Reply To: Grace Discussion Board 1

[Paulpraze]

THE SUBLETY OF LEGALISM

According to the English dictionary, legalism can he defined as;
1. strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code.
2. the practice of following the law very closely, especially by paying more attention to rules and details than to the intentions behind them:
3. (Theology) the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works.
From all of the above definitions, it can be seen that, the idea or concept of legalism is the belief that a person, through his or her own good works, can somehow merit salvation. It suggests that man has the capacity to earn God’s forgiveness, grace and favor. However, nothing can be farther from the truth.
Legalism clearly underestimates God’s standards, overestimates man’s capacity and therefore assumes that man, in himself can meet God’s standard of righteousness and therefore earn his salvation.
The word subtle can be defined according to the English dictionary as making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something. not loud, bright, noticeable, or obvious in any way:
The idea here therefore is, that legalism can usually be difficult to detect, especially in our own selves.
In Galatians 2:21, the Apostle Paul makes it clear, that legalism is the enemy of God’s grace. The notion that one can earn righteousness or salvation from God frustrates God’s grace.
It is therefore important for the believer who will experience God’s grace in his or her life, to understand this subtlety of legalism and how to avoid this pitfall.
HOW CAN A BELIEVER FALL INTO LEGALISM?
1. Failure to know and be conscious of the truth that how we receive Christ is how we go on walking in Him. Galatians 2:6.
In chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, he describes this failure as being bewitched. These believers had clearly began in the spirit by the hearing of faith, but somehow, felt the need to do more than walk by faith, to continue their walk with the Lord. The Apostle describes this as foolishness.
2. In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a profound parable that shows us how a believer can fall into legalism without even realizing it. In this story, we find that the quarrel of the first set of employees with Jesus was based on the assumption or notion that they deserved more pay because they had done more work than the other sets of employees. Interestingly, these guys were paid what was agreed but were upset with the employer for being gracious to the others who were now getting as much as these first set of workers were getting.
Sometimes, there are people amongst us that may experience certain works of God in their lives, that may provoke such notions in our heart. We somehow belief, that these people should not yet be having such experiences of God’s favor in their lives.
What we may not realize however, is that such a though is rooted in legalism because the idea is that such people have not done enough to earn such favors and miracles from God.
HOW CAN A BELIEVER AVOID THIS PITTFALL?
1. Paul’s letter to the Galatian church is very instructive in dealing with legalism. What he does is simple, yet powerful to this effect. The Apostle simply reminded this church of how they begin their walk with God. This was basically the whole point of the this letter. It was a reminder of the gospel.
The instruction for us here was beautifully captured by C H Spurgeon when he said that “The most important daily habit we can possess is to remind ourselves of the gospel”. A clear understanding of the gospel, and a constant reminding ourselves of the same is key to avoiding the pitfall of legalism and its subtlety.
2. From the story in Matthew 20:1-16, we also need to avoid the assumption that what we deserve is based on what we do, rather than in what Christ has done i.e. the graciousness of God. If it will be by grace, then it must be by faith, and not our own merit. If it will be grace, then it can not be by our own work.