The Sting of Legalism

"Hey, you," said a man behind me this morning.  I figured he could not be talking to me, so I kept going.  "Hey you," he gruffly repeated more loudly.  I turned around.  "Didn't you read the sign?"  He gestured to a sign with a rule he thought I had not followed.  In fact, I had followed it closely, but he had not noticed.  I explained that he was mistaken, shook my head in disbelief, and turned away to continue what I had begun to do.


This grumpy man was not a person in authority.  He was just a fellow man working out at the YMCA.  He didn't know me, and I didn't know him.  


As I moved on, in my fleshly responses, I was imagining conversations with him in which I confronted him for any rules at the YMCA that he might not be following to the letter.  It wasn't a holy response, and God has forgiven me for that.


But after that, I found myself just feeling...well...guilty.  I didn't feel guilty for what I had thought about him, but for the rule he had originally "confronted" me about.  Perhaps I had not done it (but in truth I had).  Perhaps I had done it incorrectly somehow (but in truth I had not).  Perhaps I just hadn't done it well enough (but in truth I had).  Even an hour later I was still rattled about that brief interaction.


I realized I had been stung (again) by legalism.  There was a rule, and in this case it was a very good rule.  But the part of legalism that stung me today was the harsh, critical (perhaps well-meaning, though it didn't feel like it) person looking over my shoulder to see if I had followed it correctly.  


And even though I had followed the rule (and I am generally a rule-follower), I began to feel guilty after the criticism that had been leveled against me.  That's one of the ways legalism hurts people.  Even if we follow all the rules, there's the possibility that we might not have followed them well enough, or quickly enough, or otherwise done them "the right way" in the eyes of observers.  


If we give in to this legalistic kind of thinking, especially in our spiritual lives, it will undo us.  Dear Christian, legalism has no place in our churches, nor in our relationship with the Lord.


In our churches legalism is a close brother with criticism, and I have personally watched it hurt many churches and even destroy some churches altogether.  Strict adherence to rules alone, coupled with criticism for those who do not follow them properly, sucks the very life out of a church.  Some churches harshly criticize those who fail to follow God's very good rules "the right way," which takes all of the joy out of following Christ.  Other churches add rules and hold them in such high regard that they demean those who don't know and follow them--rules such as "proper" attire, the "right" way to worship, the "correct" Bible translation, etc.  These things have no place in our churches.


In our relationship with the Lord, legalism may take root in our minds as we picture God looking over our shoulder, ready to "zap" us if we don't follow His rules perfectly.  Or we may (wrongly) think that God's love for us is conditional on our obedience to His rules.  (Side note: God's blessings depend on our obedience, but His love is full and complete no matter what.)  We may even think that our entrance to heaven is based on performance, rather than solely on our acceptance of the finished work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.  Dear friends, legalism like this has no place in our lives.  It's not what God has intended for us.


God has indeed given us some rules to follow, rules which provide good boundaries that keep us healthy and ready to receive the blessings He has for us.  When we live within these boundaries, we enjoy the abundant life He intends for us, full of grace and joy.  We obey Him not because of fear of punishment, but because we love Him.  First John 5:3 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome."  If we reduce these biblical guidelines to nothing more than a hard-and-fast set of rules that we check off as we follow them, then we miss the fullness of joy that the Lord intends for us.


Dear Christian brother or sister, let us live in the grace and the freedom of the Lord, free of legalism.  May we grow in our knowledge of God's grace for us, and then may we exercise that same grace toward one another.


I doubt whether the man that yelled at me today will ever read this blog.  Whether or not you do, please know I am praying that you will find freedom from criticism and learn of the grace of God.