Beware of the judgmental spirit of legalism

Just as we value and defend our personal freedoms, we should guard against anyone who wants to steal our spiritual freedoms in Christ. The good news of the message of Christ is that we have been set free to live in the power of Christ, to choose to live for God and drink from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
We have been set free from the punishment of a law we were unable to keep. We live by grace through faith.
Sadly many Christians are unaware of the extent of this freedom in Christ. Many allow others to judge them or they judge themselves by legalistic standards in stead of enjoying the abundant life that Jesus has given us in his mercy.

Beware of the judgmental spirit of legalism
Col 2: 16 – 17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Have you noticed that within Christianity there is sometimes a judgmental spirit? Far too often we encounter a Christian, even a whole “church of Christians”, who is that way. You feel like they are always looking over your shoulder comparing you to some personal preference that they have for you, to live up to. Sometimes you hear Christians talking about other people in the most negative way possible, putting them down for something they did or failed to do.

As followers of Christ, we desire to be obedient to him. That is what following Christ is all about –– seeking to hear his voice and to follow where he leads. We should be concerned about righteousness and justice and live pure and simple lives. We want our children to learn Christian values. We do not condone sin. If Christians do not stand for what is right and holy, who will?

But when we move from a broken-hearted attitude of love and compassion for a lost world to a hardhearted attitude of self-righteous judgment, because other Christians have different views about negligible causes and ideas about right living, we have become unrighteous ourselves.

We’ve been set free to live for Christ. We are free to do anything and everything that we can do in Christ. So, do not let anyone judge you by so-called righteousness that keeps itself busy with the shadows of reality in stead of being focussed on living for Jesus.
We have been set free from the judgmental spirit of legalism. We are free to live for the Lord and to enjoy the bounty of his grace.