Legalism is a word I very rarely use; after all, it is not a Bible word. Christ did not use it. He used two other words. Do you know what they are? They are hypocrite and lawless. Christ never condemned the Sadducees and Pharisees for obedience, for keeping the Law. When He condemned them, He condemned them for hypocrisy and lawlessness, for not obeying.
After all, Jesus Himself kept the Law perfectly. Was He a legalist for obeying the Law? I think not. What about Moses? He kept the Law, he even had a man put to death for gathering firewood on the Sabbath ( Num. 15:32-36). He must have been a legalist; he took God at His word and obeyed.
I have found that those who harp on the word legalism are usually covering their own legalism, I'm sorry, I mean hypocrisy and lawlessness. They're usually the ones looking for loopholes to the commandments, bringing the commandments to nothing, having spiritualized them into oblivion. It is usually a deflection from their own disobedience.
God has not given us commandments to break or to ignore, but to follow. How unfair it would be for Him to command us to do something and then to condemn us if we do it. How unfair it would be to tell us to do something that He does not really want us to do. No, Jesus only commands that which He wants us to follow.
Not only that, but He goes so far as to say that this is how we will truly know if we love Him, by obeying what He has commanded. Jesus has said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." He has also said in verse 21 of the same chapter, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” One more verse just for good measure, though there are many more, 1 John 5:3, "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome." You see, obedience is not legalism, it is love for Him.
The next time someone calls you a legalist for striving to obey God, let the comment slide right off you and continue doing right. And you, for your part, if you are going to label someone a legalist, ask yourself first if they are being hypocritical or lawless. If not, maybe you should keep the comment to yourself.
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