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"'. . . that He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.'
For from Zion will go forth the Law
Even the Word of God from Jerusalem."
Micah 4:2
All this emphasis on the Law - aren't we being "Legalists?"
There is no such thing as a "legalist." The word should be destroyed entirely, it is so confusing.
Funk & Wagnall's New Practical Standard Dictionary defines legalism as "1. Close adherence to law; strict conformity to law." Jesus Christ was then the biggest "legalist" the world has ever seen![146] Not only that, but because Christ is our example, we are therefore commanded to be "legalists."[147]
How about "2. The theological doctrine of salvation by works, as distinguished from that by grace." Then James is certainly a "legalist," for he taught that we are justified by our works.[148] It surely doesn't matter that all our good works are a product of the work of the Spirit;[149] everybody knows that's just another way of saying that Jesus Christ, that "legalist" par excellence, is working in us.[150] Nor does it matter that as we work out our salvation it is really God Who works in us.[151] No, that doesn't change a thing: New Testament Christians are clearly "legalists," every one.
(Actually, we're not being fair with Doctors Funk and Wagnall. But anyone who believes in Salvation apart from Grace [def. 2] never believes in the "legalism" of def. 1! The person who claims he has not sinned has not only deceived himself [I John 1:8], but he is fudging in his estimation of the requirements of God's Law. The "legalist" who thinks he doesn't need God's grace [def. 2] has watered down God's Law! [def. 1]) Any doctrine of Justification by Works which is distinguished from Justification by Grace is not the Biblical doctrine of Justification by Works as taught by James.[152])
Perhaps "legalism" is "3. The tendency to observe the letter rather than the spirit of the law." Again, this cannot be. Since the Spirit wrote the Law, how can we obey the letters the Spirit wrote and ignore the Spirit? We have already seen, very briefly, that the letter of the Law commands us to bear the fruit of the Spirit! Was the problem with the Pharisees that they observed the letter of the Law? Not at all! In order to ignore the "spirit of the law" they had to ignore the letters of the Law!
But, yes, they did ignore the Spirit! And without the power of the Spirit, there was no way they could live Christ-like lives. They had to water down the law, ignore its weightier matters, and call their own silly traditions "the law." They boasted in their obedience to the letter of their traditions, but they ignored God's Law.
Webster's adds a little to the definition of "legalism": "Strict, often too strict and literal, adherence to law." But this is impossible. God's Law is perfect.[153] We cannot obey God's Law too perfectly, or too literally. Our problem is that we ignore portions of the Word and then distort others. No one is ever guilty of "too strict and literal" obedience to all of God's Law. The Pharisee ignores the weightier matters of the Law[154] and then claims strict and literal obedience to those portions which he has chosen to obey. But in fact, by ignoring justice, mercy, and faith, he mangles beyond recognition those laws he claims to obey! If "legalism" is perfect and literal obedience to God's Perfect Law, may the Lord make us True, Faithful, and Literal "legalists!"
All of this should begin to open our eyes to the anti-Law bias of modern self-centered society. Pharisees and politicians will use the law - exploit the law - to achieve their own lawless purposes. They claim to be the proponents and greatest champions of "law," but they are merely manipulating man's law in order to evade God's Law. The result of their "too strict and literal adherence to law" is lawlessness and injustice. It is often that case that even man's law does not deserve to be so insulted as to claim that such men are "strictly adhering" to it.
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(146)
Hebrews 10:7; Hebrews 5:8; Philippians 2:8; John 15:10; John 14:31; John 8:29,46,55; Matthew 3:15.(147) Matthew 5:17-20; 11:29; Romans 13:14; Philippians 2:5,8; Hebrews 3:1; I John 2:6; Revelation 14:4.
(149) Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:22-26.
(151) Philippians 2:12-13.