DOUBLE MINDED.ness

One of the greatest realisations and confirmation of an insight that I have ever had was on reading Joseph Prince's words, and which bears repetition ....
He had heard God say clearly to him “Son, you are not preaching grace ... every time you preach grace, you preach it with a mixture of law. You attempt to balance grace with the law like many other preachers, and the moment you balance grace, you neutralize it. You cannot put new wine into old wineskins. You cannot put grace and law together”
Grace is only grace when it is undeserved, unearned and unmerited.

So that's the theological, dispensational and actual fact .... mixing Law with Grace pollutes and neutralises pure Grace

But, how does this mixture actually outwork in practice ?

For those who either knowingly, or unknowingly, mix law and grace, the 'tree has its fruit' There is a product of this polluted mixture, similar to any other 'tree' and its 'fruit', by the observation of such we are advised to rightly judge the worth and character of any 'tree' Matthew 7:17-20 We are to be 'fruit inspectors'

Let me voice my observations …
One attendee of a local legalistic church, (Church of Christ NZ) when I asked after his health, replied .... “bowel cancer” and then added “why. half the men in our Church have it “
OK, so the national percentage for this affliction is high, but even given the statement as a generalised comment, the incidence was evidently unusually high !
There are medical reasons for such – genetic, diet, etc, for which I must stop and earnestly express my deepest sympathy and heartfelt concern, but .... is there another spiritual factor also ?

And then recently, several former close acquaintances, but who still attend that particular legalistic church, I have learned that they now have dementia.

My question is simply this .... is there a link between legalism and some physical and mental health problems ?

As a man thinks in his heart so is he Proverbs 23:7
We are really the sum total of our thoughts and attitudes !

Reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.
Proverbs 3:7,8 Amp
So there is a link between spiritual beliefs and the physical !

A double minded person is unstable in all their ways James 1:8
Instability in mind .... mental instability ..… could this be what we now call dementia?

Could it be that the conflict of religious works … legalism .... versus the free gift of grace, can cause frustration and 'bad fruit' .... that this mixture of law with Grace actually affects the physical and mental health ?

We often hear humans referred to as 'body, soul and spirit' ..... but 1 Thessalonians 5;23 reverses this order to be Spirit, Soul and then Body .... an important and vital difference of order.
Our spirit is eternal, the body temporal. Instead of being a physical body with a soul and spirit, scripture suggests that we are really a spirit temporarily housed in a body ! James 2:26 This linkage, harmony and interdependency of Spirit, Soul and Body may not always be fully appreciated in medical and health terms.

Consider the 10 lepers whom Jesus cleansed and healed Luke 17:14-19
One of them stopped, returned, gave thanks to Jesus and gave glory to God, and was then pronounced as being made WHOLE .... complete in body, plus mental and emotional healing, with the implication that he received the restoration of total well being, unlike the 9 other lepers who had just received healing in their body.

Again, consider a man who had been an invalid for 38 years in John 5 who Jesus made WHOLE at Bethesda .... 5 times it is repeated in verses 6 - 15 that he was made WHOLE.
I observe that SHALOM the Hebrew salutation, does not only mean PEACE, but far far more than that .... it encompasses WHOLEness, completeness and prosperity in Spirit, Soul and Body - peace, safety, completeness and welfare, ones total well-being
Again the harmony and interdependency of our tri-une being is indicated

A personal word …
Some years ago now, after experiencing lower back problems, I visited a local massage therapist. This person had treated many local Christians over many years.
I eventually commented, “I suppose that you can tell a lot about a person through the condition of their spine and back ?” The reply “Oh Yes, many backs feel like wash-boards !” “And whose would be the worst backs that you get to see?” I then asked, not expecting the answer that came “ Oh that's easy .... the persons with the worst backs are Exclusive Brethren, and Church of Christ NZ“ (A local legalistic Church, well known for its authoritarian control)
So there's another 'BAD FRUIT' of legalism, from an experienced massage therapist.... the tension evident and manifest through the skeletal frame !
Is that why Israel when in rebellion was 12 times called 'stiff-necked' ? as summarised in Acts 7:51

Paul states that mixing Law with Grace actually FRUSTRATES Grace Galatians 2:21. And which leads me to the consideration that the result of mixing Law and Grace brings with it a frustration of Spirit and Soul that can eventually affect the physical BODY with dire consequences of both physical and mental imbalance.... in particular Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease .... along with bowel cancer !

I note that the word disease really contains the 2 words … DIS.. EASE … get it ?
The effect of not being AT EASE or healthy free living under Grace
Again .... a tree is known by its Fruit Matthew 7:17-20

Let me observe .... there is one thing that equals divine healing
..... and that is DIVINE HEALTH

SHAKESPEARE HAMLET Polonius .....
This above all, to thine own self be true And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Amp

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 Amp

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

S H A L O M indeed to you and yours
and WHOLE.ness by pure unadulterated G R A C E unmixed with works and law