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Transcript 219B — Keeping God's Law Versus Legalism
CALLER: I have one quick question, and I'll take my answer on the air. If, after you become a Christian, you very diligently try to obey God's law, is that legalism? I don't believe it is, but some people do.
HC: All right. Fine. Thank you. Good night
The question is raised, "If, after we have become saved, after we really believe that we're born again, we earnestly and diligently try to keep God's law, is that legalism?"
Well, it's going to depend on why we are keeping God's law. If we are keeping God's law to merit something, that is, to guarantee our salvation, or to receive some kind of commendation from God, to receive some reward in Heaven, if we are doing it in any sense in order to merit something, or to be paid for something, then yes, it is legalism.
It means that we are really trying to add to a salvation by grace by our works. Effectively we're saying, we're saved by grace, and works. We're saying that our works also are an important part, by which we achieve some area of our salvation.
Actually, on the other hand, if we keep God's law, earnestly desire to keep God's law, because number one, this is the earnest desire of our heart, in view of the fact that we've been born again and in our soul we have this ongoing desire, because "that which is born of God cannot sin," it's not legalism. We're doing it because this is simply what comes naturally to us in the area of our life where we have experienced the resurrection from the dead.
Or if we are keeping God's law because of our love for God, that's not legalism. The Bible says, "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." And so if there is not this earnest desire in our heart to keep His law, and only to do so because of our love for Him, then we have no love for God. We can talk about love for God all we want. But it's not really love unless it actually is translated into the fact that we have this earnest desire to do His will, to keep His commandments, which of course is what the Bible is. The Bible is the commandments of God.
Thank you for that question.