Legalism (part 2)

Sorry for the wait, guys, I've been on vacation for a while now. Allow me to continue...

This brings us to another question: What laws are we to follow?

I think we can all agree that we no longer need to make animal sacrifices for our sins, because Christ has become the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. But there are a few laws concerning the way that Hebrews were to dress, eat, and behave, that are fairly unclear in the New Testament as to whether or not to follow them. And Paul shares a good motto in Romans 14:22 to make things easier.

“So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.” (Ro. 14:22)

So you must follow your own personal convictions, and not condemn others for not following your convictions. You must be careful, though, to let your heart be soft, and allow another person’s convictions to affect your thoughts. God may plan to change your heart on the subject.

I would also like to state another scripture that may help. Though I don’t think it’s talking about the law, I give this as an effective parallel.

“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Mt. 5:29-30)

My Bible’s notes on this verse say that it means to deal drastically with sin, but I would like to suggest you imagine that it is talking about following the law. The verse is not talking about giving up sins as if you were losing a part of your body, for eyes and hands can be very good and useful things. But sometimes things that can be used for good seem to have sinful tendencies connected to them, and you may have to give them up before you can conquer the sin. Eating only clean meat is a good thing, but if it causes you to become prideful about what you eat, then do away with it. It is better for you to have an unhealthy body and live at peace with your brothers than for your healthy body to go into hell. I think that following the whole law should be a Christian’s goal, only giving up parts of it when they distance you from God.