Unfortunately, the moment you preach biblical holiness, many Christians put their hands over their ears and say, „This is legalism! This is condemnation! It is the religion created by man! This is the dead letter of the law! You will not enslave me! I`m not going to listen to anything like that! As Robert Brimstead noted, „the idea of living strictly according to what the Bible says has been called legal.” In contrast, true biblical holiness begins with the heart and springs from an encounter with God and His Word. It calls for repentance in response to the Lord`s gracious offer of salvation and offers a way to be holy, the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God. Biblical holiness is gratuitous, although it requires discipline and perseverance. For the legalist, nothing is free. Everything is earned! Therefore, legalism leads to servitude and holiness leads to freedom. „Who shall climb the hill of the Lord? And who will stand in his holy place? One who has pure hands and a pure heart, who does not raise his soul to evil and does not swear deceitfully. He shall receive the blessings of the Lord and the righteousness of the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:3–5). For wherever this teaching of easy grace is received, it leaves no room for holiness. It forbids any exhortation likely to arouse the desire for holiness. No, it makes people afraid of personal holiness, afraid to think about it. For they fear that any step towards holiness may be a renunciation of faith and a rejection of Christ and his justice.
Thus, instead of being „zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14), good works are a stench in the nose. In short, they are infinitely more afraid of the works of God than of the works of the devil. The word holy is also used in connection with the Sabbath in Exodus 20:8-11. The sacredness of the Sabbath was that God „sanctified” it by distinguishing it from all other days. As we ponder the meaning and use of the word holy, we turn to Peter`s mission to the children of God, saying, „For it is written, `You shall be holy, for I am holy` (1 Peter 1:16). If Christians are called to be holy (separated from the world), what differences must be evident in the holiness of God`s children? This is where we often see the trap. Some law enforcement officials want to elevate these distinctions to the essentials. Others try to demolish all laws and norms while giving all faithfulness to Christ in grace.
The track of how this kind of legalism of holiness develops is interesting. Entire denominations and movements may adopt certain taboos as outward signs of a life of holiness. To show how such „standards” work, let`s take the example of women`s hair. There are few people of holiness who still adhere to this „hair standard” today, so it is easier to use it here as an example. But you can replace any of the new taboos and get the same results. God loves you and has been extremely merciful to you. He proved this by sending Jesus Christ to die in your place. When you truly know and understand it, you will decide in your heart never to hurt the miracle of such great love. And the love you have for Jesus, as well as his love for you, will allow you to both stand in grace and grow in holiness.
In 1921, Ernest De Witt explained to Burton that in Galatians 2:16, the Greek word nomos „was evidently used.” In its legalistic sense, it refers to divine law, which is considered a purely legalistic system consisting of laws based on obedience or disobedience, to which individuals are approved or condemned as guilt without mercy. This is divine law, as defined by the legalist. [13] I testify to you that if you persist in sin, „Christ will be of no use to you.” * (Galatians 5:2) That Christ is not a Savior to you unless He saves you from your sins. And if he does not purify your heart, faith will be of no use to you. Oh, when will you understand that to resist inner or outer holiness under the color of Christ`s exaltation is to play directly the role of Judas, to betray the Son of Man with a kiss? (Luke 22:48). The Pharisees and Sadducees, as described in the Gospels, are often regarded by Christians in general as legalists. [4] Historically, many Christian New Testament scholars have attacked Judaism for being so-called „legalistic”; This accusation has been made by other scholars, such as E. P. Sanders, who calls this criticism inaccurate and ahistorical. [10] Here is Satan`s masterpiece: we must believe that men are holy, without a grain of holiness in them! Holy in Christ, as ungodly in himself. They are supposed to be in Christ, although they have no meaning whatsoever that was in Christ. They are „perfect in Him” (Colossians 2:10), though they are as proud, conceited, greedy, and lustful as ever.
They think they can continue in injustice because Christ fulfilled all righteousness. 9. The whole enterprise calcifies itself in legalism when a people becomes convinced that these external test questions are the price and proof of inner labor. In this way, outward signs can gradually replace the true work of the Holy Spirit in legalism. When a group reaches this final stage, people begin to trust the rules of their holiness instead of trusting Christ. That`s why legalism is so dangerous. In its advanced stages, it replaces the blood of Christ with human rules and thus becomes heresy. „Because we have these promises [to be sons and daughters of God], dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves of anything that can contaminate our body or mind. And let us work for perfect holiness, because we fear God” (2 Cor 7:1).
Whatever the answer to what legalism is or is not, it cannot equate to a „number of headers” of rules. Good luck trying to surpass religious Jews in the time of our Lord`s ministry. Muslims know a lot about observing the rules, but we all know the end of it. The Council of Jerusalem reduced the Code of Holiness from 613 to 4. This is why Joseph Caryl could say, „Perfect holiness is the goal of the saints on earth, and it is the reward of the saints in heaven.” Or, as John Whitlock put it: that of the Christian. The way is holiness, his final happiness. Oswald Chambers understood this and said: „God has a specific purpose for mankind – holiness! Its sole purpose is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing machine for people. He did not come to save people out of pity. He came to save men because He created them to be holy.
Let us listen to the conclusion of the whole affair: fear God and keep His commandments; for it is the duty of man. For God will judge every work, with every secret thing, whether good or bad. Is this a purely legalistic reason? A kind of subgospel exhortation that leads to a slavery of conscience that is not spiritual? To quote Oswald Chambers again: „The only freedom of a saint is the freedom not to use his freedom. Freedom means the ability not to break the law; License means personal insistence on doing what I love. Being free from the law means that I am the living law of God, there is no independence of God in my composition. The license is a rebellion against all law. If my heart does not become the center of divine love, it can become the center of diabolical freedom. First, there is the use of laws in one way or another to try to get a justification. This is the abuse that Scripture explicitly exposes and condemns. He is described in Galatians 5:4b as trying to be justified by the law and then to be condemned in the strongest possible terms: Christ has become ineffective for you. you have fallen out of favor (Galatians 5:4a,c).
Obviously, then, Scripture does not permit different opinions among true Christians on this kind of legalism. For example, Peter calls us not to conform to our past desires in our ignorance (v. 14). But what is lust? Not abstract (1 John 2:16), but concrete? Before conversion, we know nothing about the true nature of our desires and how the world exercises upon us and limits us to conform to them. We need to be educated and educated about these things. And not just in clinical, lexical terms, but through identifiable cultural examples.