3 Myths of Legalism

Photo by Sora Shimazaki

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:1-12

It was an early morning last June. I was sitting to eat breakfast at the dinner table, and as I did every morning that summer (I am a routine-lover), I pulled out my devotional, which at the time, was Paul David Tripp’s New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional. That summer, it seemed that I was doing everything right. I felt that I was really “acting” like a Christian: praying multiple times a day, reading the bible twice a day, being involved in church, etc. But my devotional that morning opened my eyes to reality as I read Tripp’s words:

When you assign to yourself righteousness that you don’t have, you expect the people around you to be as righteous as you think you are, and you greet them with judgment when they aren’t. Like the Pharisees, you tie burdens on others that you are not able to bear yourself (see Matt. 23:1-12).¹

Let’s just say I was not prepared for the wave of conviction that hit me. It only took a few seconds for the tears to come as I asked God for forgiveness. The Holy Spirit made me realize that I was putting my righteousness in my works, and I was judging others based on their comparison to what I believed was righteousness. I not only sinned against God, declaring my need for him but saying otherwise in my heart, but I had also hurt my dearest friends very deeply by holding them to what I thought was the perfect standard. Not Christ, but myself.

What had crept into my heart did not happen overnight. It was an increasing justification and acceptance of what I thought was Godliness, but now I look back and can confidently say it was legalism. Since then, I have been studying to try and understand what legalism is and how it disguises itself so well as goodness in my life. In my discussions and reading, I have learned that one of the ways legalism can be avoided is by recognizing it for what it is. The problem is that there are many misconceptions about legalism out there, which clouds our understanding of legalism and can cause us to turn in the wrong direction in our efforts to avoid it. As Christian writer Sarah Walton puts it “In our resistance toward legalism (which is good and right), we easily can swing the pendulum, and neglect the very avenues of ongoing grace God has given for our good.” ²

There are 3 myths about legalism in particular that are worth clarifying before shedding light on what legalism truly is.

Legalism is Being Disciplined

Legalism is associated with creating laws that are “heavy burdens.” Think of the Pharisees, looking down on Jesus Himself because He did not appeal to their rules. Their zeal for good works rather than a good heart is definitely a symptom of legalism. We know that their good works have no hope of earning salvation because of the scripture that says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We cannot “work” for grace; the very definition of the word is an undeserved gift of love and favor from God. However, while our salvation does not depend on what we do, that does not nullify discipline or the desire to be Godly. Even Jesus Himself said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46), and “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). While we have been set “free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2), there is a reason Paul clarifies in the book of Romans: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2-3). When Christ changes our hearts, He also changes our attitudes about discipline and Godliness. Pastor and Seminary Professor R. Kent Hughes explains this attitude well:

Sometimes when people hear the word “godliness” it transmutes in their mind to legalism. And they say, I’ve been delivered from legalism, doing all these things to gain merit before God. And so they don’t want to discipline themselves because it sounds like legalism. But you have to understand there is a universe of difference between discipline and legalism. Legalism says, “I will do this thing in order to gain merit before God.” Discipline says, “I love God, I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I will discipline myself to please them.” ³

The change of attitude towards our actions, then, is not a shrug towards our sin but a desire to express our love for God in all that we do, remembering that these sins held us in chains and led us further into darkness, away from God. But know this, dear friends, that even so, He loves us and has forgiven us. It is His incomparable love and grace that shapes our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

Certainly, not all disciplines are Biblical, or even helpful, for our walk with Christ. However, let us remember that God has given the instruction through His Word, the ability to talk to Him through prayer, and the regular fellowship of believers in church, for a reason. And if we have any understanding of the temptation of our flesh, we know, perhaps can even guarantee, that an attitude of “when I feel like it” will not lead to a life that expresses great love for God (see Matthew 26:41; 1 Peter 5:8; Romans 13:14; Ephesians 6:11-18).

Studying Theology Will Make You a Legalist

You have probably met this person before. Perhaps you have been a version of this person at various points in your life. They read lots of thick theology books, perhaps more often than their bible, and they are not afraid to correct every doctrinal error they believe you make. They use long and complicated theological terms to show off their knowledge to those around them. A person who studies God all the time, yet it is more of an intellectual religion than faith from the heart. Afterall, we know that “‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:1-3). The fear of being “that person” can cause us to feel that studying theology is the problem, so it would be best to leave it to pastors and seminary students.

The truth is that theology is quite simply “knowledge of God.” It does not always require reading thick books, though it can certainly include that. To say “Jesus loves me” requires some sort of theology - an understanding of God and who He is. Theology is a good thing, though our flesh can twist it to fulfill our sinful desire of pride. As author and assistant professor Brandon D. Smith puts it, “Theology should not only help us understand more about who God is, but also help us answer the question, ‘How should we live?’ It’s ultimately wrapped up in our head, heart, and hands. It’s for all of life.”⁴ How we understand God is shaped by our theology - our knowledge of God. But all of this starts with our hearts.

Theology can be very good, but it can also be destructive. The only way we can tell is if we compare theological teachings to the Bible, which should always be our foundation of knowledge. And why do we pursue knowledge of God? Because we love Him. Not to be puffed up in our pride but to know more about the greatest Being there is to admire and learn about: our heavenly Father and Creator. Seminary Professor and Christian author Keith Mathison summarizes the need for Christians to study theology out of love for God this way:

If you do love [God] because you do know at least something of Him, there should be a desire to grow in your knowledge of Him—to grow in your theology.

Isn’t this what happens when we first fall in love with another person? We meet a person and perhaps speak to them. Based on the little knowledge we have of this person, we are attracted to him or her. And if we are attracted to this person, if we like him or her, what do we want? We want to know more. We talk to them and say, “Tell me about yourself. Tell me about your childhood. Tell me about your likes, your dislikes. Tell me about your hopes, your dreams.” Then, we listen. And the more our knowledge of this person grows, the more our love grows.

In a sense, this is similar to what we are doing in formal theology. We are asking questions of God in order that we might grow in our knowledge of Him and thus our love of Him. His answers to our questions are found in Scripture. When we start to arrange the answers in an orderly way, we have a rudimentary form of what is called systematic theology.

We say, “Tell me about yourself, Lord.” If we arrange our answers in an orderly way, we have what theologians call “theology proper.” Or we say, “What can you tell me about myself and others like me?” When we arrange those answers, we have the biblical doctrine of man, or in more technical terms “theological anthropology.” We may ask God, “Can you tell me what’s wrong with me?” An orderly arrangement of the answers is the doctrine of sin. When we arrange the answers to the question, “Why did you choose me and how is it that I am now reconciled with you?” we have the doctrine of salvation, or soteriology. We may ask God, “What are your ultimate goals?” An arrangement of the answers found in Scripture is the doctrine of the last things, or eschatology. ⁵

Learning theology is not about beating yourself and others over the head with thick and wordy books. It is about feeding the desire to know about God and understand His word out of great love for Him.

The Puritans Were Legalists

Like most people, I believe, I had the understanding most of my life that puritans were uptight, wore starched black and white attire, and had little compassion or mercy for others who did not follow their rules, even spontaneously burning people at the stake for various unproved and undeserving crimes. Perhaps there are some puritans who are like this, but I was surprised when I learned in college that this is far from the majority. Fictional stories and TV drama would like us to believe that the puritans were basically 17th century Pharisees, but the puritans were in fact radical individuals in their time - preaching the freedom and joy that is found in grace through Christ alone. Colemon Ford, author with a Ph.D in Church history and an assistant professor in seminary explains that Puritan ministers told their congregation in counseling to examine their works not to see if they needed to do more to be saved but to see if their lives were showing evidence of a Christian, as we are called to do in scripture (see James 2:14-26). However, discipline was not for the sake of order, but “The Puritan emphasis on spiritual disciplines was for the increase of joy and love in the Lord.” More than emphasizing works, the Puritans emphasized that only grace could grant salvation. In fact, “Richard Sibbes's A Bruised Reed is a classic work on God's grace in caring for wounded souls.”⁶ Were there some wacky puritans? Of course, just like there are corrupt pastors and theologians today. But there are many Puritans whose works will bring great joy to your soul and greater love for God.

What is Legalism?

Now that we’ve cleared up some common misconceptions about legalism we can understand more clearly what it is and examples of it. The thing about legalism is that it is not a word found in the Bible, but it is a concept drawn from examples in the Bible. The late pastor Jerry Bridges provides a clear and Biblical definition of legalism:

Legalism is, first of all, anything we do or don’t do in order to earn favor with God. It is concerned with rewards to be gained or penalties to be avoided. This is a legalism we force on ourselves.

Second, legalism insists on conformity to man-made religious rules and requirements, which are often unspoken but are nevertheless very real…we force this legalism on others or allow others to force it on us. It is conformity to how other people think we should live instead of how the Bible tells us to live.⁷

This definition is reflected in the passage from Matthew 23. The scribes and Pharisees “sit on Moses’ seat” to earn favor with God, yet “they preach, but do not practice.” They tie up heavy burdens of laws to follow in order to be in good standing before God, yet they themselves neither keep, nor can keep, the laws that they make. Ultimately, they make burdensome laws and wear “their phylacteries broad and their fringes long” (Jewish attire that symbolizes religious importance) with all of their seemingly mighty deeds “to be seen by others.” The life that they live is not truly for God but for man. Does this speak against disciplining ourselves, loving the instruction of God, studying God in-depth, or studying the works of those who have? Not at all. Legalism is a distortion of these things. It is when we use the instruction of God to build up ourselves- using our own strength to win the favor of both God and man. We are called to “live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). To love and follow Christ is freedom, not a heavier burden. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galations 5:1). We were once enslaved to our sin, to our pride, to the belief that we could do everything ourselves, but Christ has set us free as we realize that He has finished all the work for salvation. Let us trust that His work is enough to cover our sin, and let us live for Him as those joyfully known and loved by Him.

References

1. Tripp, Paul David. New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional. Crossway, 2014, p. June 26.

2. Walton, Sarah. “Lay Aside the Fear of Legalism: The Wells of Grace in Godly Discipline.” Desiring God, 26 Dec. 2019. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/lay-aside-the-fear-of-legalism.

3. Hughes, R. Kent. “The Difference Between Legalism and Discipline.” Crossway, 14 Aug. 2019, https://www.crossway.org/articles/the-difference-between-legalism-and-discipline/.

4. Smith, Brandon D. “Good Living is Rooted in Good Theology.” Desiring God, 4 May 2016, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/good-living-is-rooted-in-good-theology.

5. Mathison, Keith A. “Why Study Theology?” Table Talk Magazine, 22 Jan 2021, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/why-study-theology/.

6. Ford, Coleman. “5 Myths You Still Might Believe About Puritans.” Christianity, 5 Aug. 2014, https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/5-myths-you-still-might-believe-about-the-puritans-5-will-blow-your-mind.html.

7. Bridges, Jerry. Transforming Grace. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1991, p. 132.