Legalism…Legalist

"Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Galatians 3:3

I have been finding legalism so fascinating these last few days. As I search the depths of God's Word I have been finding that legalism is spoken a lot through-out the Bible. 

What is legalism-it is dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.

In my terms, legalism is focusing more on the "Do's and Don'ts" rather than on our faith in Jesus Christ.

I like how Paul puts it, "And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ-and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law." Galatians 2:16

Brethren, there is a reason God is speaking on legalism in His Word. There is a reason He calls out the Pharisees as much as He does. They were legalist to the extreme.

It is because we too, especially me, can get caught up in legalism and not even realize how bad of a Christian legalistic we are being.

Does all of this mean we don't have to follow the law? No! It means we need to make sure we are living by faith and knowing that we are accepted by God because of Christ Jesus. 

All we do when we focus on legalism is rob ourselves of joy. We become so focused on what not to do that we miss out on what Christ has done for us and how far we have come. "For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it." Romans 3:20

Therefore showing us our need for Jesus. 

We can never win God's approval if our only effort is trying to keep the law.

The more we live a legalistic life, the more we separate ourselves from God's grace. (Galatians 5:4)

The Pharisees were miserable people. All they did is walk around demanding that there rules were followed. They were joyless people, especially when Christ came because He revealed that there law was getting them nowhere. It was faith they needed. 

Legalism causes a feeling of guilt, self-hatred, the need to "do good", hopelessness, failure, inadequacy, and the expectation of living up to the demands of others, especially yourself.

It even can lead us down a path of doubting God's love for us.

In closing, "There is only one God, and there is only one way of being accepted by him. He makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law."  Romans 3:30-31

Jesus re-pattern my thought life to focus on Your love, forgiveness, mercy and grace, and the amazing fact that I am accepted by You. Keep me from trying to be perfect in my human effort. Amen