There are some aspects of this life that are black and white, right or wrong.  For these issues, we are all held at the same level of accountability unto God – they aren’t debatable.  For some issues though, God knows our individual strengths and weaknesses and He gives us each heavier convictions in different areas.  These personal convictions are often what cause us to become the Body of Christ fitly joined together. Yet, we have to keep in mind that as diverse as we are, the standard of the Bible is for everyone.  Even though God convicts us more strongly in particular areas, we have to strive to be accountable to the Bible across the board.  We all have to eat the same spiritual meat and we all must live according to the Word.

As time goes on and society becomes more accustomed to religions, it is easy to feel the need to make things more structured and to widely publicize the “rules” of our religion or denomination. We might feel like we need that delineation to prove what makes “us” better than “them.” While it is wonderful to have the structure and those guidelines to keep unity and harmony amongst the congregation, we must be very careful to walk that line between Christianity’s diversity/liberty and a religion’s legalism.

Legalism says you must do something in order to earn God’s grace.

Mark 7, along with Colossians 2, lets us know that you cannot earn the grace of God by following a set of rules. Observing religious ceremonies could be a good thing, but it is unable to make us right enough to deserve grace. Ephesians 2 tells us that God’s grace is “not of works lest any man should boast.”  Legalism negates the Law of Christ that frees us from bondage. God’s grace is freely given. (Galatians 5:1-6)  Therefore, no matter how unifying it may seem, legalism is a trap of bondage and is always a wrong viewpoint!

Even though legalism is always wrong, personal discipline is always a good thing. (I Corinthians 9:27) We have to practice denying ourselves all the time, because in self-denial lies the essence of yielding our lives to God. (Luke 9:23) We must utilize this discipline to crucify our flesh daily, for it is only by crucifying our carnal man that we become more open to God’s Spirit. (Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:16) While denial of pleasurable things cannot lead to salvation, it does remind us that we have to conquer our physical desires in order to do what pleases God.

Realize that we can’t throw our convictions of discipline onto others since it is personal to each individual; we can only share those right/wrong, black/white issues that have clear and concise answers in God’s Truth.  We cannot bring others under bondage by burdening them with the disciplines that arise from our own conscience.

Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” We should not be robbed of our Christian liberty. We can’t place ourselves under any undue, stressful regulations.  We should enjoy life and walk in the freedom that only Christ can give.  We must realize that there is liberation when we are able to discipline ourselves, when we are no longer controlled by our sinful flesh. (I Corinthians 6:12) Remember that all things may be lawful, but not all things are edifying. Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean that you should. Liberty should empower faith and freedom, not yield unbridled, sinful self-gratification. (I Corinthians 10:23)

Yes, Christianity is a liberated life-style and God came to free us from all chains. Yet in order to walk in that TOTAL freedom, we have to be disciplined enough to deny ourselves, and hence walk in the liberation that Christ gave. Remember: “Grace is not a license to sin, it is the God-given ability to be freed from the chains of sin.”