Answer Yes or No to the following questions:
1) God's love for me depends on how well I behave and what I do. I always feel like I have something to prove to God.
2) Meeting the expectations of others, especially those in my congregation or in positions of spiritual authority, is vital.
3) Moral/ethical questions are usually black or white- only hand-wringing, bleeding-heart types see gray areas.
4) I try hard to obey God. It irritates me that others think they can get away with avoiding the same level of dedication and sacrifice.
5) I fall short because I don't have enough faith, I haven't prayed enough, or because I just need to be a better person and "get it right".
6) God is angry with me because I'm a sinner. My main goal in life is to try to regain God's favor by doing things that will impress Him.
7) My sense of spiritual security/well-being is linked to a certain Christian leader or membership in my church rather than a personal relationship with God.
8) I tell my children not to do things in church or around other Christian families that I allow in my home.
9) I believe my church has all the answers as God's only true church- that other Christians may be sincere, but are sincerely wrong.
10) The exterior choices a person makes in what they wear, hairstyle, piercings, tattoos, etc. is a clear measure of that person's character.
11) I sometimes worry that people might take advantage of Grace if it's preached too much— people might think they can do anything they want if they see God as loving and merciful.
12) After being around other churchgoers for extended periods of time I feel drained— weary of putting up a false front.
13) When I miss a service or activity of my church I feel like a bad person. If I say "no" to any task for church I feel guilty.
14) I'm likely to get to Heaven, though I'm far from perfect, because I try to be a good person and God takes that into account.
15) My church does not encourage people to ask questions or examine other points of view. Those who do are very likely to be ostracized.
16) I believe in doing my best and God will do the rest. I give my effort and God will meet me half way for my salvation.
17) I view the problems in my life as Divine punishment for my mistakes or because God is displeased with me..
18) My church encourages me to hang out only with people who believe exactly like I do and puts down other belief systems.
19) I constantly wonder where I stand with God. I never feel good enough. Sometimes I even lose sleep over it.
20) Because of all I know about the Bible, I feel obligated and justified in pointing out the errors in other people's lives.
How did you do??
(If you answered "Yes" to 3 or more of these questions, you may need to re-examine what you believe- in light of the Gospel.)
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9 comments:
Wow. That was a really great post. Did you write that or did you find it somewhere. I think we all need to sit back occasionally and ask ourselves these questions to keep it all in check.
I hope you're doing well.
#3) What if you believe the Gospel is cut and dry, black and white? What if what the two sides are arguing about is not the gospel and its a third thing? There was the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Truth.... :) :) :)
Love you, sister. Have a great Sabbath!
Brian, I don't think you have to worry about being a legalist. I had a long week. ;o)
Lisa, I sure hope you are feeling better very soon!
Lily, do you have a blog? When I clicked on your name, it didn't pull up anything. I hope your husband and his family have been able to separate himself from the legalism he was raised in. I was a MAJOR legalist at one point and I'm still coming out of it. God loves legalists and I don't think He ever stops calling to our hearts. Legalism tends to make us angry, unloving people. If one is fed the message that they are never good enough during childhood, they tend to be angry inside and avoid emotional connections because they feel so undeserving. It's not hopeless though, because I have seen tremendous changes in my life. In fact, my entire direction turned around...
Kristin, I found some of these questions on a website for recovering legalists, but I added a few from my own experience. :o)
Hi There David, you must have posted while I was replying to the other comments... didn't mean to ignore you.
It's all about being immersed in living relationship with God and covered in His mercy. But even that, I cannot do, it only comes from the Spirit moving in me.
According to my understanding, Saducees were not the opposite of the Pharisees. They were also teachers of the law and religious people who detested Jesus, but they did not believe in a resurrection. Lazurus was raised in front of their very eyes, but it was not enough to win them. Sadly, their preconceived ideas of what the Messiah would be blinded them of seeing Who He really was.
I used to see everything in black or white. Now I realize there are more shades of gray than most people want to admit. Gray areas frighten people and challenge us to listen for the Voice of God in our personal lives and to move as He speaks to the heart.
Great post!
I'm going to direct a few friends to this post who I think will find it insightful.
Outstanding, Trailady. Having been in a legalistic environment up until 2 years ago, I completely agree with this. Good stuff, sister.
Hey Chad, thanks for stopping by and for sending some visitors my way. Bless you! :o)
Andy, Isn't it an amazing journey- this walk with God?! It will be such a relief to be on the other side and know with certainty who God is, because we will actually BE WITH HIM. :o)
Great list. Not sure if all those are related to legalitsts alone. I've known some pretty strongly grace-based individuals who resembled some of this, but motivated totally and completely by their love for Christ and realizing that He is interested in and has standards covering every area of our lives. I love what a friend of mine in college said, "I'm liberal with others, but conservative for myself." I did have to chuckle as we've been dealing with some of these very issues in the congregation we just left. Just for the sake of humor, are you gonna put a list for the opposing viewpoint?
Hi Karl, I don't know. Do you mean "You might be a Liberal If?" I'm not sure what questions I would ask for that one... As I've said before, I don't often use the terms 'Liberal' and 'Conservative' because they are usually pretty relavent depending on who you're talking with. To some, I'm considered conservative, but to others I'm liberal. I think the important thing is to live by conviction of the Holy Spirit and try not to judge where someone else is at. God works with people in different ways...
It's a difficult line to walk to try and sort things out- what is true and what is false and point out inconsistencies or areas of your faith that need to be improved and not hate anyone or be judgemental.
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