This last week or so I have been trying to come to terms what it means to be a legalist. Personally I do not find the term "legalistic" terribly useful term, any more than "religious" or "super spiritual", simply because the words are vague in there meaning. If we are using these words to warn people to avoid a particular deception it defeats the purpose if the word we use obscures what the deception is. For example, suppose someone was being accused of being a "super spiro", how would they go about changing that problem? Put yourself in their shoes, does God want them to be less spiritual? But God says to walk in the Spirit! Indeed God tells them that they are a spirit! It's hard to imagine being more spiritual than a spirit! Similarly, what is someone to do when someone identifies a legitimate error in someone's walk with God and labels them a "legalist"? Do they resolve to love the law less? But the Bible says to love the law! I believe using the term legalist will only ever cause debates because you are accusing them of something good, when really there might be something deeply wrong. Alternatively using the term "legalist" might cause someone to become deeply discouraged, because they too know that they have something in their heart that requires attention but they are none the wiser on how to fix it. I suppose the best we can do when it comes to the subject of legalism is have a look at what behaviours are generally called "legalistic" and seeing what scripture says about these subjects. The most known example of legalism is to try and work for God's favour. However, I do not think this is the most deceptive form of legalism as it is the most well known type of legalism so I will leave this form of legalism to another blog. Another type of behaviour that is called legalistic is to "teach the traditions of man as though they are God's laws" (Matthew: 18??) which is the essence of what Paul preached about in Romans 14. However, this again is not the most deceptive form of legalism because once again it is a very well known principle throughout the body of Christ. I believe the most deceptive form of legalism is one that spoken against "between the lines" so to speak in scripture. It is to treat issues of wisdom as though they are moral issues. Why? Imagine I saw someone crossing the road without looking. If I acted responsibly I might halt them before they get hit by a car and then mention a bit about the wisdom of looking before crossing a road. Sounds normal right? Well what if my response was "You evil little person! How dare you cross the road without looking! That was wrong and I will not tolerate it!" I would be just a little bit off in how I approached the situation! Ok so the above example is slightly exaggerated. But this is how bizarre a Christian sounds when they speak to someone who is acting unwisely as though they are acting immorally! Suppose now I was in the car with someone who deliberately tried to swerve into some children because they wanted to run them over. I hope the way you wouldn't respond is "I'm concerned for you here. I don't think that running over these children is the best thing for you or your future". This is now a moral issue and should be treated as such. Wisdom issues need to be dealt with differently from moral issues. When we are confronted with a lack of wisdom in someone the focus of our love and concern should be them because our concern should be in how they are missing out if they do not act wisely. Moral issues on the other hand require us to show love not just for them but for those affected by their actions which is why a moral issue needs to be treated more confrontationally. Now it is true that other people are affected by a lack of wisdom; for example if the person who crossed the road without looking were to be run over and the person had children they were looking after; they have left them to fend for themselves the rest of their lives. Even still it is important to make the focus of our love the person who lacks wisdom. If you are ever accused of being legalistic examine yourself. Is this issue you are confronted with one of wisdom or one of morality?
