I recently conducted a survey of my
Facebook friends. It was open to anyone who wanted to respond. Most, but not
all of my friends would claim to be born-again Christians, so I assume that
many of the participants are Christians. Of course, I have no idea who
responded and who didn’t.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part
in my survey. I believe we can glean some valuable concepts from your answers.
Q In your own words, define “legalism.”
What does it mean to you?
A We could group the answers into three basic
responses:
- Working to earn salvation or favor with
God.
- Teaching works or acts as if they were the
Word of God—when they’re actually men’s rules.
- A list of rules made by men by which they
judge others.
Let’s look at a selection of the responses:
- “For me, it’s when rules are above love and
understanding, or they are rules that don’t have a clear biblical basis. So
people live as if you can’t ask questions. It’s like you have to fully obey the
law in order to please God.”
- “Legalism is the belief (either vocalized or
played out in actions even if denied) that obeying rules give us a right
standing with God either in salvation or in making us more holy.”
- “It is the imbalance of rules, taken to the
extreme without taking into account either the spirit of the law or the concept
of mercy.”
- “A Pharisaic approach to Christianity, one that
defines Christianity as following rules made by man rather than following
Christ by immersing oneself in the Word.”
- “Though often misused and/or misunderstood,
legalism is the belief in a set of rules or standards to which one must adhere
in order to obtain or preserve salvation. Answers to #8 would all be yes if
stated as necessary for salvation. A church must have standards for leadership;
especially for paid leadership. These standards should be Biblically based and
agreed upon before a person accepts a leadership position.”
- “Rules based upon personal preference rather
than biblical truth that appear to make one holy and more acceptable to God.
While such standards can be set with good intentions, they can cause confusion
in children and new believers who might not be able to discern the difference
between a personal interpretation of scripture and its present day application
and actual biblical truth.”
- “The idea that my standing with God is dependent
on what I do, not in what He has done on my behalf.”
- “Demanding that others follow the same standards
as you do.”
- “An atmosphere where the "Christian rules"
influence you more than the Holy Spirit's leading. Needing to be a certain way
to appear like a "good Christian" in front of others. When it becomes
more important "What will so-and-so think, instead of what does God think.
Conscious-binding.”
- “When a leader (or even a small faction of the
"elite") especially in a church or 'religious' group, make rules for
everyone to follow and many of them are ridiculous or just nit picky (wearing
wire rimmed glasses, hair on a man cannot touch his collar.) The rub is when
they publicly embarrass one of the group for the sake of their own control, especially
when that person has been faithful in other areas. Just sad . . . .”
- “Sets of extra-biblical rules that watchdogs
look for people to break.”
- “Legalism is sticking to a set of rules no
matter what. Even if they are not founded completely in the Bible and holding
everyone else to those rules no matter where they come from.”
- “In the strictest sense, it’s when keeping the
law becomes part of salvation. In a broad sense, it’s when rules replace
relationship and people are judged from the outward appearance (whether good or
bad) to be spiritually in tune with God. The word (legalism) is not in the
Bible, so there is no clear biblical definition. I find both to be a problem scripturally,
but the problem is with the heart, not rules in and of themselves. A lot of the
rules on the bottom (of the survey) are not my personal standard, but I don't
have a problem if others have that standard. I don't believe it's right for me
to judge their standard any more than for them to judge the ones the Lord has
led me to. (The wording of must/should is the clincher for me. If you
"must" for salvation or to prove you are saved, then it's a problem.)”
- “Legalism as applied to Christianity is doing or
not doing a list in order to ‘earn’ heaven. It is salvation by works, which is
not Biblical. It has nothing to do with salvation by grace through faith.”
- “Legalism is putting man's requirements on God's
free gift of salvation.”
Q Do you view the Ten Commandments as legalistic?
A 100% did not.
Q Do
you think standards of behavior should be written down or completely left up to
each individual’s discretion? (Should a
society have rules?)
A 97% Yes. 3% No.
Q Do
you believe in standards of modesty?
A 68% Yes. 32% I believe modesty is relative to
the culture. What’s modest in one culture may not be in another.
Q Do you believe in civil laws?
A 100% Yes.
Q Do you believe in any set of moral laws?
(Check all that apply.)
A 72% Yes. 3% No. 93% I think the Bible teaches moral laws.
Q What kind of legalism turns you off? (Check
all that apply.)
A 55% A list
of dos and don’ts
13% Anyone telling me what to do
81% When I see hypocrisy—“Do what I say, not what I
do.”
19% Strict interpretations of the Bible 19%
Q Which
of the following sentences seem legalistic to you? (Check all that apply.)
A 36% You must read your Bible and pray every day.
61% Don’t wear a dress above your knees.
43% You must not smoke or drink alcohol.
86% Women must wear a head covering in church.
11% Women must not teach men in a church meeting.
11% Do not tell a lie for any reason.
0% Treat your parents with honor and respect.
46% A divorced person may not marry again.
0% A Christian should try to follow Christ.
7% It is wrong to curse and gossip.
93% Children must be at
least twelve years old before they can make a decision for or against Christ.
4% Christians should be
baptized after they are saved.
86% Pastors should wear
ties every day.
Now that you’ve seen
the answers, let’s try to come to some conclusions based on biblical truth. I
think, by the responses, Christianity has a few issues distinguishing between
man-made rules and God’s clear instructions.
Let’s just start at
the beginning, with Question 2. No one saw the Ten Commandments as legalistic,
even though these are ten rules of moral behavior including two dos and eight
don’ts.
For Question 3, all
but one participant said society should have rules.
In Question 4, about
modesty, most believe the Bible has a specific standard and some believe that
modesty is relative to culture. Of course, both are true. God says women are to
be modest (1 Timothy 2:9-10), and in some cultures, it’s more important to cover certain
parts of the body than in other cultures. The Christian woman anywhere should
seek to please God and be modest—whatever that means where she lives.
Question 5 asked
about believing in civil laws. Everyone said yes.
Question 6 was about
moral laws. Only one person doesn’t believe in them, but everyone else believed
in biblical morality. God’s moral law, of course, can pretty much be summed up
in the Ten Commandments and in Jesus’ “two greatest commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Question 7 was about
what kinds of legalism turns people off. Overwhelmingly, my participants hate
hypocrisy. They also don’t like a list of dos and don’ts. If you re-read the
definitions of “legalism” that they wrote, you can clearly see what bothers
most people. Nineteen percent do not appreciate “strict interpretations of the
Bible.” I'm not exactly sure what they meant. I’m assuming they mean making
the Bible say more than it actually says and harsh interpretations, but again, I’m not sure.
Question 8 had
several parts. I’d like to take each statement one by one.
- You must read your Bible and pray every day. This seemed
legalistic to over a third of our participants. As one said, if it said
“should” instead of “must” it would be more of a biblical concept. Yes, we
should pray (1 Thessalonians 5:18) all the time, and we should meditate on
God’s Word. Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee. I will delight myself in thy
statutes: I will not forget thy word (Psalm 119:11, 16). The problem arises
when we say people have to do this or
that. As someone else said, it’s when people take the place of the Holy Spirit
in another’s life that it becomes legalistic.
- Don’t wear a dress above your knees. 61% of our
participants thought this was legalistic. Let’s face it; it is. Why? Because
the Bible doesn’t exactly say where a dress length should be. (It does seem to indicate
that a woman shouldn’t bare her thighs in Isaiah 47:1-3, calling it a shame.) The better question is whether
your clothing is modest or not. When you sit down, does it ride up? When you
look in the mirror and ask God to guide you as to your clothing choices, what
is His answer? God does ask women to dress modestly and with moderation (1
Timothy 2:9-10).
- You must not smoke or drink alcohol. Almost half
of the participants thought this sounded legalistic. I was a little surprised,
as the Bible indicates we shouldn’t do anything to our bodies that doesn’t
glorify God or that would hurt our “temple.” Know ye
not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God,
him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. What? know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians
3:16-17; 6:19). Maybe the problem word again is “must” instead
of “should.”
- Women must wear a head covering in church. 86% of
participants think this sounds legalistic. Why? The concept of a head covering
is debatable. Some believe that 1 Corinthians 11:13-15 is saying the woman’s
hair is her covering, and others believe she must wear a covering over her
hair. The conclusion of the issue is, But if
any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of
God
(1 Corinthians 11:16).
- Women must not teach men in a church meeting. 11% think it
sounds legalistic. The Bible is pretty clear on this one. The biblical context
of this next verse is conduct in church meetings: But I
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in
silence
(1 Timothy 2:12). There are two other Bible verses that say that women should be silent in church: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.
- Do not tell a lie for any reason. 11% think
this sounds legalistic, even though the Bible clearly prohibits lying in the
Ten Commandments. (It’s the ninth commandment.) Jesus said that lies come from
the devil: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a
liar, and the father of it (John 8:44).
- Treat your parents with honor and respect. No one
thought this sounded legalistic. It’s one of the Ten Commandments.
- A divorced person may not marry again. About half of
my participants think it sounds legalistic. Why? Maybe it’s because it
doesn’t allow for the “adultery exception” (Matthew 19:9). May a divorced
person—in the case of adultery—marry again? Good men differ on this one.
- A Christian should try to follow Christ. Everyone was
okay with this statement. The Apostle Paul says, Be ye
followers of me, even as I also am
of Christ
(1 Corinthians 11:1).
- It is wrong to curse and gossip. Seven percent
found this legalistic. The Bible says in the Ten Commandments it’s wrong to
take God’s name in vain. Gossiping is frowned upon, too. And withal they learn to
be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but
tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not (1 Timothy 5:13).
- Children must be at least twelve years old
before they can make a decision for or against Christ. Overwhelmingly, my participants thought this sounded legalistic. It is a ridiculous
statement, of course! Jesus Himself said, Suffer
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
kingdom of heaven (Matthew
19:14). Jesus also said, But whoso shall
offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6).
Jesus wants children to come to Him.
- Christians should be baptized after they are
saved. Four percent saw this
as legalistic. This is a biblical concept. In the early church, there were no
non-baptized believers. The Bible indicates that they believed and were
baptized (Acts 8:12-13; 18:8).
- Pastors should wear ties every day. 86% of my participants think this is legalistic, and it is! What a goofy
thought—that a strip of silk makes any difference in the eternal scheme of
things! Did the Apostle Paul wear a tie? (I’m kidding, of course!) Consider the
country of the Philippines, where fancy dress has much more to do with the
material of the shirt and nothing whatsoever to do with a tie! What does the
Bible teach? By principle, those who serve should take their office seriously
and dress accordingly. In the Old Testament, they were offering sacrifices to
cover sins until Christ came. They had carefully prescribed garments. In the
New Testament church, Christ had already paid the price for sins with His
blood. New Testament preachers’ clothes aren’t even described, except for John
the Baptist, who wore raiment of camel's
hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins (Matthew 3:4).
So, what is legalism, and how can we avoid being
legalistic?
If we define legalism
as adding to biblical principles and commands and imposing extra-biblical lists
and standards on others, I think we’re getting to the heart of the matter.
If we know what the
Bible says (i.e. The Ten Commandments and other clear biblical principles) and
are willing to allow for a difference of opinion on standards that aren’t
spelled out (like marrying after divorce, length of skirts, head coverings, ties, and
others we looked at), we’ll become more balanced in our approach to the
Christian life.
The legalism problem
is certainly nothing new. When the Jewish believers in the early church wanted
to make the gentile believers follow the Old Testament Law, it lead to the
Jerusalem council. The Apostle Paul, by inspiration of God, said: Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck
of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we
believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even
as they
(Acts 15:10-11).
What should we do? Go
to the Lord in prayer about our own
actions and to the Bible for direction. That way, we’ll do right. Help others understand clear Bible principles and extend grace to those who differ with you about the gray areas.
May God bless you!
I
have friends and family that voted for Donald, Hillary, and some of the other guys. I have
friends who marched, and friends who didn’t. I even know people who went to the presidential
inauguration and one of the balls.
