As Christians we should be obedient to God, but not legalistic in our obedience. What in the world does that mean? To understand, we must learn the difference between being spiritual and being legalistic for starters.

• A spiritual Christian has a relationship with God and is led by the Holy Spirit. He hears God's voice and obeys.
  
• A legalistic Christian does what he thinks God wants based on religious customs and traditions or to please religious leaders without understanding God's Word or God's heart.

Now don't get me wrong. God has placed spiritual authority in our lives to help us. It is God's will for us to have accountability and leadership. The Bible tells us...

Ephesians 4:11-12
He (God) is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, (New Living Translation)

So we should obey spiritual authority. At the same time, God doesn't want us to blindly follow religious traditions without regard for Him. Occasionally, God may instruct you or allow you to do something that "religion" says is wrong. M-m-m-m-h, that's a challenge. How can you tell if you are really hearing from God or rebelling against God-given authority? Let's see how Jesus handled this...

A good example of this is in Luke 6:1-10, when Jesus "broke" the Sabbath according to the Pharisees' interpretation of the law given to Moses which says...

Exodus 35:2
For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. (NIV)

Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath--that's a form of work. But, God's law said that no work was to be done on the Sabbath. So who was right? Jesus was. The Pharisees were legalistic (they knew the rules), but had no real relationship with God. Jesus was spiritual (He had a relationship with God) and understood the heart of the law of the Sabbath, which can be seen in...

Deuteronomy 5:14
...but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. (NIV)

The purpose of the Sabbath was to give people a day of rest from their labor, even the servants and animals; it was not to prevent people from being compassionate to one another. Yes, we should discipline ourselves to follow God's laws, but those laws must be filtered through the love of God. One of the Pharisees began to see this principle...

Mark 12:28-34

• One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
  
• "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
  
• "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
  
• When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (NIV)
  

Spiritual Christians understand how the law of God and the love of God work together. Legalistic people follow the law of God while disregarding God's love for people. As we continue to grow in our relationship with God, we can avoid the trap of legalism by maintaining a strong love walk. Remember...

Love is the highest law.

About the Author: Valerie Morrow was born-again at the tender age of 5, but has been chasing Jesus and the will of God seriously for about 10 years. As a busy (we prefer the word productive) wife, mother, entrepreneur, leader, ministry student and writer, she focuses on being well-balanced, as a necessity in life. Valerie has been a waitress, a secretary, a receptionist, a marketing assistant, an account coordinator, an account manager, a marketing director, a business owner and the "candy lady." She has learned the meaning of being secure in Christ regardless of your position or function in life and loves to share her insights through devotionals, bible studies and "self- improvement" articles from a Biblical perspective. Valerie is the wife of Henry Morrow and the mother of Henry and Charli Kathryn. She is an active member of Without Walls International Church under the leadership of Sr. Pastor Paula White in Tampa, Florida.