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088 | How to Find Freedom from Legalism
391 Plays2 years ago
In this episode Phylicia breaks down the importance of laying aside legalism while also sharing her own journey.
She also explores how legalism can come from places you may not expect.
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Transcript
Introduction to Verity Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Verity Podcast. I'm your host, Felicia Mason-Heimer, and I am here to teach you how to know what you believe, to live it boldly, and to communicate it graciously to the world around you. I believe that women are ready to go deeper in their faith than ever before, and they don't have to go to seminary to do it. I am so glad you're here, and I hope you'll join me on this journey because every woman is a theologian.
00:00:30
Speaker
Hi friends and welcome back to Verity podcast. I am looking out at a beautiful snowy landscape as I record this for you. We are finally getting our snow for the month of November. It's a little bit late this year. We usually have snow on the ground at Halloween and it gave us a couple of weeks probably so we could get Verity conference off the ground. I'm sure that was the reason.
00:00:55
Speaker
We're so grateful that Verity conference went so well and that we did not have snow on the ground and we were moving everything in for that. And now we get to enjoy this beautiful landscape now that we're resting up.
Understanding Legalism
00:01:08
Speaker
As I was thinking about what to do for this week's episode, the Lord kept laying on my heart the topic of legalism. And many of you who have followed Verity podcast for years or have followed every woman a theologian know that
00:01:25
Speaker
Legalism is something that I care a lot about. I would even say that the subgroup that I work with the most within Christianity are people who are coming out of legalism and coming into a fully free and confident faith. So I am very passionate about helping people
00:01:47
Speaker
break free from the chain of legalism, whether that's conservative legalism or progressive legalism, because as I'll talk about a little bit in this podcast episode, those are both types of bondage that people experience today. And if you listen to last week's episode, which was the recording of the Q&A panel from Verity Conference, I said in that panel,
00:02:14
Speaker
that I feel called to people who are trapped in legalism because legalism is the farm team for deconstruction. And what I mean by that is people who live in legalistic church environments where the law is heavy will remain in a perpetual state of spiritual immaturity or babyhood.
00:02:38
Speaker
in their Christian faith. They never actually grow up into a confident faith that is led by the Holy Spirit, able to discern of their own will based on Scripture and based on the Spirit's leading. They have a very stunted spiritual experience. Oftentimes, they don't understand the Holy Spirit at all. They either
00:02:59
Speaker
Only live by the letter of the law or they live by the license of their will so they don't know how to align themselves to What God is asking them to do in specific circumstances and because of that
00:03:13
Speaker
I am passionate about helping people break free from that legalism so that they can know Jesus and how good he is, but also so they can actually experience the abundant life that Jesus promised. It's one reason I talk about the Holy Spirit so much. And I also talk about legalism a lot because I am a recovering legalist, if you will.
00:03:35
Speaker
I wouldn't say that I still struggle with legalism, but I spent enough time there that I know what it is like and I know the weaknesses of that belief system and how tempting it is to turn something into a law because legalism is man's shortcut to holiness. It's our way of not having to sit and listen, not having to be intimate with God, not having to spend time with him and instead just follow the rules and check all the boxes.
00:04:04
Speaker
whether those are conservative boxes or progressive boxes. Thank you so much to our sponsors who made Verity Conference possible last week. We want to thank Daily Grace Company, producer of fantastic, beautiful, accessible Bible studies that reach women around the world, as well as Crossway Publishers, Lifeway, Dwelled Differently,
00:04:29
Speaker
Tag Coffee Company and Hosanna Revival for participating in Verity Conference and providing resources that equipped the women who attended both in-person and online. Verity Conference and Verity Podcast are both available to you thanks in part to these sponsors. Thank you again to Crossway, Lifeway, The Daily Grace Company, Dwell Differently, Tag Coffee Company, and Hosanna Revival.
Felicia's Journey from Legalism
00:04:59
Speaker
So I want to actually read you a blog post that I have on my website on this topic because I thought, you know, I've already written about this, so I'm just going to read what I wrote about this years and years ago in a post called How I Left Legalism Without Leaving God.
00:05:18
Speaker
I am a product of purity culture. I wore the ring, I read the books, and I didn't date in high school. I could tell you anything you wanted to know about courtship. I was immersed in the culture through my teen years, both as a student and as a leader within the movement.
00:05:35
Speaker
I judged the girls who did things differently. I judged the girls who dated or who kissed before marriage. But in one year, the rules I'd accepted as law were overcast with a shadow of doubt. I wondered if it was all a big lie, this Christian life, this righteous living, this purity. I was at a crossroads. And that was the day I left legalism.
00:05:57
Speaker
There are entire forums designed for people scarred by purity culture and fundamentalism. A movement that began with good intentions has developed a cultish following, complete with rings and signed commitments and lists of dos and don'ts. To a society immersed in freedom of sexuality, the whole thing is absurd. To churches more concerned with grace and holiness, it's extremist.
00:06:21
Speaker
But to those within the movement, it makes perfect sense. Legalism never starts with judgment. It starts with a genuine desire to please God. Because God does command us to walk in purity, 1 Corinthians 6. And God expects holiness from all who claim His name. But that's easier said than done. So legalism makes holiness seem easier to do by replacing a living relationship with a list of rules.
00:06:50
Speaker
It always starts with God's standards, but legalism adds to them. The marriage bed should be honored, but courtship or submission is the only way. Women are to submit to their own husbands and all men within the church. Wives are to be keepers of the home.
00:07:08
Speaker
and never work outside of it. These philosophies don't happen overnight, nor do they always begin an ill will. What makes them appealing is their ability to shortcut the walk of faith. Because rings and rules are the easy route. It is easier to follow a list than pursue the Spirit of God.
00:07:29
Speaker
It is easier to sign a paper than to dedicate our hearts to the Most High. And it is easier to follow the applause of man than to seek the quiet approval of Jesus Christ. Legalism is sneaky. It convinces us that the guidelines we've added to achieve holiness were written by God Himself. When we believe that man's rules are actually God's, when the rules fail us, we blame our disillusionment on God when it's not even His fault.
00:07:58
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This is why girls who were raised write rebel. This is why the purity movement often doesn't work. And this is why people reject a Christianity that actually isn't Christianity at all.
00:08:12
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God never said you have to marry the first person you date or the first person you kiss. He said, be holy as I'm holy, 1 Peter 1. God never said women could never speak up in church or have dreams or work outside the home. He said, submit to your own husbands.
00:08:30
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Ephesians 5. God didn't command us to save our first kiss for marriage or avoid every single possible thing that could be sexual. He said, be pure. 1 Corinthians 6.
00:08:45
Speaker
Legalism drives a wedge between the truth of God and our hearts. It removes the necessity of a daily relationship with the Lord because all we need to do is follow the rules. It is not spirit-led. It is not Jesus-focused. And it is not grace-driven. God's goal is not to produce a bunch of rule followers, but an army of Christ followers whose dedication to Him produces lives of holiness.
00:09:11
Speaker
So I left legalism. I stopped following the rules and began seeking the spirit of the living God within me, a voice I'd muffled with my own ideas of what righteousness was supposed to be. I sought Him where He waits to be found, in His word and on my knees. And as I sought Him, He led me to purity. My husband and I still waited until our wedding day.
00:09:34
Speaker
I still love my children and love my home. I still am involved in my church. I'm still pursuing holiness in different areas of life. And I don't do it because I'm bound to a list of limiting rules. I do it because I was shown grace while still a Pharisee.
00:09:52
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I do it because I finally looked in God's word for myself and read what it said. Legalistic Christianity is not Christianity. It is man's commentary on God's commands.
00:10:06
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Galatians 1, 9-10 says, As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed. For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
00:10:27
Speaker
Don't be deceived. Look into God's word for yourself. Don't reject Him based on the actions of so-called followers. The walk of faith is a walk of freedom. Holiness comes by the Spirit of God, inspiring us to action, for Christ came that we may have life and have it abundantly.
00:10:49
Speaker
The legalism that I allowed myself to be immersed in was the typical kind. The kind that we most easily recognize and is most talked about online. Conservative legalism. What you wear.
00:11:04
Speaker
how you date, you know, what you watch, things like that. And if you've listened to anything I've ever said about holiness, you know that I believe what we watch and how we dress matters immensely. Listen to the episode on modesty. Listen to the episodes on discernment.
00:11:20
Speaker
We do need to take care of what we're consuming and how it's shaping us. It's a discernment process we need to walk in, but that's the whole point. It's a discernment process and it can't be shortcut by someone else just telling you what you can and can't watch.
00:11:37
Speaker
I grew up with people who would go to a movie theater in another city because they were so afraid of what people in our city would say if they saw them at a movie theater. And that's an example of a fear-based conviction. It isn't even a conviction, it's legalism, it's law because you're afraid of what people will say about your choices. So you're not actually operating in the leadership of Christ on your life.
00:12:07
Speaker
You're not actually operating in freedom. You're in bondage to what people will say about your choices Which means that either your choices aren't led by God at all most likely and they could actually be choices that are damaging you or maybe the movie that you were watching is completely harmless and yet you're still living and
00:12:28
Speaker
in a human-led spirituality. You're worshipping what people say about you. You're worshipping what people think of you instead of operating in the freedom and peace of Christ.
Manifestations of Legalism
00:12:42
Speaker
That's what legalism does. Legalism is the ultimate people-pleasing. And this is why you can have both conservative and progressive legalism. It's just a different set of laws. Conservative legalism, like I said, you know,
00:12:58
Speaker
don't drink, smoke, or chew, or go with boys that do kind of thing. But then progressive legalism oftentimes looks like, well, you need to be more open to dismantling your theology and maybe even getting rid of some really important core doctrines about Christ. Or maybe it's politics like you need to vote Democrat or you need to vote
00:13:20
Speaker
for certain things or maybe you need to not be pro-life because that's not nuanced enough or maybe whatever the countless new rules are within their camp, that's their legalism. You're not a loving Christian because you didn't meet these benchmarks. You didn't meet these check marks. And I talked about this on Instagram this week. It's literally just the inverse of
00:13:46
Speaker
in the book of Luke where Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. We love to use this story to talk about legalism because we say, look, there's this Pharisee and this tax collector, and they're both praying to God. And the Pharisee says, oh, God, thank you so much that I am nothing like that sinner over there, those adulterers, those swindlers. I'm nothing like that man over there.
00:14:13
Speaker
But thank you that I am so righteous. And the tax collector meanwhile is beating his breast and saying, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
00:14:25
Speaker
And in that story, when we read that story, we're so quick to assume that we are the tax collector instead of the Pharisee. And oftentimes in progressive spaces, what you'll see is this constant pointing of the finger towards the Pharisee as the typical conservative legalist with no awareness that they have actually become the Pharisee themselves.
00:14:49
Speaker
Oh God, thank you that I am nothing like those Baptists and those Mennonites and those people who are so conservative, those pro-lifers, those Republicans. Hmm, it's the exact same thing that's happening on the conservative side. Oh God, thank you that I am nothing like those Democrats and those progressives and those people who are evil in all of these ways.
00:15:17
Speaker
Do you see the heart issue here? The heart issue is self-righteousness. I have no need of God. I have no need to walk by the Spirit. I have no need to operate in his sanctification.
00:15:37
Speaker
And this is not a statement about politics. Well, I guess it is. Let's just be honest. And I am unequivocally pro-life from womb to tomb. But I will say that we need to be aware that whatever side of the political spectrum you're on in America, and then of course around the world, because I know we have international listeners who you don't have our political parties, but you definitely have issues of your own within your country.
00:16:05
Speaker
The question we have to ask is, have I assumed that I am the tax collector and the Gospel of Luke who is repentant and open to God, or am I actually operating as the Pharisee?
00:16:21
Speaker
Am I living as the one who believes I am sinless and I have done nothing wrong and I have no need of grace? Because people who do not believe they need grace will not give it to others. And that is a characteristic of legalism. When we decide who gets the grace of God, who's too far gone for the grace of God, who is too pagan, too lost for the grace of God, when we
00:16:50
Speaker
designate those people, we have forgotten who the gospel is for. Those who are forgiven much will forgive much and will love much. And of course, this doesn't mean that we change the gospel's heart or that we make compromises on the truth.
00:17:08
Speaker
or on the values of Christianity, but it does mean that we recognize legalism when it's sneaking up on us and we allow the Spirit of God to set us free from it.
Intimacy with Jesus vs. Legalism
00:17:20
Speaker
So this episode could go so much more in depth, but I think I'll leave it there for now. And hopefully something from this gave you some food for thought and some encouragement.
00:17:34
Speaker
I pray for those who are coming out of legalism that you would understand to the absolute depth of your soul just how much grace God has in Christ for you. He has already earned the righteousness that you desire. He has already proven
00:18:04
Speaker
and justified you. So your only job, according to Jesus in John 15, is to abide in Him, to remain in constant connection with Him, to live in Him. Your only job is to remain connected to Him. And when you do that, Jesus said, you will bear much fruit and so prove to be His disciples.
00:18:30
Speaker
If you really want to prove that you are his disciple, the solution is not meeting the benchmarks of progressivism or conservatism.
00:18:42
Speaker
If you want to prove that you are Jesus' disciple, you will abide an intimate relationship with Him through His word and through prayer and through following the leading of the Holy Spirit. And if you need help with any of those things, I have episodes about all of them. And we have resources and the Every Woman a Theologian Shop.
00:19:03
Speaker
So those are there to help you. We have episodes just in the last couple of weeks on how to pray, how to walk by the Spirit, and how to hear the voice of God. So all of those would be helpful to you in this. But my prayer for you is that you would know the freedom that he has for you.
Experiencing Freedom through Jesus
00:19:18
Speaker
Jesus came that you may be truly free.
00:19:23
Speaker
that you may experience abundant life. And that's not just eternally. That begins now. And abundant life means one that is not in bondage to the opinions of people or in fear of what people are saying about you or to you.
00:19:40
Speaker
It's walking by the Holy Spirit and if you have made sinful decisions, repenting of those and turning from them and walking in the justification of Jesus Christ. He is your advantage. He died on the cross for a reason and you get to live as if that's true. Legalism cannot save you and it will never protect you and it will always betray you. But Jesus Christ will do none of those things.
00:20:12
Speaker
And thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Verity Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, would you take the time to leave us a review? It helps so many other women around the world find out about Verity and about every woman a theologian as a ministry and a shop. We appreciate you, and I hope you'll be back next week as we continue to go deeper into God's word and the heart of Jesus Christ.