To further illustrate what legalism can look like, R.C. Sproul describes three forms of legalism. Fundamentally, legalism involves abstracting God`s law from its original context. Some people seem to be busy in the Christian life following rules and regulations, and they see Christianity as a set of do`s and don`ts, cold, deadly moral principles. It is a form of legalism that consists only of keeping God`s law as an end in itself. Ballenger, Mark. Apply God`s Word to Mark Ballenger`s teaching service. 30 June 2016. applygodsword.com/how-to-avoid-legalism-in-christianity/. What is considered “legalistic” may depend on the Christian denomination; Unlike Lutheran theology, which revolves around the doctrine of justification by faith, Christians in the Anabaptist tradition (teaching salvation by “working faith”) have argued that a follower of Jesus, through attentive obedience to New Testament commandments (such as the holy kiss, head covering, and foot washing), “is a decisive proof that an individual has repented, believed, and given himself to Christ. [7] [8] Anabaptist theologian Menno Simons rejected the Lutheran accusation of legalism, referring to John 14:15:[7] We call this legalism when we say that we are justified by the works of the law: “We let God be for us, God becomes our friend if we measure ourselves to keep the law.” And the biblical gospel is the good news that this is impossible. This second type of legalism can be exemplified by the Pharisees who confronted Jesus for healing on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9-14). They only cared about the letter of the law and avoided anything that might look like work for them.

These teachers lacked the spirit of the law, which was directed against ordinary work, which is not necessary to sustain life, and not against efforts to heal the sick. So when you ask, “How can I get God to be for me and not against me?” the legalistic answer is, “Keep the law. Enforce the law. Well, that`s wrong, and the reason we call it legalism is because it`s abandoned. It is denounced in the New Testament. Romans 3:20: “For by the works of the law no one shall be justified in his sight, for by the law comes the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:28: “For we think that whoever is justified by faith but by the works of the law. Galatians 2:16: “We know that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Scholars in all fields of religious study will attempt to justify or reject legalism in our churches.

To get to the bottom of this topic, we can look at what Jesus says in Luke 11:37-54. In this passage we find that Jesus is invited to dine with the Pharisees. Jesus performed miracles on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees seem eager to talk to Him. When Jesus sits down, He does not participate in the ritual of hand washing, and the Pharisees take note of this. The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States defines legalism as a pejorative description of “the direct or indirect attachment of behaviors, disciplines, and practices to faith in order to attain salvation and right before God,” emphasizing the need “to perform certain acts to obtain salvation” (Works). [4] Furthermore, legalism refers pejoratively to the view that Christians should not engage in social practices considered contrary to Christian witness, such as gambling, dancing, drinking, worldly entertainment, or wearing immodest clothing; Abstinence from these things is found among the fundamental Baptist, conservative Anabaptist, and conservative denominations of holiness. [4] [5] [6] One of the reasons why many children who grow up in Christian families later reject the faith is that parents and the Church are imbued with legalism. Instead of the joy of knowing God and having our sins forgiven by His grace, the emphasis was on the rules and external agreement that had to be maintained so that everyone would think that children (and parents) were good Christians.