Drawing a Line in the Sand: Living between Lawlessness and Legalism

06.19.20

In order to be like Jesus, we must be the type of believer that draws a line in the sand, causing self-righteous, religious pharesees to think and drop their stones, while simultaneously loving the sinner in such extreme measures that it causes them to turn from their sin. This compassion will make them leave behind every attempt to self-gratify with sinful pleasures, because they will have found something so great in Jesus that in they can no longer be satisfied by anything else. In order to find this balance, we have to find ourselves in the center, standing in intercession with Jesus. Rooted in love for both those deceived by legalism, and those deceived by lawlessness. Jesus died for both and longs for both to be restored to perfect union with His truth. I encourage you to read John 8:1-11 before reading the rest of this article, it will give you context to the issue I'm speaking on.

Jesus’ motive was deep love for everyone, but his method in dealing with legalism and lawlessness was a bit different. He challenged pharisaical mindsets with thought provoking questions and bold statements, but He compelled the lawless with compassion. Why is this? The lawless who humbled themselves and came to Him had already be broken down by the harshness of the world. They were fully aware of their weaknesses and their cycles of sin had already driven them to the depths of hopelessness. This compassion caused them to trust Jesus’ intentions to bring them to wholeness. After one taste of His goodness it was easy for them to receive Him as their Savior.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were deceived. They thought they already had all the answers. They were unaware of their brokenness because pride had fooled them into thinking they were already whole. In Jesus great love for them, He intensely challenged and disciplined them. They had to first come to the knowledge of their internal brokenness before He could save them. Without brokenness, they’d never know they needed to be saved and therefore would never accept Him as their Savior.

Think about Jesus’ words towards the religious like the tilling or preparation of the ground to be seeded. The harder the soil, the more force and intensity must be used to break up the ground. He had to unravel their traditions and break down false religious constructs before He could build them back up. Breaking up hard ground is not cruel, if the intention is to bring it to the fullness of its original purpose, which is to yield great fruit and harvest. Without the tilling, that ground becomes a wasteland.

The lawless were not met with incredible force, simply because God had already used the hardness of the world to till them into soft soil. They had experienced the destruction of sin that the Word talks about. All that was needed now was a simple touch for the ground to make way for the seed of salvation to be planted. It’s important to note that Jesus never condoned their sin. He was very clear that sin had to be forsaken in order to walk in freedom. He often closed out a conversation with the lawless with the words, “Go and sin no more!” (John 8:11)

Does this method give us permission to be rude to those who are calloused? No, quite the opposite. Those called to minister to the religious, need an extra measure of grace (which is the strength of Jesus Christ) in order to not become hardened, while tilling the hardness of their hearts. If we try to “till” the ground in our own strength, we will quickly become exhausted, worn down and cynical towards the very hearts God has called us to care for.

The greatest way to soften hard ground, is with the water of the Holy Spirit and the Word. He can miraculously prime the hardest of grounds for more efficient tilling without causing us to feel burnt out and exhausted. Jesus often withdrew to spend time with God. In this private space, He was revitalized, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue walking in love. This secret place had two focuses! First, it filled Him with water, causing Him to stay soft and refocusing Him on the Heart and intentions of the Father. Second, His intercession acted as a sprinkler releasing the rain of the Spirit over the hardened ground around Him, priming them for tilling and planting

If you feel yourself becoming hardened by taking on too many of the problems of this world, and if you feel yourself becoming weary in well-doing, it’s time to get away with the Father again. Do no forsake this time alone with Him. He is the only one who can reach into the depths of our soul, expose the hardness, soften us, and refill us with His selfless love for others!

I’ll leave you with one final thought, I see a whole lot of arguing between the lawless and the legalistic right now. Unfortunately this will never produce fruit. The legalistic lack the compassion to create the the trust necessary to open up the hearts of the lawless to change, and the lawless lack the knowledge of the Word to form solid statements of truth that will break up the hardness of the legalistic heart.

The only answer is Jesus. Jesus has the transformation power to free every right or left leaning person from deception. He is both the expression of the merciful, compassion of the Father and the perfect example of fulfilling the requirement of the law with righteous justice and judgement (Matthew 5:17). He had right motives paired with righteous actions. His love filled with both mercy and justice gave Him the authority to speak to both the lawless and the legalistic.

In the same way, we must be both lovers of people and livers of the law, if we lack either component, we lose the credibility and the authority to speak change into our world. As my Father-in-love, Joshua Fowler, often says, “It’s not either or, it’s both!” Drawing a line in the sand, is not about separating people into sides. It’s about becoming a plumb line and bridging the gap between humanity and God through the sacrifice of Jesus. It’s about reminding the world that the veil has been torn and everyone now has the permission to seek a relationship with the fullness of God’s perfect and complete nature.

Which side do you tend to lean into more? What part of God’s nature should you embrace more in order to find yourself centered in Christ?

“As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self - life. For your self - life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self - life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self - life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit. But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law, but soaring above it! The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God! But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless. Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus, the Anointed One, have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self - life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah. We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after him.” Galatians 5:16-25 TPT