Hope for Legalists and Liberals
One sleepless summer night, on the top bunk of an old camp bed, I became a Christian. The next day I became a legalist.
Growing up, when I thought about church, I thought rules. There were rules about music, rules about friends, rules about clothing, rules about which church van to ride in, and — I was convinced — rules about the rules!
As I wrestled with the idea of trusting Christ I resisted because I didn’t want to follow Jesus if that meant submitting to endless rules.
So when, in God’s kindness, I surrendered to Him, I made a conscious commitment to be a full-blown rule follower.
Is there such a thing as a cage stage legalist? If you’re not familiar with the term, it refers to the period of time after you embrace a new doctrine and think it's your job to convince everyone around you to do the same. You’d be better off locked in a cage unit you mellow out!
If there is a such thing as a cage stage legalist, I was one! Not only did I make it my aim to keep the rules, but to make sure those around me kept them too. After a few years of cd smashing parties and reminding my friends of the dangers of movie watching, I invited an unbelieving co-worker to church. His response was a lot like mine before I trusted Christ: “Doesn’t your church have a lot of rules?”
I responded with my usual arguments, but was thrown off when asked to defend the rules using the Bible. The stuttering and stammering that followed made me think. Had I become more interested in knowing the rules than knowing Christ?
In time, my legalistic foundation began to crumble. Before I knew it I was listening to the Newsboys, reading from the NIV, and saying things like, “it’s more about relationship than religion.” Some would say I was on the slippery slope! In some ways I was.
I imagined a church where people were more concerned with the love of Christ than following the rules. Not knowing where else to turn I latched on to books from the church growth movement. I longed for the kind of churches they described -- focused more on a relationship with Jesus than a list of rules. This was also the peak of the emergent church movement and I had conversations with and read material written by this new breed of leaders. Without realizing it, I was taking steps toward theological liberalism.
Burdened by a desire to be part of this new kind of church, my wife and I partnered with another couple to start one. I was convinced that loud music, ripped jeans, an entertaining talk from a pub table, and a sticky small group ministry were the perfect recipe for a happy and healthy church.
It didn’t take long before the felt needs I preached about were overshadowed by the real spiritual needs of the people I was there to shepherd. After one difficult counseling session, I reached out to a friend, who led a Biblical Counseling ministry, for help. When I told him about the books I had been reading he suggested I pick up a copy of “Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel,” by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. Based on the title, I expected something like the church growth strategies I had been studying, but I was in for a surprise!
After reading a few pages of “Deliberate Church” I had as much as I could stomach and thought about tossing it in the trashcan! I was frustrated by the call to lead the church into the future by returning to the “old ways,” and felt offended by the seeming attack on new models of ministry. This felt more like the legalism of my past and I wasn’t interested. But, by the grace of God, I kept reading. When I was done, I filled my trash can — with all of my church growth books!
What was missing in my legalistic and liberal leaning days? Confidence in the Word of God! As a legalist I believed it was my responsibility to honor God by establishing rules to help me keep the rules. Church became all about behavior, which meant we focusing more on rules than Christ.
The drift toward liberalism was ironically similar! I had an unhealthy focus on new models of ministry instead of Christ. This always leads to an unhealthy church, more concerned with the needs and desire of man than the glory of God.
What hope is there for the legalist or the liberal? The Word of God! He has not been silent about the nature of the church. After all, it is His glory at stake! And that’s exactly what I needed to hear. Deliberate Church did not give me a new model for ministry, but pointed me to the reason God created the church. The people of God are called together into Biblical community in order to demonstrate the glory of God in a special way. The church exists to magnify the character and nature of God in a way that makes a statement to believers, unbelievers, and all the way to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places! (Ephesians 3:1-11). God has a vested interest in the shape, function, and practice of His church.
The reason Christians gather, what they do when they’re together, and how they live each day is spelled out in God’s Word. The life of the local church is described and much of what we are to do is prescribed in the pages of the New Testament. God has spoken to His people that we might know Him and glorify Him as we were created to do. When we allow any scheme of man to replace the Word of God we exchange the truth for a lie and deviate from His glory exalting design. The results are a church that looks more like the Tower of Babel than an embassy of the Kingdom of Heaven.
It has been well over a decade since God used the lessons I read in Deliberate Church to reorient me to God’s eternal purpose for the church. By His grace, I now serve in a church devoted to the glory of God and joyfully living according to the design set forth in His Word. I am surrounded by faithful elders, supported by faithful deacons, and encouraged by a faithful congregation. Our gatherings each Lord’s Day are a delight. Our member meetings are something I actually anticipate with joy! Discipling relationships and care are increasing. We are certainly not a perfect church, but I am thankful to God for His work among us. No scheme of man could possibly produce the good fruit that I have experienced in a healthy church.
With great patience, God used a good friend and a good book to help redirect me to the power of His Word for His church. It is my prayer He will use this article the same way in your life — that we might take a fresh look at the old ways found in the Word of God as we faithfully press on by faith for the sake of His glory!
TJ Freeman
As the senior pastor of Christ Church (formerly Wellsboro Bible Church) since 2012, TJ has a passion for the rural church. Prior to his arrival at Christ Church he served as a church planter, Biblical counselor, discipleship pastor. and history teacher. He enjoys the outdoors (but only when it’s hot out), and is passionate about sushi. TJ and his wife Katie have two daughters; Charlotte and Charity, and two sons; Hudson and Grant. TJ serves on the board at the Brainerd Institute for Rural Ministry and can be heard on the Rural Church Renewal and the Back to Rurality Podcasts.
