Legalism, Part One: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and What It Does

I said I’d write about legalism. Prompted by a post on Tidbits and Treasures on the topic.

To begin with, I must make a confession. My life has been and spiritual walk have been marred by legalism. I confess to having taught it at sometimes, it is a sad error which I recant. I thought I was right. Yet, my preaching was ineffectual because it relied on the power of the flesh and its deeds to bring redemptions, rather than the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Yet, God is gracious and full of mercy. He knows our frame and that we are dust. We are forgiven and told to go and sin no more, and so I endeavor.

To begin with, the term “legalism” is thrown around quite a bit. I know it when I see it these days. However, as Barbara at Tidbits and treasures pointed out, this is the dictionary defintion of legalism:

Strict, literal adherence to the law or to a particular code, as of religion or morality.

The definition of legalism provided by the dictionary tells us that strictly following the Bible is legalism. Obeying the teachings of the Apostles or of Christ is legalism. Yet, these are objects in our Christian walk, which we should seek to do out of love for Christ. The goal is obedience to God, not to man’s codes. We must also be ware of antinomianism, the idea that Christians are exempted from the Bible’s moral commands.

Many people oppose legalism, but also oppose the heresy of anti-nominianism. So, for understanding the error from a religious standpoint, we’re going to have to work a bit on the definition:

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