Legalistic?

Mark Dunagan
09/14/14 - Sunday Evening

Legalist?

Most of us have heard the terms “legalist” and “legalism” tossed around, but what do those terms mean? When I do a word search to find those terms in the translation of the Bible that I typically use, I cannot find them. I know that when the terms are used they are not being used as compliments or as a statement of admiration, but in a negative connotation. Sadly, the terms could have meant something good, like someone who wants things done in a legal manner.

Some Inadequate Definitions

One definition of legalism that I found is the strict adherence to law. Yet, it really matters whose law we are seeking to follow. Clearly, a strict adherence to God’s law is not a bad thing, if this is the case, then God is a legalist, for He said, “So you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). Joshua was told, “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left” (Joshua 1:7). In addition, there are many times that a strict adherence to human laws is really important, such as when it comes to the laws that protect the quality of our food, so we don’t get sick, or the laws that govern the making of a will or laws that protect the rights of the innocent.

• Is It Majoring in Minors?

Others define legalism as putting a lot of stress on minor issues or the details of a command in Scripture. Yes, we can emphasize the wrong things, but I find God putting a lot of emphasis at times on the little details of a command, details that might seem rather unimportant to man.  In fact, God has even exercised His wrath and struck believers dead for ignoring such details as the right fire to use for sacrifice and how to move the Ark of the Covenant (Leviticus 10:1-2; 2 Samuel 6:6-7). King Saul was rejected from being King over God’s people because he ignored the details of the command given to him (1 Samuel 15).

When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for spending so much effort on tithing the seeds out of their gardens instead of practicing justice, mercy and faithfulness, He did not tell them to stop tithing. Rather He said, “These are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Matthew 23:23). So, this is not really a verse that says, “Don’t major in minors”, rather the verse is saying, “Major in everything in Scripture, and don’t assume that anything is minor”. 

• Is it Rules and Not Relationships?

Some might say that a legalist is someone who places rules ahead of relationships. Clearly, there are rules, especially man-made rules that should never be placed ahead of relationships. Yet we encounter a problem if we say that relationships trump divine rules, because God does place rules ahead of relationships. Sin is a violation of God’s word (1 John 3:4) and when we persist in sin and do not repent, God cuts off His relationship with us (Isaiah 59:1-2). Jesus practiced this was well. On the Judgment Day Jesus Himself describes what He will say to many people on that day, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). That is, He knew who they were, but He did not have a relationship with them. There are times when God commands believers to end relationships because the other person is ignoring His rules (Matthew 18:15). So putting divine rules ahead of human associations or friendship is not being a legalist. Clearly, a woman has a right to divorce her husband (end a relationships) if he is sexually involved with another woman (Matthew 19:9). I don’t think any of us would accuse her of being a “legalist” for ending that relationship.

• Is it Law Instead of Love?

Some might say that a legalist is someone who stresses the commands of God but not the love of God. No one would argue that we should not stress the love of God, but Jesus stressed both obedience to God’s commands and a love for Him, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). In fact, there are many passages that stress both the need to obey God and love Him.

• “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).
• “Love…rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).
• “Love does not wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law” (Romans 13:10).

In fact, it is really impossible to express love for God or others without obeying one of God’s rules. If I say, “The way I love my wife is that I encourage her or am patient with her”…that is another way of saying that I follow God’s rules for how I am supposed to treat a mate.

• Is It Bible Thumping?

Another person might say that a legalist is someone is always quoting Scripture or harping on bible verses. The problem with this is that we would have to define Jesus as a legalist, for He was constantly stressing Scripture and our need to obey it:

• One of the common expressions that came out of the mouth of Jesus when He was upon the earth was, “it is written” — and then He would quote a verse from the Old Testament: Matthew 4:6,7,10; 11:10; 21:13.
• Even after Jesus healed a man of leprosy He immediately sent him to the Jewish priests to observe the Old Testament law about cleansing and sacrifice: Matthew 8:4
• Jesus kept talking about the need to obey the words of God: Matthew 7:21.
• When people had questions for Him He pointed them back to Scripture for the answer: Luke 10:26

 

• Is it Someone Who Likes the Bible Too Much?

I guess someone could have a superstitious view of the Bible and view is as a good luck charm, but I don’t think we can love Scripture too much, the reason I say this is in view of how godly people in past ages spoke of Scripture, “O how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). Seems to me that loving the Bible would be a very natural outgrowth of loving God, for the Bible is not only God’s communication to us, but it is the only communication from God that exists. In addition, in it this God who loves us so much gives us everything we need so we can have and maintain a good relationship with Him and be with Him forever.

• Is it Stressing the Letter of the Law over the Spirit of the Law

There are only a couple of places in the Bible where I find the expression “spirit and letter of the Law” and often in those places such an idea refers to the New and Old Testaments (2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 7:6). Yet there are people who believe there is the letter of the law (what is written in the text) and the spirit (which is more like the “intent”) of the rule being given. There are a couple of inherent problems with this point of view:

• It accuses God is being a very poor communicator. For it claims that what is written in the text is not really or exactly what God intended. Paul claimed that there was no hidden meaning between the lines of what he wrote. So what he wrote is what God intended: 2 Corinthians 1:13
• It claims to do the impossible, that is, be able to read God’s mind, which no man can do (Isaiah 55:8-9). The only way I know what God wants or “intended” is to read what He communicated in the verse.
• On a practical level, such a view often ends up watering down the verse, putting words into God’s mouth, and making exceptions where God placed none. The “intention” that too many people often see when they ignore the text — is their own intention.
• For example, if I was to argue that carrying the ark as described in Numbers 4 (the letter of the Law) was not the essential thing, but the enthusiasm when it was being carried was (the spirit) — I would have been wrong.

 

• Is it Salvation By Works?

There are times when the Bible says that we are not saved by works (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9), and times when the Bible says we are saved by works (James 2:24). A legalist is not someone who says we need to obey God to be saved, for the Bible clearly teaches that frequently (Matthew 7:21; Romans 2:6-8; Hebrews 5:9). Rather, may I suggest that a true legalist is someone who substitutes human rules for divine rules, like substituting the sinner’s prayer in the place of baptism for salvation. So legalism is not really about rules, but putting our rules ahead of or in the place of God’s rules. So when someone starts telling you that a verse doesn’t really mean what it says, beware. They are about to give you their “rule” on the matter.

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net