Devotions and Legalism

Do you approach your time set aside with God as a means of gaining merit? Let's put it another way: Do you feel guilty and condemned when you skip your devotions? Do you feel that when you do have a time of prayer and reading your Bible, you have merited blessing? I have been listening to a sermon by C. J. Mahaney entitled "Enjoying Grace and Detecting Legalism." This quote was taken from the sermon. Mahaney repeated a prayer he had prayed that morning as an example of how to approach devotions and any other spiritual disciplines without legalism but depending upon God's grace and focusing on Jesus and the cross. I hope this helps some of you Christians out there. I know it helped me.

Father, thank you, thank you for speaking to me this morning as I waited on you, as I worshipped, as I read Your word, as I studied your word, and as I reviewed my notes. I received Your grace, thank You for these means of grace, but I want to acknowledge right now that I don’t merit Your blessing because of my previous practice. And my appeal to You now, yes, I want You to bless me. Bless me, Lord, as I have this privilege to serve Your people, but I ask You to bless me only, ever, and always because of the person and finished work of Your Son, because it is only on His merit that I can receive blessing because of what He has achieved that I can receive blessing from You and not because of any contribution that I have made through my practice of the personal or the corporate disciplines.

You see, a legalist is more aware of and reliant upon godly practices, (this is subtle) godly practices. This is not someone living in blatant, obvious disobedience to God, disregard for God’s word. No, legalists often can be the ones who appear to be the most zealous. But as Mr. Schriner said earlier “the attempt to obedience to the Law to gain recognition before God is insidious. It is the height of arrogance.” You are a legalist if you are more aware of and reliant upon godly practices than you are upon the cross. --C. J. Mahaney