"What's Your Definition of Legalism?"

My last blog post on my least favorite sermon prompted an old friend to ask what my definition of legalism is. This is an important question, and I decided to change my line-up of future blog posts to answer it. This week, I present three categories of attitudes or actions I consider legalistic, and next time I’ll comment on how misunderstanding culture and context compounds the problem.

Let me start with the most charitable of the categories of legalism.

!. Any practice or activity God has used in my life which I then expect other believers to follow – One of life’s greatest joys is experiencing the blessing of God transforming some area of your life.

One cause of legalism is the well-intentioned desire to see God work in others’ lives just as he has in yours. For example, someone whom God has rescued from alcoholism fully comprehends its danger. So, out of a legitimate concern for others’ well-being, some insist that no believer should consume alcohol – ever. But not everyone who drinks an occasional beer is destined for Skid Row.

There is certainly room for personally abstaining but not for forbidding all Christians worldwide from drinking. Not consuming in front of someone who might have a drinking problem shows Christian charity. And people who have had direct experiences with addicted friends or family may decide not to drink because they have personally witnessed alcoholism’s devastation. I have a friend who holds this view but doesn’t judge Christians who drink.

Legalists are not so generous and often force on others their views on this or dozens of other issues.

2. Any practice or activity I feel compelled to do to enhance my relationship with God and which, if I don’t do, will jeopardize my standing with him – This trap is very subtle. Spiritual disciplines such as reading scripture, praying, helping others, and sharing your faith are all important, can help you grow in your relationship with Jesus, and should be encouraged.

Christians fully understand that we can do nothing to earn God’s forgiveness. However, after their initial salvation experience, some revert to a performance mentality, working to maintain God’s approval. Clearly, your behavior matters, and God wants you to live a holy life. But it becomes dangerous when you turn the spiritual disciplines into a slavish list of mandates and lifeless drudgery where, if – for example – you miss a day of Bible reading, you assume God disapproves of you.

I succumbed to this snare early in my Christian life. For the three summers between my college years, I worked at a wonderful 4-H summer camp at the far eastern end of Long Island. After my first season, God touched my life, and I trusted Christ to forgive my sins. During my second year, I was vocal about how wonderful it is to know Jesus. But apparently my behavior didn’t quite match my words. At the end-of-the-summer counselors’ banquet where we gave each other funny awards, I got a “Practice What You Preach” certificate signed by Jesus Christ himself. Ouch! Apparently, my behavior wasn’t quite up to snuff.

So, I vowed to do better my third summer and committed to thinking about God as continuously as possible:  while interacting with the kids, while meeting with other counselors, while teaching electricity classes, while cleaning the washhouse toilets, etc. If I realized I hadn’t thought about God in the previous ten minutes, I would confess that “sin” and promise to do better.

This certainly was not the easy yoke or the light burden Jesus talks about in Matthew 11:28-30. My obsessive thought practice lasted for about two days before I realized it was sucking the life out me.

This is a great example of self-imposed legalism.

3. Any practice or activity that fans my spiritual pride or causes me to look down upon those who are less “spiritual’ – This, of course, is the older brother’s problem in the Prodigal Son parable. Enough said.

So, there you have it:  three aspects of legalism. But wait . . . there’s more! There are also cultural overtones that can play into this syndrome. Next time I will discuss four other elements that can compound the legalism problem.