As Christians who live between the D-Day and V-Day of Christ’s first and second coming, there are certain enemies that we have to be on the lookout for. In the book of Galatians one enemy in particular that Paul constantly warns against is legalism. He warns that it’s not just an enemy to our view of justification (God’s act of declaring us righteous), it’s also an enemy to our sanctification (God’s work of making us righteous). In Galatians 2:16 Paul declares legalism to be an enemy of justification when he says, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” Later in Galatians 3:3, Paul declares legalism to be an enemy of sanctification when he says, “having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Paul, throughout the book of Galatians, is clearly passionate about preserving the purity of the Gospel and upholding the sole sufficiency of the work of the Savior. One of the ways this is clearly demonstrated is in his all out assault on legalism, one of the greatest enemies of Gospel. But what exactly is legalism? This is a word that is tossed around frequently and like much “Christianese” it has been overused, abused, misused and under-defined. So, I want to attempt to move toward a clearer understanding of what legalism is in hopes that this will help us detect it more easily, repent of it more specifically, and embrace it’s remedy more wholeheartedly.
The Subtlety of Legalism
Before I give a definition of Legalism, it is important to note that legalism shares a lot of similarities to a Deer Tick that carries Lyme Disease. Like a Deer Tick, legalism is sometimes undetectable (a Deer Tick is almost microscopic). It can easily be mistaken as completely harmless (a Deer Tick looks like a cute baby ladybug). It can be hard to diagnose (early stages of Lyme Disease mimic the flu). And if it is allowed to go untreated, it’s effects can be devastating (untreated Lyme Disease can have chronic effects). This is what, in part, makes legalism so dangerous.
The Spectrum of Legalism
Furthermore, legalism does not come in one shape and size, as if it were one very specific thing that you could point to. Legalism comes in a variety of flavors and exists on a spectrum. For example, on one end of the spectrum you have forms of legalism that are heretical. These are the extreme cases of legalism that distort the truth of the Gospel so much that to believe them or teach them is damnable (Paul seems to deal with this kind in Gal 1:6-9). On the other end of the spectrum, you have less extreme cases of legalism that though not heretical, are still harmful (Paul seems to deal with this kind in Gal 2:11-14).
Defining Legalism
Legalism is any man-made addition(s) to salvation or Scripture which we use to earn, maintain, or improve our standing before God and which we impose upon others.
Let’s break that down…
Legalism Usurps the Authority of God
Legalism makes “man-made addition(s)” to things that only God has the authority to speak on. In a sense, legalism is “fools rushing in where angels fear to tread.” Scripture has one ultimate author and it is not us. Only God has the prerogative to say “thus saith the Lord.” Legalism tries to say “thus saith the Lord” without asking permission.
Legalism Undermines the Sufficiency of Christ
Legalism makes “man-made additions to salvation.” By adding any criteria to salvation other than “believe on the Lord Jesus,” legalism essentially says that Jesus isn’t enough, His work isn’t fully sufficient, more is required. This comes not only in formal ways, where one declares “you must be circumcised if you would be saved.” It also comes in functional ways. No one makes a declaration or writes a position paper on it, but people can unknowingly treat voting a certain way or adopting a certain educational method or adhering to certain social behaviors as necessary criteria for being a Christian. This cuts at the heart of the Gospel.
Legalism Undermines the Wisdom of God
Legalism makes “man-made additions to…Scripture.” By adding anything to Scripture’s commands, Legalism acts as if it were wiser than God. There are many areas of life to which God, in his wisdom, does not say “thus saith the Lord, do this and do not do that.” These are areas of Christian Freedom, or as it has sometimes been called cases of conscience. Legalism seeks to remove freedom in these areas and hold consciences’ captive. In effect, this says if God were as wise as me he would have said “don’t do ________.”
One clarification here: Obedience is not in question. When God makes commands, we as Christians must “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2). But we are not obligated in any way to submit to man-made additions to God’s commands. That is the difference between obeying God and legalism. (see the Westminster Confession Chapter 20)
Legalism Breaks the Greatest Commandment
Legalism uses obedience to “earn, maintain, or improve our standing with God.” When we do this we break what Jesus called the “greatest commandment:” to LOVE the Lord your God. Instead of fueling love for God, legalism becomes a way of trying to manipulate God and put him in our debt. This is why you will never see joy in a legalistic environment. Legalists aren’t gazing properly at God to derive the joy that comes from truly knowing him. Instead, legalism takes our eyes off of the greatness of God and tries to get God to look at our perceived greatness.
Legalism Breaks the 2nd Greatest Commandment
Finally, Legalism imposes itself on others and judges others by its non-biblical standard. Thus, legalism not only affects things on a vertical level, it also affects things on a horizontal level by breaking the 2nd greatest commandment: “Love your neighbor.” Sam Storms helpfully articulates it this way:
Legalism is the tendency to regard as divine law things which God has neither required nor forbidden in Scripture and the corresponding inclination to look with suspicion on others for their failure or refusal to conform.
Legalism makes us think we are superior to our neighbor because we have reached heights of holiness that they can only dream about. In this state of mind, instead of coming underneath our neighbor and serving them, we stand over our neighbor and judge them for not being like us. That is why you will never see genuine community in a legalistic environment. The only “community” will be cliques that are formed by groups who share the same legalistic tendencies.
In the next post, I will look at what Legalism is not in order to help us avoid a misdiagnosis or an overreaction.
