LEGALISM-CAUSES
Legalism has
its origin in self-worship. If people are justified through their obedience to
the law, then they must merit praise, honor, and glory. Legalism, in other
words, means the glory goes to people rather than God.
Thomas Schreiner
The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline
Theology of Law, Baker, 1993, p. 15.
Here’s the
mistake the legalist makes. He confuses his own ongoing participation in the
process of sanctification with God’s finished work in justification. In other words, he thinks that godly
practices and good works somehow contribute to his justification. But God’s
Word is clear when it says, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his
sight by observing the law…” (Romans 3:20). None of us earn God’s approval and
love by our good works. None of us can add to the finished, complete work of
Jesus on the cross. He paid the price of our sins. He satisfied God’s wrath… The legalist allows
his performance of spiritual duties to become his preoccupation and source of
self-righteous pride. In doing so, he unwittingly walks away from the main
thing – the gospel.
C.J. Mahaney
The Cross Centered Life, 2002, Sovereign
Grace Ministries, p. 34-35. Used by
permission of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.
Excerpts may not be reproduced without prior written consent of
Multnomah Publishers, Inc.
For the
legalist, morality serves the same function that immorality does for the
antinomian or the progressive – namely, as the expression of self-reliance and
self-assertion.
Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p.
153, Used by Permission, www.DesiringGod.org.
Whenever
happy confidence in the sovereign power of God for our own lives and the lives
of others grows weak, legalism creeps in. We inevitably try to compensate for
loss of dynamic faith by increased moral resolve and the addition of man-made
regulations. But wherever joyful confidence in the power of God is waning, the
flesh is waxing. Which means that the morality we had hoped
would save ourselves and the regulations we hoped would purify our church fall
victim to the massive power of the flesh and become its instruments of
self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
John Piper
Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p.
155, Used by Permission, www.DesiringGod.org.
Underlying
causes of legalism:
1.
Humanistic
concept of self-control – “I’m in control of how things go.”
2.
Humanistic
concept of self-effort, “works” – trying, striving, “I can do it.”
3.
False
security needs for defined parameters, limitations, borders
4.
Work-ethic
concept of strict reciprocity – “Get what you work for”
5.
Punitive
concept of getting what one deserves
6.
Traditionalism
of maintaining status quo
7.
Simplism
of dividing life into compartments with instant solutions; fundamentalism. Got
a handle on it – all figured out. Instant solutions – don't have to think or
trust.
8.
Fear
of freedom, of decision-making responsibility (Rom. 8:15)
9.
Security
need for something that is fixed and static, concrete and tangible. Inordinate
need to be safe and right
10. Favorite of sadomasochistic
personalities; perfectionists, Pharisees.
James Fowler
Excerpted from: Legalism, Study Outlines, 1999, www.christinyou.net. Used by Permission.
To the extent
that we forget that our status before God is due to what Christ has done for
us, we will try to make out own relationship with God depend on winning His
approval.
Ranald
Macaulay and Jerram Barrs
Being Human, p. 73.
So, how do I know if I’m a legalist? Here is a simple
test, consisting of five questions.
1.
Do you place a higher value on
church customs than on biblical principles?
2.
Do you elevate to the status of
moral law something the Bible does not require?
3.
Do you tend to look down your
spiritual nose at those who don’t follow God’s will for YOUR life?
4.
Are you uncomfortable with the
fact that the Bible does not explicitly address every ethical decision or
answer every theological question?
5.
Are you more comfortable with
rules than with relationships?
Sam
Storms
Excerpted from: Legalism vs. Liberty, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com.
Used by Permission.
Legalists tend to fear ambiguity. The legalist’s favorite
colors are black and white. They are uncomfortable with biblical silence and
insist on speaking when the Word of God does not. They feel something of a
“calling” to fill in the gaps left by Scriptural silence or to make specific
and often detailed applications that God, in the Bible, chose not to make.
Sam
Storms
Legalism vs. Liberty, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com.
Used by Permission.
Things that draw people to embrace legalism.
1.
Legalism provides us with a sense of security in that it
enables us always to know precisely what to do in every conceivable moral
dilemma. There is a certain sort of psychological safety in being stiff
morally.
2.
Legalism nurtures pride. “Look at what I’m willing to
forego that others embrace! Others may indulge themselves but I have a
discipline and a moral standard they lack. I possess a will-power that really
loves God. Therefore, God really loves me” (with the implication that God
doesn’t really love those who choose another path, or at least doesn’t love
them as much as He loves me!).
3.
It provides an excuse to maintain control. One need never
fear the unknown because there is always a rule or law (of my own making, of
course) to govern every situation. After all, without rules things will get out
control (or so legalists think).
4.
There is comfort in conformity. It is always reassuring
when other people live like we do, even if there is no explicit biblical
warrant for it.
5.
Some embrace legalism out of a genuine, heart-felt
concern for other believers. They are actually motivated by love and
compassion, worried that the spiritual welfare of others is at risk. They fear
that others will assuredly “fall” if they walk down a certain path, even though
that path is nowhere prescribed in Scripture (see especially Romans 14:4).
Sam
Storms
Legalism vs. Liberty, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com.
Used by Permission.
The Pharisees
were desperately determined to not break the laws of God. Consequently they
devised a system to keep them from even coming close to angering God. They
contrived a “fence” of Pharisaic rules that, if man would keep them, would
guarantee a safe distance between himself and the laws of God… The “fence” or
“hedge” laws accumulated into hundreds over the years and were passed around
orally. Soon it became apparent that they were far from optional. These laws
became every inch as important as the scriptural laws and in some instances far
more crucial.
The Pharisees Guide to Total Holiness,
Bethany House Publishers, 1977, p. 8-9.
Human
legalism leads to human self-righteousness. Human self-righteousness denies the
need for the saving, enabling grace of Christ. Human righteousness embraces the
cruelest of Satan’s lies, that a person can be righteous by keeping the law. If
that were true, there would have been no need for the birth, life, death, and
resurrection of Christ.
Paul David Tripp
Age of Opportunity, P&R
Publishing, 1997, p. 83, Used by Permission.