Legalism is defined as:
A belief system where laws, “do’s and dont’s”, pet doctrines, and rules of conduct, not faith in God’s, is the primary pathway to redemption.
Another way of putting this is:
Jesus + (some other personal ideology made into “God’s Theology) = salvation
We see it in the New Testament. Jesus battled the Pharisees who believed that God plus the rituals equated to salvation. The church at Galatia dealt with people who tried to make the people believe that Jesus plus Judaism equaled salvation. The church at Colossae had to deal with people who believed that Jesus plus esoteric gnostic mysticism equaled salvation.
We even see it today when people believe in the same basic formula of Jesus plus some pet doctrine is salvation when the Scriptures state that salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne. Some of these formulas over the past hundreds of years have been:
Jesus + extreme poverty = salvation
Jesus + extreme wealth = salvation
Jesus + staying away from theaters, movies, dancing, rock music, playing cards, pizza parlors, any establishment that serves beer, bowling alleys, roller rinks, high school football games, and/or mixed swimming = salvation
Jesus + Jewish holidays, Jewish calendars, Davidic dancing, Jerusalem time zone, spelling God G_D, kosher foods, wearing shawls, blowing shofars, and/or pilgrimage to Jerusalem = salvation
Jesus + creeds, catechisms, tradition, and rituals = salvation
Jesus + rallies on 7-7-07, praying over I-35, celebrating anniversaries of past revivals, reforming healing rooms, creating prayer centers, and all night harp and bowl worship celebrations = salvation
Jesus + southern gospel singing, speaking in tongues, and running around the church = salvation
Jesus + voting Republican, calling our congressmen telling them how to vote, feminized men, bashing the liberal secular news media, and doing what the Christian media tells you to do = salvation
Why has Jesus plus some additional doctrine, some additional creed, some additional annual tradition, some additional anniversary of a ‘visitation’, some additional action and deed, some additional ’stuff’, etc. appear to have been successful?
(1): Legalism actually comes across as making ‘Christianity easier’ to live out. Who usually gets entangled in legalistic practices? It is usually the Christian who has had a definite salvation and repentance experience, but for some reason, is either ‘confused’ about some particular thing, action, and/or deed that is in their everyday life and therefore needs some help and guidance in that particular area.
(2): Legalism appears to make the ‘choice’ for us. When indecisive about a personal choice in the midst of a form of Christianity that installs pressure and paranoia to ‘get it right or God is going to get us and doom us’, when the choice is already made and the ‘official perspective’ already laid out, the pressure is off….
In the long run what happens usually over time? The thing we thought made Christianity easier to live out actually makes it much harder and burdensome where we place our faith in the ‘rules’ instead of being justified by faith in God. Too many ‘rules’ (many hidden and not known until the violation has been committed), too many “i’s” to dot, and too many “t’s” to cross forces us to make sure we keep up the appearance instead of us worshiping Him in Spirit and in truth.
What also compounds the problem is when we hear the stories of what happened when the wrong choice was done and the consequences of making the wrong choice and paranoia and ‘fear’ of making any choice turns us from powerful in Christ to paralysis in covenant. We’re too scared to even choose in fear of missing the rapture. We are too scared to not send money to an televangelist in fear of having a retarded child. We are too scared to tell anyone we are going out of town in fear of “Satan may be listening’ and will set up obstacles such as lost reservations and canceled flights. We are too scared to eat at the pizza parlor (where they serve beer) in fear of God taking our finances away and our home gets repossessed. We are too scared to miss church on Sunday because we need to go out of town fearing God will break down the car or allow us to get in a wreck. We are too scared to disagree and come against a blatant heretic fearing that we are ‘touching the anointed’ and that cancer (God’s judgment disease of choice) will ravage our bodies.
What was supposed to be our freedom became our bondage.
What was supposed to be our fortress became our prison
What was supposed to be our shield became our sword
What was supposed to be our defense became our attacking offensive
What was supposed to be our solution became our unanswered question
What was supposed to be our escape route from sickness, poverty, judgement, and ‘bad luck’ became our dead-end road to burnout, fatigue, loneliness, and loneliness.
There is only one way out of legalism…
Christ and Christ alone…..
In fact, I am reminded of the song “In Christ Alone” by the Newsboys and especially the first and last verses which states:
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I standNo guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
Quit trying to kick against the pricks. Paul learned on that Damascus Road about what legalism really did to him. It made him bound with a pseudo feeling of superiority. Christ did it all on Calvary and his rising on the third day. I don’t need to relive a revival of days gone by. I don’t need to make up a rule because I don’t like something and need to force others not to like it to feel as ’spiritual’ as I feel. I don’t need to celebrate Rosh Hashanah or any other Jewish holiday to get a trinitarian tingle. I don’t need to wear three piece suits and a tie and be King James 161
1 only Bible reader.
I need to obey God and God only
Christ and Christ alone!
