The Legalist Within

Interrogate the Legalist Within: 

Pause for a moment and remember.

Remember where you were, and what it was like … that moment when you understood the cross for the first time … when you really grasped what happened at Calvary, and what it truly means that Christ died for your sins, what it truly means to be saved.Remember the passion for Jesus you had? Remember the joy and overwhelming gratitude to God that came from knowing your sins were forgiven?

I miss that passion. I feel very complacent and apathetic these days. I read the other day that, “Apathy toward God is the result of being passionate toward something or someone else.”* That’s a nice kick in the pants. It’s true, but I don’t like the truth of it.

Perhaps you often lack joy, or wonder why you can’t make greater progress in spiritual maturity, or feel condemned when you sin. So you study your Bible more, or attend another small-group meeting, or serve in new ways at church, or read the latest book.

All these practices are good. Some are vital. But let me suggest the likely root cause of your problems: Perhaps you have simply drifted from the message that saved you. If you lack passion for God, if you sometimes wonder where the joy went, then consider: Are you still clinging to the gospel? Whether you grew up in church or were saved on the streets, you were saved by the same simple message: Christ died for your sins.

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How quickly we drift from this essential message! We begin basing our relationship with God on our performance. We want to substitute our works — our Bible reading, our church attendance, our church participation — for Christ’s finished work. We easily fall into the subtle but serious trap of legalism, because every one of us has a legalist lurking within.

If you’re unfamiliar with this term, here is how I like to define legalism: Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God, justification before God, and acceptance by God, through our obedience to God.

In other words, a legalist is anyone who behaves as if he or she can earn God’s approval and forgiveness through performance. At its heart legalism is self-atonement for the purpose of self-glorification and ultimately self-worship. Many of us (and I include myself here) can approach legalism casually. But legalism is serious and it is deadly.

I used to be self-righteous when it came to legalism. “I left my old church because they were SO legalistic!” But in reality, I’m still legalistic. Thankfully, there are ways to combat legalism.

First, remember the cross. “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” Paul reminded the Galatians of the cross, and he reminds us as well, because our daily tendency and temptation is to forget the cross. Recognize this tendency in yourself and remind yourself often of the cross. Read cross-centered books, listen to cross-centered preaching, and memorize Scripture verses pertaining to Christ’s work on the cross.

Second, recall your conversion. “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” With this question, Paul points us all back to the message that saved us. He wants us to begin interrogating the legalist within, whenever legalism rises up to try to dilute or deny the unique saving power of God’s grace. To recall how we were converted is to be reminded of grace. As a practice, I seize every opportunity to share my testimony with other Christians, and I ask them to share theirs. I find this practice helps us marvel at grace together.

Third, review your hope. “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Here is another telling question for your inner legalist and mine. So please be very clear about this: You will never be more justified — more accepted by God and righteous in his sight — than you are right now or than you were that first moment you exercised the gift of faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our hope for each day is not in trying to earn God’s forgiveness, but to look outward and upward, trusting in the work of God’s Son on our behalf, for our justification is in Him, permanently and forever.

May we all remember the hope that we have in the Gospel.

*From Jim Berg’s Changed Into His Image