Moralism
Morality and religion will not invite or secure the blessing of God. They never have, and they never will. -- John MacArthur
Living in the bible belt, I seem to encounter moralism more often than Jesus. Moralism is the act of advocating or living according to moral principles, often that align with Christian teachings, apart from person of Christ. It means you’re a “good guy” or a “nice Christian.” It means you are violently against homosexuality but will remain silent against sexual immorality. (To be clear, the Greek word for sexual immorality, “porneia” means any sexual activity that is not between a husband and his wife.) It means you’re more concerned about “right behavior” on earth rather than whether someone is a citizen of Heaven.
If you are a moralist, you believe living according to God’s commandments will earn you heaven. Or maybe its not that deep – maybe you just want to look good to everyone else. Whatever your motivation or reasoning, one thing is certain: moralism is not of the Spirit, but of the flesh. It’s all flesh. It’s all your own effort. And it’s all disgusting to God.
Moralism is something many Christians have found themselves guilty of at one time or another… but seeing moralism in Christians is exactly what most turned me off to God for so many years. And it is exactly what the evil one wants us to revert to – the devil wants us to give up on the relationship with Christ (and evangelism) and fight for dry, worldly morality to make “good people.” God doesn’t want good people – he wants to redeem sinners. And His blood is the only means of redemption.
Moralism, therefore, is like trying to get rid of dandelions by mowing the front yard. You may get rid of them for a few days, but you’re only spreading the seeds of sinful desire to pop up somewhere else.
Christ has come to set your lawn on fire, turn over the dirt and plant his own seeds. Quit trying to make people moral and start focusing on making them disciples!
Is it good to love morality? Of course. If you know and serve the loving God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – your greatest desire will be to please Him… and part of pleasing God is to be a slave to righteousness; to obey his commandments. Therefore, morality is not a means of salvation, but springs from a desire to please your Lord.
John MacArthur gave a great message on moralism in America, entitled The Deadly Dangers of Moralism, by John MacArthur. I highly recommend you read over the transcript of that sermon for more on this subject – specifically, how moralism affects the church and its social agendas as a whole, rather than just the individual.
Living in the bible belt, I seem to encounter moralism more often than Jesus. Moralism is the act of advocating or living according to moral principles, often that align with Christian teachings, apart from person of Christ. It means you’re a “good guy” or a “nice Christian.” It means you are violently against homosexuality but will remain silent against sexual immorality. (To be clear, the Greek word for sexual immorality, “porneia” means any sexual activity that is not between a husband and his wife.) It means you’re more concerned about “right behavior” on earth rather than whether someone is a citizen of Heaven.
If you are a moralist, you believe living according to God’s commandments will earn you heaven. Or maybe its not that deep – maybe you just want to look good to everyone else. Whatever your motivation or reasoning, one thing is certain: moralism is not of the Spirit, but of the flesh. It’s all flesh. It’s all your own effort. And it’s all disgusting to God.
Moralism is something many Christians have found themselves guilty of at one time or another… but seeing moralism in Christians is exactly what most turned me off to God for so many years. And it is exactly what the evil one wants us to revert to – the devil wants us to give up on the relationship with Christ (and evangelism) and fight for dry, worldly morality to make “good people.” God doesn’t want good people – he wants to redeem sinners. And His blood is the only means of redemption.
Moralism, therefore, is like trying to get rid of dandelions by mowing the front yard. You may get rid of them for a few days, but you’re only spreading the seeds of sinful desire to pop up somewhere else.
Christ has come to set your lawn on fire, turn over the dirt and plant his own seeds. Quit trying to make people moral and start focusing on making them disciples!
Is it good to love morality? Of course. If you know and serve the loving God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – your greatest desire will be to please Him… and part of pleasing God is to be a slave to righteousness; to obey his commandments. Therefore, morality is not a means of salvation, but springs from a desire to please your Lord.
John MacArthur gave a great message on moralism in America, entitled The Deadly Dangers of Moralism, by John MacArthur. I highly recommend you read over the transcript of that sermon for more on this subject – specifically, how moralism affects the church and its social agendas as a whole, rather than just the individual.
posted by Brad at 6:49 PM
1 Comments:
That is so true, I see the effects of moralism in my own household. My father is a proud man who lives by morals because he "knows it's right" not because of the tremendous sacrifice of Christ. Living in just plain morality is an empty life. Pretty soon you have to come back to the question of why. The finaly answer is not ethics or morality for morality's sake.
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