Are You Putting Yourself Under The Law?

There are so many scriptures that tell us that God tests our hearts, He knows the secrets of our hearts, He is concerned with the state of our heart.  (Psalm 7:9, 44:21, Proverbs 15:11, 17:3, 21:2, 24:12)

I ask you today to examine your heart.  Look inside and see if any of these statements describe you.

Do you go to church because you have to?  Do you read your Bible because you have to?  Do you worship because you have to?  Do you tithe because you have to?

Does your mind weigh your actions on a balance sheet?  A column for wrong actions and a column for right ones and you try to make sure the right ones outweigh the wrong ones?  Going to church, for example, cancels out the fact that you cussed someone out the other day.

Do you ever question whether you are worthy of God's love?  Do you question whether you will make it into heaven?  Do you feel guilt and condemnation?  Do you lack peace?

How many of these things can you answer yes to?

If this describes you, you are putting yourself under the law.  I say to you, that you do not have a true revelation of God's grace and love!  You do not truly understand the work of the cross.

"But," you say, "we must obey God's Word!"  

It comes down to your heart's motivation.  Ask yourself, "Do I do these things to be on God's good side, to attain His love?  Or am I responding out of gratitude of His love for me?"  You see, there is a big difference.  It is the difference between life and death, peace and misery.

You see, God loved you first.  (Please read I John 4:7-19)  God loved you while you were a sinner.  He sent His Son to die in your place, for your sins!  How many of your sins were yet future when Jesus died?  All of them!  Christ died for your past, present, and even future sins!  Until you wrap your brain around that one, you won't stop trying to attain His forgiveness and love through your works.

It is our human nature to try to work things out ourselves, to work out our own salvation.  The first humans on earth, Adam and Eve, tried to work it out themselves.  They covered themselves with fig leaves, but God came and showed them that it wasn't enough.  Our works will never quite be good enough.  The blood of an innocent animal had to be shed to cover their sin.  Jesus' blood had to be shed to cleanse our sin.

Christ came to fulfill the law.  The requirements of the law were death to those that broke it.  You and I were born law-breakers.  Christ took our place, He died so we don't have to.  Paul tells us that we were crucified WITH Him!  Let that sink in.  If we were crucified with Him, then we are dead!  Dead to the law and dead to sin.  Can the courts condemn a dead man?  Certainly not!  If you are saved, the law can't touch you.  But the good news is that if you are dead to sin, you are alive in Christ!

Where you full of joy when you got saved, but now are finding the "burden" of the Christian life too much to bear?  All the things you do aren't bringing you peace?  This is the trap of legalism.  Legalism brings bondage and death.  You have just traded your bondage in sin for a bondage to the law.  But the law was given so that we would sin even more!  Sound crazy?  Read Romans 5:20.  The law was to show us that there is NO way we could ever be justified on our own merit and that we have need of a Savior.

Jesus came to fulfill the law, He has actually called us to a higher law, the law of love.  He said His burden was easy and light to bear.  However, we can only walk in His way if we totally and completely depend on His strength, His grace, and truly have a full understanding of His unconditional love, grace, mercy, and redemptive work!

You see it comes down to the motivations of your heart, that is what God looks at.  Are you going through the "Christianity" motions to work for God's love OR do you truly love to worship Him, truly love to go to church, truly love to give the tithe?  And when you slip up, are you confident of God's unconditional love for you?

This is the real difference between Christianity and all other religions.  The other religions of the world tell you what you must do to be right.  God says, you can do nothing, I have done it all.  And it is blasphemy to try to add to that work!

The good news is that forgiveness is available for you and you can start fresh.  Start by studying this concept.  Study this until the light bulb comes on for you.  Here is a list of references to get you started:

Romans 8

Ephesians 2:1-10

Book of Galatians (yes, the whole book, it's a short one!)

Study commentaries on Galatians and Romans, Dr. Chuck Missler's are great.

I also recommend listening to some teaching by Andrew Wommack on the subject.  He has free downloads on his site, here.

Above all, pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling.  (Eph. 1:17-18)