Check-List Charlie - Confessions of Legalist

Morning,

As you all know we have been revelling in this series we're in - Kingdom Status! Father has been doing so much as we have unpacked our positioning in Christ together. The Gospel of the Kingdom has been bearing much fruit in us, and long may it continue.
I have been focussing in on Redemption specifically with it's various facets, eg. 'Redemption - Deliverance from the Penalty and Power of Sin', 'Redemption - Deliverance from the Power of the Enemy' and this last weekend, Redemption - Deliverance from the Obligation of the Mosaic System. We didn't get to finish all we wanted to get through in discovering how free we are from 'living under the old code to live in the new way of the Spirit' as Romans 7:6 says, so here are the complete confessions of Check-List Charlie from Sunday night. As you'd agree, there is much more to add! Sorry, they are in point form ...

Check-List Charlie ...
1. Pursues religious rituals as evidence of spirituality before Pursuing the person of Jesus himself as the prize (Jhn 5:39,40)
2. Considers 'The Rules' as more important than people! (Mt12 etc ... Jesus healing on the Sabbath and the Pharisee's response)
3. Considers 'The Rules' before relationships. (Jesus, friend of sinners vs Pharisaical Seperationism, and Cephas'/Peter's withdrawal from Gentiles in Galatians 2)
4. Lives with the 'I have to, I must' mantra before 'I want to ...'
5. Embraces a Culture of Obligation before a Culture of Desire
6. Emphasises the 'act of the will' (Discipline) before the 'longings of the heart' (Delight)
7. Fears the dangers of emotionalism and experience in the Culture of Desire and Delight above. (Does Scripture say 'think and see that the Lord is good'?)
8. Emphasises 'leadership' before 'fathering'
9. In looking to release leaders, he prizes Committment to meetings and ventures before the Call, Character, and Charisma. Here, Charlie considers 'character' to be the sacrificial, sweat of the brow, white knuckled attendance of 'meetings' instead of a life of worship, holiness, and love for the gathering of believers etc (Heb 10:19- ...) 24/7!
10. Puts Works before Worship (Martha vs Mary)
11. Recalls what 'I have done' before what 'He has done'
12. He never feels he has done enough, forgetting that He is enough
13. Works 'for favour' instead of 'living from favour'
14. Delights in Servanthood before Sonship
15. Is highly sin-focussed (fault-finding in self and others) before knowing the power of forgiveness (grace and mercy toward self and others)
16. Penalty obsessed before Pleasures in Christ
17. Highly Introspective instead of Intimacy (Christ focussed)
18. I am a 'failure' before I am an 'A+ student' ... Christ graduated summa cum lauda for me!
19. Prides himslef on personal Morality and/or personal Spirituality (and tends to be super-spiritual)
20. Makes the 'grey' areas/minors of scripture into non-negotiable, black and white majors for self and projects them onto others
21. Majors on the 'letter of the law' and forgets the heart of the 'law' (Mt 23:23-24)
22. Readily quotes 'what not to do' from scripture but struggles to recall the promises and good plans of God
23. Has a bias toward correctiveness and caution instead of encouragement
24. Uses the prophetic as a tool for criticism, correction and judgement and not for edification and the building up of the common good ... and takes pride in the fact that he can 'prophesy' too
25. Will temper any form of encouragement for fear that the recipient may become 'full of himself'
26. Demonstrates false humility to curry favour with people and not biblical humility
27. Lives off second hand revelation (echo chrisitainity)
28. Lives with facades for fear that honesty and vulnerability will negate favour from people, especially respected leaders
29. Fears man before genuine fear of God
30. Requires people to 'jump through hoops' to his level before 'getting in the dust' with people where they are at. People around Charlie feel like they never reach the grade.
31. Lives with high personal expectations and projects them onto others
32. Is often let down by others when they do not meet with expectations
33. Often sweats over the little things
34. Is often driven by guilt and peoples' perceived expectations
35. Lives life with a 'debtors ethic' ... when receiveing a blessing from someone's pure act of kindness Charlie feels he has to repay them in some way and often avoids them until the 'debt' is settled.
36. ...
There are so many to be added, and as I finish this, I realise that I have lived with so much of this myself. Oh, but Father is so loving and will not leave us paralysed in this slavery. It is for freedom's sake Christ has set us free ... to be sons and daughters. Let us not fall into the trap of , now, trying to work this all out. Let us simply repent of anything, receive complete and absolute forgiveness and remain transfixed, intoxicated with Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd and He'll lead us through. Holiness, freedom and purity are not the prize - He is! And as we delight and desire Him and 'walk with the Spirit' unhindered, and face 2 face, we will accidentally live (as Michael Eaton puts it) in freedom, joy, holiness, purity. We'll stumble into it with laughter!

Richest of blessings and mountains of love,

Ryan