Legalism - the Chain that Binds

I have been thinking about this topic for a while, and when checking my stat counter recently, I saw that one visit to my blog resulted from the person's search for "legalistic churches." I was curious to see what other sites they found so I pulled up their search results. There were some very good articles and sermons, and I think the time is right to share some of my thoughts.

In today's politically correct society, many people, including professing Christians, are quick to use the term "legalistic" whenever they are told something they do not like. Unfortunately, from my own experience I have seen that many churches have become legalistic and, intentionally or not, have added to the Word of God.

True legalism is a binding and even suffocating chain that wraps itself around your whole being, demanding that you meet every requirement in order to receive the approval of both God and man. It ignores God's grace and mercy toward sinners and instead declares that you MUST keep a man-made list of standards if you wish to escape the wrath of God. The road to legalism is insidious and often begins with high personal convictions and standards. No one can ever truly fulfill the expectations placed upon them by legalism; thus, many rebel against the chain that binds, and some even rebel against faith and God altogether, incorrectly thinking that is the source of their sense of bondage.

On the other hand, while legalism does in fact exist, it seems that many instances where you hear the cry of "legalism!" are nothing more than rebellion against true authority. No one likes to have their sins exposed and condemned; and when confronted by the truth of their sin, people often attempt to ease their conscience by invoking "Christian liberty" or by incorrectly applying the famous verse, "Judge not that ye be not judged." The Ten Commandments declare that sins that are now socially acceptable are still sins and, as such, are subject to condemnation. Like it or not, God set certain absolutes of right and wrong: sodomy, adultery, pre-marital sex, and murder (which includes abortion), are all denounced as sin by God, yet they are some of the hot-button issues to which you are likely to hear the term "legalism" applied.

How can you recognize true legalism? Are there any distinguishing characteristics for which to look? The answer is, yes.

I recommend your reading this 2-part sermon on legalism by Pastor Randy Smith of Grace Tabernacle in Lake Como, NJ. He did an excellent job of expounding on this issue and began by examining what legalism is not.

1. Legalism is not the pursuit of personal godliness as it is commanded and accomplished in us by the Triune God.
   
2. Legalism is not adopting strong personal convictions.
   
3. Legalism is not establishing guidelines for church conduct.

He then divides legalism into two categories: "Big L" and "little l" legalism.

"Big L" legalism is any attempt to earn your salvation by contributing your own works to the work accomplished by Jesus on the cross. [emphasis mine] In others words, it's a "Christ-plus" message. The true Gospel, by which we are saved, is one totally by grace through faith whereby the individual rests solely in the sufficiency of Christ's work to forgive sins, remove wrath and justify the ungodly in the sight of God. To ignore grace or combine our works to grace is "Big-L" legalism.

"Little l" legalism, possibly more common in good churches today, may accept salvation by grace alone, but then believes all must follow certain prescribed extra-biblical standards for godly conduct and favor in God's sight.[emphasis mine] "Little l" legalism often begins as a personal conviction (which is fine), but then elevates that conviction to a corporate mandate expecting compliance from others in the church as well (which is wrong). There are often people who would never dream of subtracting from the Word of God, but have no problem adding to the Word of God and judging others who fail to comply with their standards, pressuring them to blindly adopt their burden or making them feel unholy and impure for failing to go along.

From my point of view, some of the most common areas that fall prey to "little l" legalism are clothing, music, hairstyles, and the use of cosmetics. These areas are not minutely detailed in Scripture. Thus, different people have different convictions. Legalism comes into play when we decide that our standard in these types of areas is the correct standard and demand that everyone else abide by our standard, looking down on them or even considering them unspiritual if they do not.

In closing, I believe it would be helpful if all Christians would keep in mind the following quotation.

God doesn't expect us to be perfect, just progressing.