Romans 3:19-20 ERV
“What the law says is for those who are under the law. It stops anyone from making excuses. And it brings the whole world under God’s judgment, because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin”.
‘Legalism’ is a term coined from a combination of observance of the ‘Legal’ and ‘Extremism’.
It’s used to describe a fanatical (not necessarily an informed) obsession with the Law of Moses. Jesus often chided the Pharisees for this malaise.
Matt 23:23
“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give God a tenth of the food you get, even your mint, dill, and cumin. But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—being fair, showing mercy, and being faithful. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things”.
The main focus of Religion is to maximally and proudly display adherence to the Law.
A ‘Legalist’ in the New Testament Church is one who professes to know Christ (and probably truly does), but is still living as if Christ never came into the picture, let alone intervene in the destiny of mankind.
A person who is born-again, but is yet to grasp the essence of Romans 5:1-2, or Heb 2:9-11.
See below, an encounter between Jesus and a legalist named Simon.
Luke 7:39
“When the Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this, he thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”
This is the typical attitude of a legalist. But this is even more tolerable before Jesus went to the Cross, although Simon got a rebuke from the Lord for such thoughts.
Today, this will be abominable.
This act will be tantamount to a spite of the “Spirit of grace”.
Yet this is the greatest ailment in the Church today.
Seventy percent of the Church of Christ do not yet comprehend what it means that the Law of the Spirit of Christ, hath set us free from the Law of Sin and Death, which another name for the Law of Moses.(Rom 8:1-3).
In the United States, Christian activists are still fighting for the ‘Ten commandments’ to be posted on every school.
Elsewhere, Pastors and GO’s are battling to establish that ‘Tithing’ and ‘1st Fruit’ offerings were never part of the Laws of Moses Christ abolished.
John 6:28
“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?”
Legalism thrives on two main behavioral components namely ‘works spirit’ and ‘judgemental spirit’.
In the text above, these Jews who have been schooled in the Law of Moses know and believe that to relate to God you MUST DO AND BE SEEN TO BE DOING SOME GOOD WORKS.
All they’ve known God for is as a taskmaster who must be served otherwise bad will be visited upon you.
You must pay your Tithes otherwise your children will fall sick and the doctors will collect the same tithes you refused to pay. Or your car will break down and the auto-shop will get it.
You must be active in Church 24/7 in-order to prove your passion for God and be a good example of a committed believer, OTHERWISE you will grow cold and backslide.
No one can enjoy, let alone sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that’s the real life.” Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping.
Gal 3:12
“And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”
The second and perhaps more dangerous component of Legalism is the judgemental spirit.
The Christian ‘legalist’ will always judge sin in everything. There’s always sinfulness to fathom in his own actions or in the action of others. He’s either condemning himself or condemning others. How can you see let alone enjoy God’s abundance of love and grace living this way?
John 9:2
“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Like these early disciples, there be many believers today who associate misfortune to sin, or even have a “serves-you-right” attitude when a brother or sister is going through tribulation.
Here are 8 ‘fact-checks’ you may use to assess yourself to see if you’re a Legalist:
1. You always wish “Sin and Hell” is preached more from the pulpit.
2. You’re quick to call other believers who are less intense and less active in Church ‘un-serious’ or ‘lukewarm’ Christians.
3. You sometimes have indignation or even war against sinners in your heart on behalf of God, wishing for something bad to befall them as a good lesson.
4. You’re always conscious of and looking out for news of ‘end-time events’ around the world with fear in heart.
5. Your humanity is stifled by Religion such that your compassion is based upon whether the receiver is a sinner or not.
6. You have ‘sacred cows’ when it comes to food, drink or clothing’, and anyone who crosses your sacred lines merits a condescending attitude.
– Dr Nich Mbaezue