The Antidote for Legalism

Daily Reading: Acts 11

Scripture Focus: Who was I that I could stand in God's way? (Acts 11.17)

Devotional Thought: Cornelius was a Gentile – a non-Jew.  Peter went into his home and ate with him!  That was taboo in the Jewish culture of the day.  When Peter returned to Jerusalem, there were some legal sticklers who “criticized him and said, ‘You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them!’” (Acts 11.3, NIV)  Oh my! 

The Church, like all other religious groups throughout history, must always be mindful of legalistic tendencies.  What is the antidote for that?  Simply put: The Holy Spirit!

Peter pointed out the work of the Holy Spirit as evidence that these new believers were truly converted.  Nothing convinces us of someone’s spiritual authenticity more than the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  After all, the Spirit is a gift from God.  If God gives this “sealing” gift to a person, who are we to claim otherwise?  We will, of course, see evidence of the gift of the Spirit in their lives.   After all, what really convinced Peter and his entourage that Cornelius and the others were filled with the Spirit was that they were praising God.  We also have another criterion to help us know if someone is Spirit-filled: the fruit of the Spirit.  People who are filled with the Spirit will display: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5.22-23).

The Holy Spirit is an antidote administered directly to the person who has been infected by the legalistic spirit!  Look again at the fruit of the Spirit.  When we are tempted to be judgmental and legalistic, let’s recommit ourselves to the Spirit-endowed fruit of love… patience… kindness… gentleness… and self-control…  Pray for the Spirit to fill you and soften your heart.

Prayer: Fill me, O Lord, with your Holy Spirit that the fruit of the Spirit may grow in my life.  Help me to fight tendencies of legalism and criticism and hypocrisy.  Grant me a spirit of grace and forbearance and sincerity.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 69.22-28

22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.

23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.

24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.

25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.

26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.

27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you.

28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.