Have you ever been accused of being a “legalist”? Or, perhaps, you have accused someone else of this. Calling someone a legalist is the supreme Lutheran insult. It’s the accusation that shuts down all conversation, because no Lutheran wants to be a legalist.
As you might be able to guess from the word itself, “legalism” is some kind of wrong understanding of the Law of God. It’s attempting to use the Law of God to justify ourselves, either before God or before our fellow man.
The opposite error of legalism is antinomianism (nomos is the Greek word for Law). It’s the false teaching that the Law no longer has anything to say to a Christian.
Both legalism and antinomianism are serious errors. But both labels can be thrown around recklessly. I once heard someone say that if you manage to be accused of both errors, you’re probably on the right track. Not that we actually want to be either of them, but if we can teach the Law so sternly that someone falsely accuses us of legalism and the Gospel so graciously that someone else falsely accuses us of antinomianism, we might actually be teaching both doctrines rightly.
So what is a legalist? It’s helpful to clarify what it’s not. A legalist is not someone who takes the Law of God too seriously. It is not possible to take the Law too seriously. It’s also not someone who takes doctrine too seriously. That is also not possible. And it is right (depending on your vocation and the manner in which you do it) to insist that another Christian obey God’s commandments and believe what he has spoken, because that is good for us. We should all make every effort to obey and believe every Word of God.
So legalism is not taking God’s Law too seriously, but trying to use the Law to do what the Gospel is supposed to do. Our standing before God is solely dependent upon what Jesus has done for us by his death and resurrection. We are justified by grace, which means that we also have no grounds for boasting over someone else. Legalism can also be using the Law to prop ourselves up as superior to another person. That, also, is not the purpose for which God gave the Law. God gave us his Law in order to curb evil behavior in this world, convict us of sin, and guide us in what good works a Christian should do. Using the Law for any other purpose will probably fall into the category of legalism. We should pray that the Holy Spirit would sanctify our hearts to love the Law of God. His commandments are good for us. And when we sin, which we often do, we should turn again in repentance to God, confessing our sins and trusting in Jesus’ righteousness for us.
The peace of Christ be with you all,
Pastor Dan Antal