Do as I say!!

The topic of legalism has come up a lot recently and I thought it would be good to address some of the things my wife and I have discussed. So here it is: my semi-treatise on legalism.

What is legalism?

Theology

1. the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works.
2. the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws

legalism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved March 31, 2008, from Dictionary.com

For our purposes we will be discussing the second definition given above: “the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws.” So then legalists, in the world of Christianity, are those who hold to a list of behaviors that are not directly scripture-derived. These would be personal standards that they hold up as societal standards. In other words, the legalist is convinced that he should live in a certain way, so he demands that others live in that way also.

J.I. Packer, Knowing God

We do not fully feel the wonder of the passage from death to life which takes place in the new birth till we see it as a transition, not simply out of condemnation into acceptance, but out of bondage and destitution into the “safety, certainty, and enjoyment” of the family of God. This is the view of the great change which Paul sets out in Galatians 4:1–7, contrasting his readers’ previous life of slavish legalism and superstition in religion (vv. 3, 5, 8) with their present knowledge of their Creator as their Father (v. 6) and their pledged benefactor (v. 7). This, says Paul, is where your faith in Christ has brought you; you have received “the adoption of sons” (v. 5); “you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir” (v. 7).

Legalism is seen in such things as strict dress codes, restrictions on certain foods and beverages, rules about styles of music that may be listened to in the church and at home, rules about how men’s hair must be cut, strict rules demanding which Bible version is or is not to be used.

What if the legalists are right about how we should act?

First let me say that those given to legalism do not often end up with rules of behavior that I think parallel scriptural requirements. But let’s, for the sake of the argument, consider a theoretic scenario: What if the legalists were right about all of the standards they set for others? Would legalism still be wrong? I say, YES – Legalism is wrong even if it leads to a proper conclusion.

The crux of this issue is the motivation behind our obedience. If someone sets a standard of dress that they think everyone should live by, and if they are right that everyone should actually dress that way, why would it be wrong for them to demand that others dress in this manner?

Galatians 4:1-7
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Are we obeying God out of duty or out of love?

Charles R. Swindoll

Rigidity is the trademark of legalism, the archenemy of any church on the move. Let legalism have enough rope, and there will be a lynching of all new ideas, fresh thinking, and innovative programs.

The reason legalism is wrong, even if the end result is right, is because it focuses on the wrong thing and because it does not teach others how to determine what is right and what is wrong. If we follow legalistic standards, we portray ourselves as slaves and not as legitimate heirs, which in Galatians 4 (above) we are told is wrong. We Christians have been made heirs with Christ and should no longer live as slaves. Following legalistic codes of behavior is shown as acting like a slave. We may ultimately act in exactly the same way, but as an heir our motivation for living this way is completely different from that that of the slave.

As Christians, we are to focus our attention on Christ. If our gaze is on Christ and if we are seeking God’s will by reading His Word, we will be convicted by the Holy Spirit about how we should live. Scripture clearly presents the proper focus for our attention. Psalms 37:4 says: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 42:1-2 shows the depth of this delight in the Lord: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for thee, O God, for the living God" and in Psalm 63:1: "My soul thirsts for thee, my flesh yearns for thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water"

The scriptures clearly show that our desire for God and our obedience to God should spring from delight in God, not from duty. And that this focus is rewarded, as in Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Erwin W. Lutzer

Believers who are motivated by legalism are always anxious to know what is expected of them. They want to do only what is necessary to make themselves look respectable. They crave specific rules so they can know precisely how to behave. They plod along hoping that someday their efforts will pay off. According to the New Testament such people are legalists; they are using the law to establish their righteousness.

On the other hand—if we obey out of duty, isn’t that good enough? No, it is not! Obeying out of duty is nullifying grace in the blood of Christ—disrespecting the sacrifice Christ made that gives us freedom from the demands of the law. Paul told the Galatians: “But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:17-21).

So when we try to live to a particular standard that is extrabiblical, we are focusing on manmade rules and codes of conduct, not on Christ. This is idolatry. But the second problem I see with legalism is that it fails to teach those whom we hold to the legalistic standard proper biblical judgment. To give legalists the benefit of the doubt, they may be attempting to enforce the extra-biblical standard as a short-cut to behavior. They simply want the people to live, dress and act a certain way, and rather than take the time to teach the scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the hearers, they cut to the chase and just tell everyone, “This is the standard of holiness.”

The generation of children who are raised with these rules grow up with no understanding of why they should do these things. They have simply been told that this particular behavior will make them more holy, implicitly, more acceptable to God. So this generation is easy prey for those who would like to enforce more extrabiblical standards.

Another problem with legalism is that the Holy Spirit does not convict each of us equally. The truths of scripture are always the same, but the applications may be very different for each individual person. Something I have noticed as I have observed many legalistic folks is that their particular points of emphasis tend to be areas in which they have felt great conviction to change their own behavior. The particular brand of legalism seems to be tied directly to areas of weakness within the legalist’s life. Those who take a particularly strong stand against alcohol, for example, quite often have had troubles with over-indulgence in their own past. Or many times they have been close to someone who abused alcohol. Those who hold others to a particularly conservative manner of dress have often had issues with premarital sex, divorce, or been involved in inappropriate flirtatious or provocative activities. In fact, many of those who demand conservative dress from others have been caught in ongoing sexual indiscretions and have caused great scandal to the Church.

What motivates legalism?

Earlier, I gave the legalists the benefit of the doubt by saying that they may simply be looking for a shortcut to quickly get folks around them into behavioral nirvana. But I don’t think that legalists typically deserve the benefit of the doubt. My experience with those who are legalistic (research Independent Fundamental Baptists if you’re curious about my background) is that they seem to set these rules in order to control those around them.

Charles R. Swindoll

The bite of legalism spreads paralyzing venom into the body of Christ. Its poison blinds our eyes, dulls our edge, and arouses pride in our hearts. Soon our love is eclipsed as it turns into a mental clipboard with a long checklist.

Of course, I can’t know their hearts. But over and over I have heard and seen legalists twist scriptures and redefine terms in order to make the hearers think that their legalism has biblical support. We’ve discussed the redefinition of the term “modesty” in recent posts. This redefinition allows the legalists to demand the manner of dress that feels most comfortable to them, considering their own past experiences and possible indiscretions. The total-abstinence from alcohol crowd selectively chooses their scriptures, using such verses as Proverbs 23:31-35:

Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. They struck me," you will say, "but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink."

But they fail to mention that verse 30 (the verse just prior to the passage they just quoted) says: “Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.” This passage is obviously warning against overindulgence in wine, not prohibiting any use of alcohol at all.

How then shall we conduct ourselves?

A friend of mine recently ran a series of posts about the topic of “modesty.” Although my friend and I come to different conclusions about what is appropriate dress in some circumstances, How then shall we dress? was, I believe, a fairly balanced treatment of this subject. Christians will need to rely on the conviction of the Holy Spirit to guide them as to what they should or should not wear, and none of us should ever attempt to hold others to the standard the Holy Spirit has convicted us of. We must allow the Holy Spirit to do His job, we can’t allow ourselves the self-indulgence of thinking we can do the Holy Spirit’s job for Him.