Defining Legalism/Legalist

[eric m williams]

I think legalism brings with it a punishment for breaking the law. And to be legalistic means to desire a punishment for those who do not obey.

Interesting clarification.

I tend to think of orders as being orders.
Even when no set punishment is stated, or the consequences of disobedience are not immediately obvious, it is important to trust the one you follow, because His vision and knowledge are greater than your own.

 

[Euphemia]

The law demands. Grace supplies.

 

[JohnP]

When I hear legalism I immediately think of the pharisees, and we all know how Jesus thought about them.

 

[boltardy]

Mark2 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

 

[Brother_Mike_V]

The phrases LEGALISM and LEGALIST get bandied tossed around a lot in christian and pseudo-christian circles.
Maybe it is time we actually defined the word in a way that doesn’t make it just another ad hominem tactic.

Merriam-Webster defines LEGALISM as strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code.
Merriam-Webster also defines LEGALIST as an advocate or adherent of moral legalism

Personally I have come to define a LEGALIST as a person for whom at least one but usually multiple issues have only two possible sides.

This means that if you disagree with their view it can only be for one possible reason or structure of belief.
In their mind your disagreement places you squarely in that one specified structure so they know exactly what you really believe and mean before you ever say a word or even in spite of your actual words.
This is comforting to them, because it means they don’t have to think about how to respond. It also means that, because they already know what you actually mean, they don’t have to listen to you.

A LEGALIST will only pay attention to small parts of what you have to say and those small parts will almost inevitably be the narrow pats they can pull out to justify the lines they have drawn.
People most typically (not always) start calling other people or opinions legalistic when they don’t want to or cannot deal with the subject that the person is putting forward. This can happen with minor issues like carpet color and music choice as well as serious issues like salvation and baptism.

In my experience, continuing to try to talk with such people is fruitless unless the Holy Spirit is leading me to do so. When I have known that it was the Holy Spirit's leading I usually find out later on that someone I was unaware of was listening/watching and that He used me to show them something.

What are your thoughts?

Legalism: (paraphrased) 'Truth without Grace, is not Love; it's brutality' -James MacDonald Harvest Bible Chapel, https://www.jamesmacdonald.com/

 

[Lanolin]

Hmm i think in the NT grace administered those laws to our hearts instead of others telling us what to do...God can now show us whats right through us having the words on our heart.

It is not that any of Gods statutes and laws are wrong or too hard in the OT they were just rules for the israelites to follow as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. Once we have or are in christ we can see those rules as a GOOD thing and the correct way to fulfil them, the way Jesus did.

For example, children need rules and bourndaries to know what to do and what not to do. If they dont have this, they just do what is right in their own eyes, like we see the israelites doing when they disobeyed God and forgot about Him. God sent a lot of prophets to remind them they were going wrong, but many didnt listen. Also they made up other rules which were contrary to what God said, and started following those instead, hoping that would make them righteous.

When Jesus came, he saw the Pharisees doing that and making others stumble cos they were being the spiritual police and bullying others into submission, when God is not like that. Jesus had to teach them all over again, which was what the sermon on the mount was mostly about.

 

[Paul K]

Legalism will destroy your love for God, and peace with God! When your love and peace for God dies, so will your joy and hope die. Christianity and life will become hell for you, and you may not even know why.

Legalism has many different tentacles. Legalism often comes in the slick, slimy form of "religion." Religion is often based on being coerced to obey rules to try to please religious leadership, as well as to try to please God. Religion is based on one's personal performance to one degree or another. Religion is actually Satan’s counterfeit to the real thing. What is “the real thing?” It is a love relationship with God. In this love relationship with God, we do not have to do a thing to try to be worthy enough to receive the fullness of God’s unconditional love for us. Our worthiness is found in our identity with Christ. Because salvation is truly a free gift, so is God’s unconditional love for us a free gift. When we give our lives to Jesus Christ as an expression of our love and appreciation for dying on the cross and taking the punishment for all our sins: Past, present and future sins … with that comes God’s unconditional acceptance -- God’s unconditional love. I can't be "good enough" to receive it, nor can I be "too unworthy; too undeserving" to be disqualified from receiving it. Yet when I identify with Jesus Christ ... it automatically is given to me FREELY!

Legalism - religion - is about keeping rules. It is full of "Don'ts!" and "Cant's! and "Must does!" Legalism puts a yoke of bondage on a person that causes them to begin subconsciously hating God to different degrees, yet consciously refusing to believe it. Many have never wanted to become a Christian because they've seen what religion did to a friend or a loved one. Some have even left Christianity because the list of "do's" and "don'ts" became a heavy bondage that feeds rebellion in a person - not a genuine desire to please God because we GET to ... not because we HAVE to.

Legalism - religion - can be likened to being in a marriage and constantly be told you MUST do this or that to PROVE your love for your spouse. Relationship that God desires for us to have with our spouse is based on the premise: Because I love my spouse so much, I can't help but WANT to please him/her in every way I can. Not because I HAVE to, or am SUPPOSED to ... but because I just WANT to.

There is something in every one of us that wants others to accept us and love us unconditionally. Guess what? In Christ, God does! Sound too good to be true? Yes - it is hard for our logical thinking to receive this incredible fact, but I'm telling you the honest-to-God truth. In Christ, God instantly and forever loves us so unconditionally, that He died on the cross for us to PROVE His love for us ... if it's PROOF we feel we need.

http://www.precious-testimonies.com/Exhortations/a-e/exposinglegalism.htm

+1...Couldn't agree more! The law was introduced to guide the Jews till Christ came and also lead them to Him once He did as they would have seen that it was impossible to fulfull all the requirements of the law on their own. Gal. 3:22-26

As we are no longer under the law, our role is no longer to actively trying to fulfill all law as a means to gain acceptance before God or other men, but rather walk in the guidance of the Holy Spirit who reveals to us God's purposes for us daily. Legalism is in my opinion, not accepting Christ's righteousness as the only requirement in walking with God and most of us (me included) manifest this whenever we look at our actions and let them affect how we relate with God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God!