say what God says about us.
Ephesians 1:3- 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings.
He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. If God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings then that means all. There aren’t any more.
I had a chance recently to minister to a young man and he wanted me to pray for him that he would be victorious and have a better understanding of God’s Word. I told him I could not pray for him to be victorious because he was victorious. Now I wasn’t being mean, I just wanted him to understand that when he made Jesus His Savior that through Jesus Christ he was already victorious. Next I told him the only prayer I could pray for him to have a better understanding of God’s Word was the Ephesians prayer that Paul prayed for the Ephesian church found in Ephesians 1:17-23. I also explained to him that his faith would only grow according to Romans 10:17: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” Too many Christians are walking around with a low countenance and a defeated attitude. We need to lift up our heads and get a revelation that God has blessed us and no man can do anything to us. Get our eyes off the circumstances because we are blessed. We may not be living where we want to live and we may not be driving what we want to drive and we may not have the job we would like to have but we are blessed and we need to take care of what we have now so God will give us more. We must learn to walk by faith and not by sight. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances look like. We can’t go by circumstances. We can only go by the Word of God. Let us look in the book of Esther and see that circumstances were against Mordecai but those whom God has blessed no man can curse.
Esther 6:2-10- In those records he discovered an account of how Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the door to the king’s private quarters. They had plotted to assassinate King Xerxes.3 “What reward or recognition did we ever give Mordecai for this?” the king asked. His attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”4 “Who is that in the outer court?” the king inquired. As it happened, Haman had just arrived in the outer court of the palace to ask the king to impale Mordecai on the pole he had prepared.5 So the attendants replied to the king, “Haman is out in the court.”“Bring him in,” the king ordered. 6 So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?” Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So he replied, “If the king wishes to honor someone, 8 he should bring out one of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a horse that the king himself has ridden—one with a royal emblem on its head. 9 Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. And let him see that the man whom the king wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s robes and led through the city square on the king’s horse. Have the official shout as they go, ‘This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!’”10 “Excellent!” the king said to Haman. “Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!”
Mordecai was a man blessed of God and Haman wanted to destroy him. It doesn’t matter what or who comes against us if we will just remember we have been blessed by God and we can rise above everything and everyone that rises against us.
Romans 8:31 says ….”if God be for us who can be against us.” Mark 11:23- (KJV) (These are the words of Jesus) 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
We must rise above every circumstance that comes against us and speak the Word over our situation. No matter who we are, where we came from or what has happened in our lives we must remember we are blessed by God and no man can curse us. It may look like we are going under, there will be days when it seems like God is no where around, our best friend just turned their back on us, our family wants nothing to do with us, nothing seems to be going right, but God said back over in Numbers 22 (paraphrasing) “What I have blessed no man can curse.”
Isaiah 54:17- 17 But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from Me. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Nothing that is against us shall prosper. It may look like we’re going down, it may look like there is no way out, we may have just lost our job, we may have just gotten a letter from the bank saying our house is being foreclosed on or our car is being reposed, we may have just found out we have a serious illness, but don’t despair, this is when the big bang theory will come into effect. Right when it seems like we have reached the end then BANG God shows up.
1st Corinthians 10:13- 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. He will never allow you to be tempted beyond that which you are able to withstand.
What God has blessed no man can curse. I have been through a lot of these things and God has seen me through them all. I have been through repossessions, selling a home because it was about to be foreclosed on, having a heart attack in the middle of doing what God sent me to do, being broke with no job. Through it all I just kept doing what God told me to do and confessing His word over every situation and He has made me to prosper and to be in good health because my soul prospered according to 3rd John 1:2- Our soul is our mind, our will, and our emotions. We can’t be controlled by our emotions, we must have our minds renewed by the Word of God and we must get to the point where God’s will is our will. We must continue to speak to our mountain and to put our trust in God not in man and not in ourselves. My God said I am more than a conqueror in Romans 8:37; I am above and not beneath, I am the head and not the tail according to Deuteronomy 28:1-8- “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all His commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: 3Your towns and your fields will be blessed.4 Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.5Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. 7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. Notice the beginning of verse 8: The Lord guarantees His blessing on us. We have God’s Word, His guarantee that we are blessed. A guarantee is something that assures a particular outcome. God’s Word cannot be revoked and His Word does not change. God blesses His people. Colossians 1:11-14- 11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,[a] 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. 13 For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom[b] and forgave our sins. This sounds like we are blessed.
If we will continues to walk worthy of the Lord and increase in the knowledge of Him the more we will realize that we are a blessed people. Don’t be guilty of saying, “I am so unworthy”. What God has blessed no man can curse and that means us. In ourselves we are unworthy but in Christ Jesus we were made worthy no matter how we feel.
Colossians 1:23- 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
We have to be grounded and settled in faith, unwavering in the middle of the storm knowing that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. Knowing that God has blessed us, knowing, knowing, revelation knowledge.
Ephesians 1:17- 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom[a] and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
We must get revelation knowledge of the Word and who we are and what God did for us through His Son Jesus. We must walk by faith through every storm and every circumstance that we come up against us speaking the Word of God only. We are a blessed and a chosen generation.
Philippians 1:6- 6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. What God started He is well able to finish. Romans 4:20-21- 20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.
2nd Corinthians 4:18- “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” The King James version says: “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
We cannot get our eyes on what we see for what we see is temporary but when we get our eyes on God and on Jesus Christ and on His Word then those things are eternal, they will last forever. Remember the words to the song “God on the Mountain”- “God on the mountain is still God in the valley and the God of the good times is still God in the bad times.” He will always see us through and as long as we are on this earth we will have good times and bad times, mountains and valley’s but God has blessed us and what He has blessed no man can curse.

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If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW

What God Has Blessed Joel Osteen

The Old Testament talks about how the king of Moab wanted to curse the Israelites. So he sent word to the prophet Balaam asking him to come to his city. The Israelites were about to come through where the Moabites lived. The king's representative told Balaam, "Balaam, we know that whatever you ask of the Lord He will do. The king will pay you large sums of money if you'll just come back with us and curse these people." Balaam said, "Well, stay overnight and let me pray about it. But understand, I can only say what God tells me to say." Balaam prayed about it, and in Numbers 22:12 God said, "Balaam, there's no use in you going. What I have blessed you cannot curse."

The king's representatives went back and told the king that Balaam wouldn't come. The king said, "Well, take some more money and go back and tell him he's got to come and curse these people." So, they went back and Balaam said, "Listen, guys. Even if you offer me a palace filled with silver and gold, I am powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God." They stayed the night and finally talked Balaam into going. He got there and the king said, "Balaam, what took you so long? I've been waiting for you to curse these people." Balaam said, "I'll pray one more time, but I can only say what the Lord instructs me to say." Balaam prayed, and the next morning he said to the king, "Here is what the word of the Lord says, 'These people will succeed and become a great nation and have descendants too many to count.' If I could just be one of them!" The king said, "Balaam! What are you doing? Would you stop? I'm paying you to curse them; instead, you're blessing them." Balaam said it again, "I cannot curse what God has already blessed."

Friend, when you choose God's way, when you humble yourself before Him, He said He will lift you up. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are born again and have the DNA of Almighty God. His royal blood is flowing through your veins. You're wearing His crown of favor. When somebody tries to curse you, or in other words, when somebody does you wrong, you got a bad break, you went through an unfair situation, or it looks like you have a cloudy future, know what God says about you. Know that if God is for you, no one can be against you. Keep yourself in step with Him, knowing that His blessing overrides the curse!

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