Church Planters Reject Legalism

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a

podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

When I first started understanding the Good News of Jesus and of his love for

me, I paid careful attention to the testimonies of my new Christian friends.

One of the things they talked about constantly was what they called “a

personal relationship with Christ.” I did not know what it meant to have a

personal relationship with Christ, but I soon learned. Here is what they taught

me: They told me that God loved me very much and that his love for me was

unconditional. They told me that because he loves me, God sent his only Son

to die on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. They told me that if I put my

trust in him, he would forgive me and I could experience an abundant life. As I

heard these things, I thought to myself, “If that is what a personal relationship

with Christ is like, I want it.” Soon I was born again and I had a personal

relationship with Jesus. It was wonderful! I had such peace in my life. I loved

to talk with God and learn from his word. I knew Jesus and I knew he cared for

me. I wanted to love him and I wanted to serve him.

I’m so glad my friends pointed me to Jesus and invited me to know him and to

love him. I thought this was the way all Christians lived. But soon I heard about

Christians who took their focus off of Jesus and his love and instead spent much

of their time making lists of rules about how Christians should live. I met

people who argued about which translation of the Bible was acceptable and

which was not. I met people who argued about what kind of clothes were

acceptable for worshipping God and which kind were not. I soon learned that

some Christians spent a lot of time arguing about whether or not Christians

could play sports or other games. When I heard these arguments, I knew

something was wrong. Soon I figured it out. These people had taken their

focus off of Christ and off of his love for them and their love for him. Instead

they were focusing on controlling the behavior of others. As a result they were

sad and angry.

Paul, the exemplary church planters tells us in Colossians 2 that we should not

let anyone judge us about religious rules. He says in in verses 16 and 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.”

Paul was saying that the Christian life is all about the love of God in Jesus

Christ. The Christian life is not about pleasing people by obeying an endless

list of manmade rules. No! The Christian life is about experiencing the love of

God in Jesus Christ. The Christian life is about loving Jesus. It’s about

expressing our love for him by joyfully obeying his commands. Focusing on

manmade rules only leads to discouragement and fighting among believers.

The better way is to focus on Jesus and his love.

My brother, my sister, as you lead your church and make disciples, I am

confident that you will keep your focus on Jesus and not on manmade rules. As

you do so you will plant heathy churches built on a solid foundation.

This is Multiply. Be encouraged. God is with us!

If you have found this message to be helpful, would you say thanks to the

person who shared it with you and tell him or her how it helped you? God bless

you today!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #SayNotoLegalism

www.vcpencouragement.org