Things have changed over the years. My, how things have changed,
and many of these changes have come within my lifetime. It seems that very few today
who name the name of Christ find any need to live a consecrated life for Him.
What most “Christians” do not understand is that the way we conduct ourselves does
one of two things. It either brings honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
or it disgraces Him. The use of vulgar language; living a licentious life; dressing
indecently; sex outside of marriage; homosexuality, are only a few of those things that are considered
to be sin by biblical standards, and these things cannot be excused within the
realm of the professed Christian’s life.
The sad truth is that, in almost any church, if a man aspires to be sanctified; to
live a consecrated life for Christ; to dare stand and preach against sin or a
sinful life, he most likely will be labeled as a legalist or as an extremist.
Any man who would dare define sin as recorded in the Bible will not be
tolerated for long. However, contending to keep oneself unspotted from the
world while teaching others in the church to do the same is not legalism, it is the duty of the Christian.
The bare bones and the truth of the matter is that Jesus called
sin, sin and did not flinch in doing so. Not once did He ever pull one from the
mire and filth of a sinful life and direct or even insinuate that it was acceptable
for that person to return to the sty. His directive was “go and sin no more”.
It is sad that we some should question today what He actually meant by this
saying.
We can be assured that even though salvation is by Grace
alone, we are not excused of those duties we are expected to perform as
Christians. God’s promise of forgiveness does not give us license to do and live
as we please. We are biblically summoned to live our lives in a manner as to
honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Anyone who thinks they can do this
while walking in rebellion against God’s laws is way off the mark and has received
their teaching from something other than the Bible.
We are commanded
to “Go and sin no more” We are commanded
to “Come ye out from among them and be ye separate”. We are commanded to: “be not conformed to this
world”. We are commanded to “depart
from iniquity”; to “abstain from all appearance of evil”. and the list goes on and on. And yes, these charges remain as current
today as the day in which they were given.
Sin, whether defined in the day of Moses or in the day of
Christ, still remains sin today. Anyone who reads the Bible should understand
what sin is, and what it can and will do to the individual who knowingly
commits it. Yet there are those who read the Bible and attend church each
Sunday, who are inching away from the Godly life. Common logic tells us the
more we inch away the wider the gap becomes.
To answer the question in the title of the paper; no, Jesus
Christ was not legalistic in the sense that we use the term today, but it is a
biblical fact that He required strict obedience from those who would call themselves
his disciples, and by the way, He still does today.
Sam Everett
