- Legalism is trying to earn salvation (justification) by keeping the Law of the Bible or by following a specific set of rules. The Bible teaches that we can only be saved by faith in God through His gift to us!
- Legalism is trying to make oneself holy (sanctified) by following the law or a set of rules rather than believing your holiness before God comes because of your new identity as a child of God.. (This does not say that God does not have a certain standard, but it does call us to examine our method of and motives for becoming holy. Holiness must also come by faith, not by simply my own striving.)
- Legalism is requiring a set of rules that are more restrictive than God's rules and holding others to this standard as if God did in fact did require it.. Like the Pharisees, we Christians sometimes interpret and apply the Bible's teaching "by the letter of the law" and/or add extra requirements rather than focusing on the "spirit of the law".
Perhaps this is a sermon series and not a blog post, but one root thing that all three of these "types of legalism" have in common is emphasizing our faithfulness/responsibility to God in a way that supersedes or overshadows His faithfulness and love to us. God's faithfulness to us is the centerpiece of the Gospel, not our faithfulness to Him. Of the two, His faithfulness to us must always come across louder and clearer. We must learn to find our identity in His faithfulness, not our own. This puts the focus and glory back on God, not us. This is the only way to experience abundant life!
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." (Romans 1:16-17, NLT)
