9.Jan.2010 at 9 | xn
The Soft Legalism of Practical Christian Living
A lot of church worship turns me off because it’s self-focused. There, I said it.
“Lord, I promise to do this for you.”
“Jesus, I’ll be holy.”
“God, I’m so rotten.”
Where’s the focus here? On ME. And we think that’s good, because we’re talking the “right” way – humbly, recognizing our sin, repentant – about ourselves.
But it’s still self-focused, not Jesus-focused. And often it’s still legalistic. Which leads to performance-based thinking, despair, and/or hypocrisy. None of which is good news.
This quote from Wayne Jacobsen’s Lifestream Blog summed it up perfectly:
Once I began to understand what it means to live loved, I started seeing the gospel afresh in many places. I’m seeing how essential it is to keep the gospel in the foreground, to stay near the Cross and not slide into a soft legalism of “practical Christian living” that makes what I do the main thing rather than what Christ has done (and continues to do) for me.
Here’s to a joy-filled year, learning to “live loved”, focusing on “Jesus+nothing“, and rediscovering the GOOD in the Good News.
See you at the feast.
I really should mention that what I describe in my post has NOT been my experience at CalvarySLO. In fact, that was our main criterium in picking a church when we moved to SLO; we wanted a church that was Christ-focused. The first time we visited CalvarySLO, the difference was apparent.
Jesus is being lifted up, and is drawing all men to Himself. If you’re thirsty for that, come visit.