What Is The Difference Between Legalism And Discipline
by on Dec 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 am
If we were to discover that Peyton Manning arrived at the Colts practice facility two hours before every practice to review game film and get a mental step ahead of his opponents, most of us would call this leadership or excellence in effort.
If Phil Michelson told us that he refused to drink caffeinated beverages while playing in professional tournaments in order to prevent cramping or sluggishness on the course, we would probably see a huge drop in soft drink sales at golf courses throughout the country.
If Dave Ramsey, a multi-millionaire who dug out of poverty by relentlessly keeping his spending habits in check, consistently saved and invested, and built his debt-free business from the ground-up, told his radio audience that he achieved great financial wealth by eating out only once a month instead of regularly, those of us who listen to him would start freeing our own calendars out of belief in his example and respect for his discipline.
Yet, when our pastors call on us to moderate our consumption of movies, alcohol, hobbies, or pursuit of worldly wealth, we immediately cry out, “that’s legalism!” When they wish to speak about discipline on Sundays, we close our ears because we do not care for more messages that amount to legalistic pronouncements.
My generation, and the one that follows, has rebelled against the legalistic dictates of some of our spiritual predecessors. However, we also threw the baby out with the bathwater in the sense that we no longer possess the ability to discern the fact that there is a different between legalism and discipline.
Our disgust for legalism is so bad that we have actually become legalistic about avoiding legalism. We actually work at positioning our freedoms under hedges of protection from attack or ridicule by anyone who would wish to challenge the worthiness of those freedoms. Ironically, we laud discipline in other activities that we deem separate from the church.
Part of my job is to administer discipline in an academic institution, and I have had to endure my fair share of lectures from students who wish to inform me of how legalistic I have become. An interesting coincidence seems to occur with the most adamant of anti-legalists when they are actually wronged, cheated, or offended by the actions of others. They demand justice in full, but their convicting lectures on legalism seem to soften my heart and compel me to utilize the “grace” that they proclaimed when they were the offender.
Therefore, I believe that we need to understand that legalism and discipline are not synonyms. They are two separate nouns, with one being condemned in Scripture while the other is commanded of us if we are to truly be followers of Christ.
Throughout this week and perhaps into next week, I want to share some thoughts on the difference between the two and why men of God cannot afford to dump both from their lives. We’ll view the implications that stem from 1 Corinthians 9-10, 1 Timothy 4:6-10, and Hebrews 12:1-3 if you wish to get ahead.
I truly believe that the young Christian men of today want to be mighty servants of God. Every day, I witness their passion and desire to make a difference in their generation, but all of that energy and enthusiasm is perilously close to being wasted because these same men will not condition their lives to pay the price that comes with such devoted service to God. Part of this is due to a misunderstanding of discipline and though I’m more of an expert on how not to be disciplined than I am of living a disciplined Christian life, I hope to pour on some words of encouragement and wisdom from Scripture in the next few blogs. I’ll see you tomorrow!