Often, those who adhere to legalistic norms do not even know it. Some may have a misunderstanding of God`s grace. Some may have learned from legalistic norms. Some may think that there is a list of things Christians can and cannot do, and the more “can” boxes they tick, the more holy they become. That is, just because someone clings to legalism doesn`t mean there`s no hope. Even true believers may mistakenly feel the need to follow a legalistic belief. One of the biggest pitfalls of legalism is a growing tendency to judge others by the standards the legalist has set for himself, rather than taking into account the circumstances, experiences, morals, or beliefs of the other person. A legalistic faith leaves no room for God`s grace, the legalist or other believers. (1) Don`t confuse freedom with license! Rejecting legalism does not mean living a cowardly and undisciplined life.
To be free in Christ is not the freedom of sin, but the freedom of sin. It is not legalism to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The application is that the sin of legalism contaminates unsuspecting people. This deters unbelievers and prevents them from accessing the truth of the gospel because they can see the hypocrisy of legalists. It contaminates young believers who are wrongly taught that if they do certain things and do not do other things, they will grow in holiness and please God. But without exception, the things they are supposed to do and are not supposed to do are not the important themes of the Bible, such as love for God and neighbor (as summarized in the Ten Commandments). Rather, they are trifles, often things that the scriptures do not directly command. Yet the apostle Paul taught that legalism is an aggressive evil that those who are saved by grace must resolutely resist. Most of his letter to the Galatians is an attack on legalism. Many of his other letters contain strong warnings about the dangers of legalism.
In 1. Timothy 4:1-3 he explains that some men who forbade marriage and advocated abstaining from food promoted the teachings of demons. Obviously, legalism was not a small sin in Paul`s mind! Then Jesus condemns the Pharisees for loving the front seats in synagogues and respectful greetings in markets. They loved it when people realized how important they were! It made them feel good to be approached as Reverend Doctor so-and-so. But pride was the root. They focused on their own glory, not on the glory of God. Pride is at the heart of legalism; Humility is at the heart of true Christianity. Verses 16 and 18 indicate that these false teachers had appointed themselves as judges to proclaim that anyone who did not follow their rules was not spiritual. These rules apparently included some of the Dietary rules of the Old Testament as well as some Jewish holidays. But probably these false teachers went beyond the commandments of the law and perhaps made the Nazarene vow to avoid any wine that applies to all.
“Feast” refers to the annual Jewish holidays, such as Passover. “New Moon” refers to monthly celebrations. The “Sabbath day” refers to the weekly observance of the seventh day (1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 31,3). We grow as Christians by rejecting legalism and clinging to Christ as the head of his body, the Church. If someone teaches you that you need faith with works like Catholicism, it is legalism. If someone says that the proof of true faith is that you will be a new creation, you will grow in holiness and grow in obedience to the Word of God, which is not legalism, which is Scripture. Jesus preached about sin, Paul did it, Stephen did it, etc. This generation is so evil and rebellious that if you preach about sin or rebuke someone, you will be considered a legalist. We are at the end of time and it will only get worse. So what is legalism? Legalism is an attempt to gain God`s favor or impress our fellow human beings by doing certain things (or avoiding other things) without regard to the state of our hearts before God. The root of legalism is the sin of pride because the legalist thinks he is able to entrust himself to God by his own good deeds.
Without exception, he only looks at appearances, not his heart. In addition, the pride of the legalist motivates him to exalt himself in the eyes of others through his external behavior and to neglect again the corruption of his own heart. Thus, legalism denies human depravity and increases human capacities. As such, it is contrary to the gospel of God`s grace. This is why Jesus and Paul clashed with the legalists. One of the reasons why many children who later grow up in Christian homes reject the faith is that their parents and the church have been victims of legalism. Instead of the joy of knowing God and having our sins forgiven by His grace, the emphasis was on the rules and external conformity that had to be maintained so that everyone else would think that children (and parents) were good Christians. I`m not saying that Christian houses shouldn`t have rules. But the emphasis in our homes and in our church should be on the joy of knowing God.