Legalism is Lethal

Legalism is a topic that is expansive and to properly deal with it exceeds the capacity of this one Blog Post. My aim, as I often mention, is to whet your curiosity to dig deeper for yourself. I give you a starting point and I trust that your interest would be aroused enough for you to desire more, much more.

First, I must let you know that you will not find the word “legalism” anywhere in the Bible. You can scour through for yourself but it is not there, however, Jesus dealt with this malaise throughout His Ministry, in particular during His encounters with the Pharisees and other law experts (see Luke 11:37-54).

Apostle Paul wrote,

So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: “Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law.” (Galatians 3:9-10 MSG)

This more or less encapsulates what legalism is about. Simply defined, legalism is attempting to practice the law – applying Scripture – by your own understanding and interpretation and in your own strength. It’s about trying to gain favour with God and impressing your fellowman by doing certain things, all the while neglecting genuine spiritual growth and transformation. Legalism is performance based and ignores the establishment of a personal, intimate relationship with God. It exalts human ability and focuses on externals such as one’s good deeds, without regard to the condition of one’s heart before God.

But authentic Christianity is about the heart. The heart is what God looks at, the internal not the external: …the Lord said to Samuel, “…the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 ESV)

God is concerned with your inner character, that’s what He considers. He is not at all impressed by your so called good works or deeds. God examines your heart and therefore knows your true motives and intentions (1 Chronicles 28:9; Jeremiah 12:3). The Pharisees took pride in how they were seen by others. They were well educated and had great knowledge of the Law but their hearts were corrupted. Jesus compared them to “whitewashed tombs”, outwardly beautiful yet full of rot and decay on the inside.

The Pharisees’ major problem was pride, which is the core of legalism. And still today, there are many who possess legalistic tendencies. You see, falling into legalism is easier than you or I might imagine, and the troubling part is, we do not realize when we have stumbled into that trap of a religious and legal practice of God’s Word. 

When you do not properly divide and apply the Word of God through the leading of the Holy Spirit but instead live it out according to your own misinterpretation, that’s the moment you enter into that trap of legalism. Paul, a former Pharisee, warns us of this in Romans 8:3-7 and 12-14 and, in Luke 11:42-52, Jesus, in dealing with the Pharisees and other religious experts cried out all the woes that would befall those who indulged in religious and legalistic practices. Jesus confronted legalism as sin. Therefore, legalism is lethal since the wages of sin is death. 

Too often we get caught up in believing that it’s what we do that determines whether or not we are good Christians. So we start doing this and that, making sure to adhere to all the man made rules like dress codes while overlooking, tolerating and engaging in gossip, greed, sowing discord, lust, malice, lying, scheming, pride…all the things that God hates and detests. 

Pride is like a secret trapdoor that can subtly lead us into all sorts of sinful activity and it is the very root of legalism. Legalism focuses on man’s ability, not God’s; it is mired in self-exaltation and self-righteousness. Legalism is self-seeking and does not even consider to seek God and His Kingdom first and foremost. Legalism abuses and subverts the laws of God, shifting the focus from the heart to the outward appearance, to yourself and away from God and godliness.

Thank God there is an escape from this lethal trap. God is so merciful, He always provides us with a way out and a way up when we fall. He already put a rescue plan in place for us, but we have to cooperate. We simply have to purposefully shift our focus back to God and away from self. Paul tells us how in Romans 8,

“God did something the law could never do. You see, human flesh took its toll on God’s law. In and of itself, the law is not weak; but the flesh weakens it. So to condemn the sin that was ruling in the flesh, God sent His own Son, bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sin offering. Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the movement of the Spirit in our lives.

If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit. A mind focused on the flesh is doomed to death, but a mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace. You see, a mind focused on the flesh is declaring war against God; it defies the authority of God’s law and is incapable of following His path.” (verses 3-7 Voice)

Amen†

Legalism is Lethal

Shelley Johnson June 21, 2017