Gospel of grace or Religious Law
We find many churches in our midst who preach more on Law than on the gospel of grace. We are asked to follow certain dos’ and don’ts culled out from the Bible including the New Testament books. From the pulpits, messages of condemnation against the people of God are given. The people of God have been put into the bondage of the religious Law. Preachers pronounce divine judgment on the people of God who are not regular tithe-givers quoting from the book of Malachi. They quote the Old Testament law and pronounce divine curses on the people redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Likewise, preachers ask their women believers not to wear gold ornaments and not to adorn their hairs by quoting the Pauline letters in I Cor.11:15 and I Tim.2:9. Paul advised the Corinthian women to cover their heads while praying. Today, a hue and cry is raised if a girl has cut her hair just to look modern or for the sake of her convenience. In Tim.2:9, Paul advised the young Timothy to exhort the women to” adorn themselves in modest apparel and to wear such dresses “which becometh women professing godliness”. The customs and the cultures of the Jews during the New Testament period were different from the customs and cultures of the present day Christians living all over the world. Young Christian girls these days wear jeans or other dresses that suit the climatic conditions in their nations. We cannot bring out a uniform dress code for all the Christian women living in different nations. Of course, I agree that every woman should adorn in modest apparel. The term “modest apparel” is a relative term and should not be bound to a particular mode of dressing for the Christian women.
According to the Indian customs, a married woman wears a gold necklace which is insignia of her marriage. In some Pentecostal churches, this is viewed as an act of disobedience of the God’s commandment.
If preachers quoting the above Pauline epistles impose a uniform dress code on their women believers, this is tantamount to turning them to the Law.
Regarding prayers, we are supposed to follow the example of Jesus Christ or other apostles of the Lord or any other servant of God who is a model in prayer. However, we cannot insist on a child of God who works in a factory or an establishment either round the clock or for more than 8 hours a day to spend some fixed hours of prayer.
Regarding fasting, we are supposed to fast and pray as the Lord leads us. However, we cannot insist on the people of God to fast for 40 days or for a particular period. I noticed some servants of God tell the whole world that they fasted for 40 days. Your fasting should be in secret and no outsider should know that you have fasted.
Some churches advise their congregations not to attend the evangelical meetings of other evangelists or the prayer meetings held by the other denominational churches on the pretext that their sheep should not be led astray. It is also a message of don’t.
Paul in his epistle to Galatians dealt with the issue of legalism arising out of the Law and refuted the false doctrine of Galatians that obedience to the law was mingled with faith as the ground of the sinner’s justification and that the justified believer was made perfect by keeping the law.
Paul cried out, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?.....Received ye the Spirit by he works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Gal.3:2-3).
Paul further wrote to Galatians:
“When ye know not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to the in bondage?
Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (Gal.4:8-10).
“Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you”.
A little leaven leaventh the whole lump” (Gal.5:7-9)
Such messages also turn the people again “to the weak and beggarly elements” in which they were in bondage before coming to know Christ.
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Any little false doctrine in this regard ultimately leavens the whole lump. Today, we do see before our own eyes many churches of God have been leavened by such false doctrines. A little leaven preached from the pulpit will leaven the whole church. By preaching messages on dos’ and don’ts, no preacher can fool us that his message has been inspired by the Holy Ghost because “this persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you”.
- Job Anbalagan