Articles
Legalism...Such A Nasty Word!
A Christian must not be frightened by the word legalism. Merriam-Webster defines legalism as, “strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code.”(1) Essentially, this means following the rules or obeying the law. If someone were to use “law” and “Christian” in the same sentence, this might produce a bad taste in one’s mouth. This is because, over time, a correlation has developed between Pharisaism and devout Christianity. In order to correct false ideas springing from this correlation, believers must develop an informed understanding to make a proper defense for their faith (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15). The focus of this article will be to look at Scripture and draw the appropriate conclusions about obedience to God’s commands.
One misunderstanding is the notion that devout Christians function after the exact pattern of the Pharisees. The Pharisees, by appearance, had the utmost concern for the Law of Moses, but their hearts were elsewhere. Before the time of Christ, the prophet Isaiah spoke of these people that would unhealthily adhere to manmade traditions. Isaiah proclaimed by the Holy Spirit, “But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men” (Matt. 15:9; cf. Isa. 29:13). Additionally, Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?...And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matt. 15:3, 6). People tend to forget that Jesus was living under the Law of Moses (cf. Gal. 4:4). Moses wrote down God’s instruction which included, “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it” (Deut. 12:32). The Lord understood this better than anyone. However, the Lord Jesus came and has established a new covenant by fulfilling the old (cf. Matt. 5:17ff; Heb. 8:3). Fastidious observance of the law of God was, and is, not the problem; the problem was, and is, a spirit of rebellion.
Another aspect of Pharisaism that needs to be addressed is understanding what it is and what it isn’t. The claim that Christians are pharisaical fails due to an uninformed and inadequate knowledge about Pharisaism. Jeffrey Hamilton articulates some helpful clarifications. He says,
“Pharisaism is NOT: 1) Trying to obey God’s word but falling short; 2) Respecting the authority of God’s word and insisting that we all submit to it; 3) Holding to traditions that expediently carry out a commandment. Secondly, Pharisaism IS: 1) Ignoring points of Law that get in the way; 2) Judging the Law and assessing by human wisdom what will be the “least” important commandment, and then, disobeying it and teaching others it is OK to disobey it.”(2)
Many misapply Pharisaism and legalism. The Pharisees failed to adhere to the Law of Moses even though they claimed to be its greatest proponent. Jesus declared in one of His woes that the Pharisees failed to observe the weightier matter of the Law, such as being just, merciful, and faithful. Most fail to acknowledge that Jesus commended them for carrying out the minor matters of the Law (cf. Matt. 23:23). Before tackling the issue of legalism more closely, it is pertinent to see that the Lord wanted people to follow the teachings of the Pharisees but not act as they did. Jesus made this clear by saying, “Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them” (Matt. 23:3). Ultimately, Pharisees failed to be legalists in that they didn’t follow the Law.
Contemporary thinkers view legalism in a range of connotations. R.C. Sproul is one noteworthy example who defines three basic types of legalism.(3) First, abstracting God’s law from the original context; in other words, simply obeying the rules for the sake of following them. In this form of legalism there is no substantive relationship with God. Secondly, the legalist will divorce themselves from the spirit of the law. This has only a slight variance from the first example. People that fall under this category will observe the commandments outwardly but fail to internalize them; simply put, they have a self-righteous/self-centered focus on meritorious law-keeping. This is analogous to the manner of the Pharisees. Thirdly, another modern form of legalistic thought involves making additions to God’s law. In essence, this is another aspect of the Pharisaic method, which states that these rules are on par with God’s, making them divine. This echoes passages like Matthew 15 and Mark 7. Sproul’s article ends by stating: “The gospel calls men to repentance, holiness, and godliness.”3 Sadly, missing the difference between devout discipleship and Pharisaism, Sproul still fails to acknowledge the severity of the Lord’s words, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21-23).
Steve Klein sheds brilliant light on legalism by calling it the “UN-SIN.” Klein describes the success that Satan has made in fooling people, in that obeying God’s laws is a sin. He puts it like this, “It was a stroke of genius…being able to actually convince people that not committing sin is a sin!” The Devil recognized that, at the outset of the church, Christians were wholeheartedly adhering to the apostles’ teachings (cf. Acts 2:42). He found a way to twist this devotion in the eyes of the fleshly. Paul emphasized the need for total obedience when he wrote in 2 Cor. 2:9, “For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.” Satan’s cunning ways manipulated the conflict that was occurring between true Christians and the Judaizers (cf. Acts 15). Klein opines, “And that’s when Satan hatched his scheme.” Filtering in a diabolical distortion of following the ways of God has been an efficacious and insidious technique. This misrepresents what Paul wrote in Gal. 5:1, “…Therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” The “yoke” here is the Law of Moses and NOT the apostles’ teaching. However, the methods of Satan have prevailed to an extent because myriads of professing Christians will not rigorously follow the laws of Christ out of fear of being labeled a “legalist.” Klein points out one such proponent of anti-legalism who states, “Stringently striving to obey Christian rules and regulations doesn’t enable the Spirit-filled walk; it often kills it (2 Cor. 3:6).” Klein correctly observes that Neil Anderson fails to look at the context of the passage. Anderson should read 2 Cor. 3:7 and recognize that what was being discussed by Paul was the Law of Moses.(4) Thank you, Steve Klein and everyone else who make the case for observing the Law of Christ!
Another anti-legalist is Brian Cooper of Freedom Quest Ministries. Like Anderson, he uses 2 Cor. 3:6 as his go-to passage in his focus on legalism. He further describes similar points made earlier about Pharisees and equates them to the members of the Church of Christ. Some of Cooper’s beliefs are: 1) The Church of Christ is a denomination; 2) Baptism doesn’t offer forgiveness of sins, and those that hold such belief are legalists; 3) Salvation is simply by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8f).5 Even though this article is on legalism, people like Cooper bring up points that have to be effectively combatted by believers.
Unfortunately, Christians often do not help themselves in their defense of Scripture and the church. Sometimes our words/actions can lead people to the false perception that the “Church of Christ” is a denomination. Also, some groups wear the name “Church of Christ” in a denominational sense. A true body of believers will look only to Scripture for authority. Ultimately, the best response that I have heard is this: “This is what God’s word says. You may think you disagree with me, but you actually disagree with God.” Using these words are a great way to respond to people like Cooper and Anderson. Furthermore, in response to Cooper’s stance on salvation, Christians are indeed saved by grace, but one cannot simply choose one passage and leave out the rest of Christ's commandments, including the overflowing cornucopia of salvation components. Jesus says in Mark 16:16, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” What about passages such as Acts 22:16 and Colossians 2:11f? These verses indicate that baptism washes away sins and is a “work of God.” Once people have the truth pointed out to them, then it is up to them to decide to accept or reject the commandments of the Lord.
So, why is it wrong to obey God’s word? Steven Chan, in his article “Performance-oriented Legalism,” wrote, “If obedience to the gospel/word of Jesus Christ is deemed as ‘performance-oriented approach to pleasing God’, then there is no scriptural objection to one’s performance of obedience to the gospel and to Christ so as to accept by faith the free gift of salvation offered by His grace and thereby pleasing Him.” In other words, Cooper would have to call the Apostle Paul a legalist, which is absurd! Chan offers a good response to individuals that hold the same beliefs as Cooper. Chan says of Galatians 3:26f, “Today, those who alleged that baptism is ‘performance-oriented legalism’ accuse Paul of teaching error because he explained that baptism is the process by which one becomes a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”(6) Baptism is one of many hot-button issues that people believe are typical of legalism.
Finally, if we were to put the term legalism outside of the religious realm, people would have to admit they are legalists. One may ask any non-criminal, “Do you obey the laws?” If they respond with “yes,” then they are by definition a legalist! So, why is it so wrong to obey God’s word? Any professing Christian would most likely answer, “It isn’t.” Yet sadly, people have been misled and have allowed malevolent influences to guide their thinking. Consider what Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (Jn. 15:10). Likewise, in Matt. 7:13-14 Jesus spoke these words, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Just with these two passages, one can surmise that Jesus was narrow-minded and legalistic. In this manner, it sure sounded like Jesus had a legalistic mindset! That might sound blasphemous, but who is the Lord and Savior? Who decides what is right and wrong? Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Lk. 6:46) What this all boils down to is obeying the Law of Christ. Who can say that they are Christian and not obey what Jesus has commanded? We show the love of God in us when we keep His commandments (cf. 1 Jn. 5:3). Remember what is written, “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 Jn. 2:4).
(1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legalism
(2) https://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVstudies/JesusAndThePharisees/00Introduction.html
(3) https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/3-types-legalism
(4) https://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVarticles/LegalismTheUnSin.htm
(5) http://www.chocd.org/legalism.html
(6) https://klangchurchofchrist.org/latest-news/performance-oriented-legalism
