On the edge

Today all I have is a perspective on what some would call "on the edge" Christian living.

I guess the first issue to address is the fact that "liberal" and "conservative" are relative terms. What is liberal/conservative to the Southern Baptist denomination is different from what is liberal/conservative to say, the Anglicans.

And then there is the issue of legalism. Legalism in the narrow sense simply means following the rules strictly. (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/legalism) However in Christian circles, legalism has come to mean the attitude that focuses on pleasing God through perfect obedience and good works, instead of working to obey Him out of love and thankfulness for His already finished work of redemption. It encompasses everything from whole lives built around this attitude, to small choices built on it.

There is an opposite extreme to legalism. It is not using our liberty in Christ as a cloke for vice (1 Pet 2:15-16) as the legalistic would possibly suppose. It is using our liberty to serve our King out of love; a liberty that desires to please Him in every way, whether easy or hard, popular or rejected. It is loving like Christ loved, with a meekness that will follow the will of the Father to death cheerfully.

Sometimes a heart genuinely desiring to please God out of love is mistaken as being legalistic because his or her understanding or standards are not the same as another's. Sometimes the opposite happens and believer is mistakenly thought to be using his liberty as a cloke for vice. The center of the issue is Christ. Do we know Him?

Colossians 2 is a wonderful place to turn with questions about this.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses...Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

An interesting topic to investigate, and profitable, if it turns me to Christ, and to my insufficiency and His all-sufficiency.

Jesus, teach me more.