A good friend (former member of the 1st Self-Righteous Church of Tennessee) is pondering the perplexing nuances of non-legalistic living. My advice: “Welcome to the real world.” Another friend’s advice: “Thinking for yourself is hard work.” Some folks trade in the simplicity of legalism for the equally simple “do whatever you want” creed. Either approach, living by your own rules or scraping all rules, eliminates the need to be constantly thinking, praying, obeying.
Legalism is not focusing on the laws (David focused on them)—it’s focusing on the wronglaws. God’s laws are pure, righteous, lovely, un-burdensome, and at the same time, unattainable. I don’t like focusing on God’s laws because frankly, they make me look bad. I can’t be the mom I’m supposed to be. I can’t be honest. I can’t love others more than me, and I’m supposed to pray…without ceasing?
So, sometimes, to make myself feel better, I make up my own rules, or, I focus on some good applications of God’s rules. Going to church every Sunday is great (I highly recommend it), but it’s only a drop in the bucket of really honoring the Lord’s Day. We tithe, that’s easy, but I’m still trying to figure out how to glorify God with the other 90%. I read my Bible, that’s fun, it’s the doing part that gets me down. Showing up for work day at the church doesn’t put a red check in the box next to ”make your life a living sacrifice.” The applications, I can do—the real laws—I need grace.
An example of this might be women working outside the home. God’s law asks us to be devoted to our husbands, our children, and the proper management of our homes. For many women, this means not pursuing a career or not working 40 hrs. a week. But it couldn’t possibly mean that for every woman, at every stage in her life, married or single, who has ever lived. It’s easy for someone to say, “I don’t work, so I’m a good wife,” but that hardly means she is completely devoted to her family and hospitality and that she has all her priorities straight.
When someone points a finger and yells “legalist!”, it’s easy to roll my eyes—”they don’t really know what legalism is!” But maybe we should use these moments as a reminder to see if we are being legalists. Rejecting legalism isn’t a once-for-all decision. The “real world” is a lifelong struggle against sin and pride. Our rules might be good ones, and as parents, we have the right to make them, but perhaps we’re focusing on those rules instead of the most important ones, or the real ones. An example of this might be forbidding the watching of movies or television programs that contain vulgarity. That might be a fine rule, and nothing to apologize for, but can we identify, from God’s law, where that rules come from? It’s not an explicit Scriptural mandate not to say a four-letter word, much less hear it.
On the other hand, some people, lacking the most basic skills of knowledge application, don’t forbid anything that doesn’t have a chapter and verse. Watching television may not be a sin, but that doesn’t mean watching 6 hours a day is going to jump-start the sanctification process. Having been given the gift of salvation, we now have the freedom to obey God’s laws and be what we were created to be. We were saved from mind-melting on the sofa to serving God with all our heart, soul, and mind.
Wisdom is understanding God’s laws and making application to our world–a whole lifetime of application. God’s law affects the way I sleep, what I eat, the church I attend, the way I educate my children, the kinds of books I read, and the way I dress. Making application is a wonderful, beautiful thing to do! It’s our privilege to do it. It’s how we redeem the world around us. If you make legitimate applications for your children, don’t worry about other people who haven’t made the same applications, (or who haven’t made any applications). Let’s just try not to get caught up on the applications (what we can do) instead of focusing on the real laws that reflect God’s holy character (what we can’t do without grace).
For the benefit of my own understanding of exactly what you are saying, could you please define “legalism”?
Technially, legalism is using the law to earn salvation, but it connates much more than that. There’s probably much better ways to define “legalism;” I was simply pointing out two ways that I see it. The first is focusing on applications of God’s laws instead of God’s laws. An example would be reading your Bible 10 minutes each day instead of striving to love, meditate on it, and obey it. Another example of legalism is demanding that an explicit command be given to justify any action. That’s like not reading your Bible each day because there’s no verse in the Bible that says we have to!
Did that make any sense?
Thanks. That clarifies where you are coming from.
A thought on Application:
One of the wisest professors I had in college taught us that because God’s Word has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness [salvation and sanctification (II Peter 1:3)], there will ALWAYS be 1. a command to obey or 2. a principle to apply from Scripture. If there is no direct command to obey, there will always be principles to apply. We each may apply differently, but should strive to take the whole counsel of God into account as we make application. I have been able to use this principle in counseling many times and it is amazing how it allows the Word to shed bright light on seeming dark situations. This principle also gives me amazing comfort as I live my life, knowing God’s Word is not silent about anything I will encounter.
Would yet another form of legalism be that of trying to do things to earn more of God’s love as if His love could change?
Yeah, that’s probably one, too, but I don’t think anyone explicitly says things like that (I hope not!); I guess it’s just implied sometimes. That’s sad, really. I believe God can be very displeased with us sometimes (in a relational sense), and He may need to discipline us, but He still loves us just the same.
I remember the first time I realized with clarity that God’s love for me would never change – that there was NOTHING I could do to make Him love me more – or less! Life changing, for sure. And gaining a better understanding the depth of His love (manifested in the gift of salvation) should be all the motivation we need to completely abandon ourselves to obeying Him and serving Him! We defintely fall short, but isn’t that a great reminder that HE is God and I am unworthy of His gifts? More reasons to be humbled by them instead of puffed up because “of course we deserve it” Thanks for a very thought provoking article and comments.