Am I A Legalist?

Is God a legalist, too?

Now and then, I am accused of being a ‘legalist.’ It’s never meant as a compliment, and it usually comes in response or reaction to a conversation or lesson on holy living, high personal standards, Biblical separation, or something similar.

I’ve often found that the people accusing others of legalism are often far more judgmental of those who don’t match their standards than the person they are accusing.

In their mind, anyone who holds themselves to a higher Biblical standard than they hold is a legalist, and anyone whose standard is lower than theirs is a weak or backslidden Christian. From their perspective, they are the only ones with the right balance.

What is legalism?

There are a variety of definitions for legalism, depending on the context, but generally speaking, legalism is a strict adherence to a set of rules or laws that govern a people. These rules can be established by a person, a government, a religion, or some other entity. Those who break the rules are harshly punished.

When I think about legalism from a historical and Biblical perspective, I can clearly see that legalism starts and ends with God.

The God of Creation established a strict set of rules that He expected people to follow. At first, it was just one rule. Don’t eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die!

We all know how that turned out.

Later, this same God gave Moses and the Hebrew people a set of 10 Commandments as well as a long list of other sacrificial, ceremonial, civil, and moral laws to follow. Again, failure to follow these laws resulted in severe consequences.

If you don’t think God is a legalist, you haven’t been paying attention. Take the time to read the Bible for yourself. Ask God’s Spirit to guide you to an understanding of His Character and His Word.

One article is not sufficient to sum up the Masterpiece that is God’s Holy Word, but I will make a meager attempt to summarize what I believe God is teaching us about legalism and its place in our lives today.

God established The Law with a specific plan in mind. The Law served many purposes. I’d like to emphasize four of them:

1. Identification - The keepers of The Law were identified as a specific people aligned with a specific God and a specific faith. It set a group of people apart as belonging to and associating with the Great I AM.
   

2. Condemnation - The Law also and, I believe, primarily served to show people their imperfections and their need for forgiveness and redemption. Without The Law, we think we have no sin. We have a hard time seeing ourselves as ‘condemned already’ because we all feel that we ‘really aren’t that bad.’ The Law establishes our guilt.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
~ James 2:10

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. ~ Romans 8:34

3. Protection - Of course, much of The Law also served the purpose of keeping peace among men by establishing codes of conduct that enable people to live together in harmony and with civility. It protected a person and their property and even provided guidance for healthy living.
   

4. Sanctification - Finally, The Law served the purpose of sanctifying God’s people to live a life that was more like God Himself. Sanctification is the process of becoming more holy for the use of God and His purposes.

When God’s people followed His Law, they were blessed, protected, and in fellowship with Him. The animal sacrifices they made regularly covered their condemnation temporarily until God Himself became their sacrifice.

What is the role of God’s Law today?

We are living in a different era. Is the Law of God still relevant today? Are we supposed to be legalistic in our thinking and in our living? What about the cross and the resurrection? Aren’t we free from The Law now?

When people refer to legalism today, or to Christians being ‘legalistic,’ the most common and accepted definition is ‘adhering to a strict set of rules in order to be saved.’ With that in mind, understand that true believers are definitely NOT legalists by that definition.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. ~ Romans 3:20
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
~ Romans 3:28

If you aren’t familiar with these Scriptures, please take the time to read the book of Romans, especially the first half. It’s wonderful!

The Bible clearly teaches us that salvation is a free gift offered to us by a loving God, exchanging our sin for His righteousness. We don’t deserve eternal life in heaven and can’t earn a place there no matter how hard we might try. What a relief! We only have to accept God’s gift with open hearts.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ~ Romans 10:9

While we are blessed to live under a new covenant with God, the new law is remarkably stricter than the old law. Do you remember what Jesus said?

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. ~ Matthew 5:27-28

That’s just one example. His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is quite clear in illustrating God’s expectations of us. Jesus did not lower the bar. He raised it!

While this was spoken before the death, burial, and resurrection, I believe we can arguably say that Jesus was revealing the heart of God. Paul’s writings in Romans 6-9 also show us that the ‘old’ law is finished, but the ‘new’ law of the Spirit of life in Christ is our new aim.

The new law or covenant has similar benefits to us today as the old law had for the Hebrew people.

1. Identification - When we follow the law of the Spirit, we self-identify as one of God’s children and are identifiable by others.

2. Conviction (in place of condemnation) - While we are no longer condemned by our sin, we are still convicted of our sin by His Spirit so that we can purge ourselves from it and walk in His Holiness.

3. Protection - Obedience to the strict law of the Spirit, and holding ourselves to the highest standards protects us from the snares of the devil and the pitfalls of our foolish fleshly lusts.

4. Sanctification - When we walk in the Spirit and become servants to righteousness and holiness, we are becoming more like Jesus and are able to be more effective for His use and His work.

So, am I a legalist?

Perhaps, after all, I am; or at least I want to be. I want to strictly adhere to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ. Not to obtain my salvation, but to express my heart full of love to my Savior for His amazing grace.

• I want to be identified and aligned clearly with Him.

• I welcome the conviction of His Holy Spirit that reminds me whose I am.

• I desperately need protection from myself and my wicked enemy.

• I long to be sanctified and fit for the Master’s use to bring glory to His name.

When I meet others who hold a higher standard than I in some area of their life, someone a bit more strict than I am in their personal separation and righteousness, I don’t think of them as ‘a legalist’ in a derogatory way. I don’t try to get them to lower their standards to match mine.

Instead, I recognize that I’ve probably just met someone who loves God a little bit more than I do. I admire and respect them. I want to be around them in hopes that I might be strengthened to raise my standards, too.

It’s a lot to think about.
Blessings,
Angie