Someone asked about what to think of the hard feelings she might have toward bad teaching/counsel from legal preachers this morning, and I thought maybe my answer might help someone else. Here it is...
I grew up in Fundamentalism, graduated from Bob Jones University and hated the legalism that poisoned so much of the teaching, yet it some of it clung to me for years into our marriage and parenting, church outlook, etc. Legalism dies hard, especially when it's reinforced in your community.
The best way to combat it is to identify sound teachers and listen to them more and more, and turn off/leave teachers who reinforce legalism behind. Despite what the legalists tell you about your new beliefs, yourself, and sound churches, leaving them behind and exposing their errors is key, but you won't know error unless you're being reinforced in authentic, gospel-centered preaching that consistently points you to Christ outside of you and for you, rather than to your navel.
As far as hard feelings... They are natural and warranted when you've been deceived and led astray by bad teachers. You can feel those emotions without guilt. It is right to be angry and sin not. It is right to shed light on what is wrong. It is right to move on and to seek leaders who point you to Christ, and *if you've sinned, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. You can be honest with Him about those things. But please hear me say, you are not sinning by knowing and feeling that something was very wrong.
