The Perils of Legalism

We completed the Epistle to Titus in our service at Word Fellowship yesterday. In the final section, Paul admonishes Titus to take what he had learned "to the bank." Namely, salvation comes not from our righteous deeds but from the Holy Spirit's washing and renewal. Our redemption is a unilateral act of God's grace. This truth is a refreshing reality for me.

Shortly after relating these things, he warns Titus to avoid the nonsense of the false teachers. These heretics (αἱρετικὸν) were adept at forwarding foolish questions and controversies which produced a bitter fruit of division in the Church. Furthermore, these persons would often raise "disputes about the law." I keyed in on this phrase since I have learned that if there is one thing that encroached on the purity of the Gospel, it is legalism. And the apostle Paul addressed the issue frequently in his writings, his letters to the Galatians and the Colossians in particular.

In Galatians 2:16, Paul writes, "Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus...since by the works of the law no flesh will be justified." Colossians 2:20-22 reiterates the same principle, that is if you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world (legalism, the flesh), why are you continuing to submit yourself to the teachings of men, such as don't handle this, don't touch that, and make sure you are keeping all the various religious decrees of men? Legalism is exasperating!

Erik Raymond made some helpful observations concerning this frequent pitfall. First, legalism promotes unbiblical standards. As the Pharisees demonstrated, it tends to add demands to the Scripture, which Jesus condemned outright (e.g., Matthew 23). Secondly, it promotes self-righteousness rather than Christ's righteousness, which quickly leads one into a performance trap. "Legalism says, 'I do or do not do. The Gospel says, I can't do, but Jesus did.'” Thirdly, as Paul warned Titus, legalism promotes division. It separates believers into factions (cliques) of the haves and have-nots; those who perform notably and those who fail. Finally, and predictably, legalism demotes Jesus and promotes self. As James Montgomery Boice famously said, “Human nature always exalts man and diminishes God.”

Churches have been damaged by legalism since the beginning of Christian history. The practice of this heresy divides the Body of Christ by encroaching on the Gospel of grace. Let us be alert to this contagion, standing firm and being strong (1 Corinthians 16: 13).