[Evangelical]

Do we know the difference between regulation and legalism?

Knowing and practicing the difference makes the difference between gladly obeying God with relative ease and striving to obey God with gritted teeth.

The majority of Christian churches today express authority and obedience as this:
God has given us some rules to follow, teaches you what they are.
Tells you to try your best to follow them
Don't worry if you fail, repent, pick yourself up and try, try again.

But this doesn't work. There are many Christians stuck in this never ending cycle of religious zeal, trying to obey God, failing, repenting and trying again.
This cycle is propagated by churches which do not know the effective solution. They can only teach rules and laws without providing the solution for how to obey.
On the other hand there are Christian churches and groups which give up completely, they have no rules. They claim to experience or pursue the Spirit, yet anyone can do or behave whatever they feel like.

The problem is really a lack of law and obedience, but is this law obeyed by regulation by life, or is it legalism?.

Regulation is necessary for order in the church. Regulation prevents chaos. Regulation is godly and righteous. We can think of regulation as like a Voltage regulator, which is meant to keep the Voltage constant. Regulation will keep our Christian life constant, with fewer tries and failures, ups and downs. Regulation will also help us be regular in the sense of regular prayer times, regular bible study, and regularly attending church. We will no longer do this things only when we feel like it, or when we have obtained enough religious zeal.

regulation means

"a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority."
"the action or process of regulating or being regulated."

Christians are under authority. As Christians we are under God's authority, the Supreme authority. We are also under the authority God appoints over us in the church. We are under the governing authority God has put over us in society. Wives are under the authority of their husbands, and children their parents (Ephesians 5:23-33). Christ has authority over the Church. The apostles authority still remains today - whenever we heed the words of Paul in the Scriptures we are coming under his apostolic authority, and Christs.

But is that authority by regulation or legalism? Legalism, is the concept of "rule and conquer" by law, reward and punishment. It is about putting law above life. Legalism is hard to bear, because there is no life. Legalism is to try and fail, be rewarded or be punished. Many think that legalism is the way to be regulated, but this is not so. If we want to regulate electricity we cannot demand that it regulate itself, and then punish it when it does not. We need to install a "voltage regulator" to obtain a constant voltage.

Thankfully God has provided us with such a "voltage regulator". It is the law of the Spirit of life. The Christian has law, but this law is one of Spirit and life. Romans 8:2 "because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death".

Genuine regulation is according to life, not rule of law. Regulation by life can be likened to the flow of blood in our bodies. Our hearts regulate our bodies by pumping blood. If our heart did not beat regularly, our bodily functions would be in chaos. If our heart was irregular, it brings chaos to the rest of our body, and brings anxiety to our minds. Our bodies do not do as they please, they are regulated by the flow of blood in our body.

In a similar way, the Holy Spirit as the spiritual "life blood" in us, regulates us individually. The Holy Spirit also, in the Body of Christ, regulates the church. The flow of the Spirit in every member is regulating them to obey the authorities. A genuine Spirit-led life is a regulated life, not one of many tries and failures or lawlessness.

Regulation by the Holy Spirit, the law of life, produces harmony, normality and freedom from chaos. It is pleasant and not so hard to bear. Even though the expected righteous requirements for Christians exceeds that of the Pharisees (Matt 5:20), for the Christian it is not a burden because it is achieved by the life in us. This is the genuine "freedom in Christ".

Just as an elephant does not need to try to be an elephant because it has an elephant's life, a Christian does not need to try to be a Christian because they have Christ's life. A Christian who tries to be a Christian without Christ's life, will ultimately fail. But with Christ's life it is possible to be victorious.

It is for this reason that it is worthwhile to practice to live and experience Christ's life, by calling the Lord's name, praying, reading the Word, fellowship, listening to and obeying Christ. Over time you will experience inward regulation by the Spirit of life.