Obedience and Legalism

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28)

Even so faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17)

What is the difference between obeying God and legalism?

Legalism is following the word of God but so is obeying the Lord but why does the Bible always carry a bad annotation to the word legalism?

Reading through Romans today, I came upon the answer to the question.

The difference is in the heart. Obeying the Lord comes from grace. Works done in obedience is an expression of Love to the lord because you have been saved by the grace of God. However, legalism is works done to earn the grace of God.

Sometimes, I feel that I am doing some things out of legalism rather than out of obedience. Why do you spend your weekday nights for youth meetings or weekends for church and meetings? Is it because you have to do it like how Maybelle and Jess feels that if you do not believe in the bible you will go to hell?

Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Do you always have to find time in your life for God? Whether is it to do your quiet time early in the morning or finding time to read the bible?

I believe that the key issue is not the reading of the bible in the day or the doing of the quiet time that determines your relationship with God? It is the attitude or the heart that draws you to read the bible or do your quiet time in the morning. Why do you do your reflections or for me, writing this blog in the middle of the night? Sharing my daily thoughts and reflections to people that maybe reading the blog, maybe my friends, my people in the cell?

I'm praying that its coming out of a heart of gratitude for the lord who has saved me through grace and me wanting to share the faith with others that are reading rather than just trying to glorify myself or trying to get into God's good books by earning salvation which is in fact already given to me due to God's grace.

My prayer for the day is that the people of Christ would do good works out of grace that overflows from them rather than being forced to do good works to earn their right to heaven. And that the lord would bless us whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered ; whom the lord will never count against sin.(Romans 4:7-8). Amen.


“If the Lord bid me fly, I should trust Him for the wings.” John Wesley