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Is obedience to Christ optional or unnecessary? Are belief in and \u201clove\u201d of Christ the only things required of sinners to be saved? Many would have it so and thus teach. To them, the New Testament consists only of Divine \u201clove letters,\u201d bereft of any authoritative or \u201clegal\u201d character. The New Testament, with its incomparable glad tidings of salvation, indeed reveals the incomparable love of God and His son for sinful man (John 3:16). That the New Testament is God\u2019s \u201clove story\u201d is undeniable, but this fact does not preclude its also being God’s law for all men, for all time, since Calvary.<\/span><\/p>\n Paul wrote of \u201cthe law of Christ\u201d and even identified one of its precepts (Gal. 6:1\u20132; cf. Rom. 8:2; 1 Cor. 9:21; Jam. 1:25; 2:12). Besides these explicit statements, other statements and principles imply that (1) the New Testament is God’s law for the Christian Age and (2) all men are amenable to it (e.g., Mat. 28:18\u201320; Mark 16:15\u201316).<\/span><\/p>\n Those unwilling to honor or even admit the existence of Divine law (i.e., theological liberals) often hurl legalist<\/em> at those who emphasize obedience to New Testament commands. Webster\u2019s Collegiate Dictionary<\/em> defines legalism<\/em> as \u201ca strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code.\u201d Webster notwithstanding, is it possible to practice \u201cexcessive conformity\u201d to Divine law? \u201cStrict, literal\u2026conformity\u201d to His will is what the Lord requires of us (Mat. 7:21-23; John 14:15; Heb. 5:9; et al.).<\/span><\/p>\n Liberals actually pay those who emphasize obedience a compliment by calling them \u201clegalists.\u201d First, legalism\u00a0<\/em>implies belief in the existence of law, in this case, the New Testament\u2014the Divine law under which men live and by which all will be finally judged (John 12:48). Second, it implies strict adherence to that law.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps what the accusers hope to do by the legalist<\/em> label is to identify its recipients as modern scribes and Pharisees. Jesus scathingly rebuked them on more than one occasion, but notably, never for \u201cstrict conformity\u201d to God’s law. Rather, He chided them for elevating human opinion, precept, and tradition to the level of Divine law (Mat. 15:3, 6-9). Further, He condemned them for emphasizing parts of God’s law while rejecting and\/or neglecting other parts of it (23:23). In both cases, they became the actual \u201clegalists,\u201d<\/strong> making and demanding adherence to their own laws. Those who thus behave today deserve to be called \u201clegalists\u201d in the worst sense. As did the Christ, so should we condemn and expose them.<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong> I wrote this article for and it appeared in the Denton Record-Chronicle, <\/em>Denton, TX, March 26, 2010].<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 0 [Note: \u00a0This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 3 \u00a0page.] Is obedience to Christ optional or unnecessary? Are belief in and \u201clove\u201d of Christ the only things required of sinners to be saved? Many would have it so and…<\/p>\n