personal legalism

le·gal·ism 
–noun
1.
strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, esp. to the letter rather than the spirit.
2.
Theology.
a.
the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works.
b.
the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws.

Ephesians 2:9 makes it clear that salvation is not by works, but rather comes strictly thru faith in the grace of God, offered as an unearned gift. Adding "rules" to the word of God is exactly what made the Pharisees walk in self righteous pride and ultimately miss Jesus.

Here's what I believe. Some things are sin and need to be addressed as such, and we (the church) should not be afraid to teach that. However, as a church, we need not impose specific rules (legalism) on all people corporately. I would never stand in the pulpit and tell everyone not to see movies, even R rated ones. Neither should the church tell people they can't drink or dance, and we shouldn't judge people, even christians, that do. Drinking is not a sin, drunkenness is. Dancing is not evil, ( unless you do it as badly as I do, then you could make a solid case for its inherent wrongness), and as soon as you pass judgment on someone who does, you are committing the deadliest sin of all, the sin of religion.

I'm not saying Christians should roll up to the club, sippin on cognac with fifty cent bumping in your pimp my ride, sittin on "dubs" that you bought with your tithe money............So are we "free in Christ" or not? Here's where personal legalism come in.


Paul said that just because some things are permissible, does not mean they are profitable. In other words, just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you should. I remember a few years back a young man came up to me at youth feeling very guilty because he had been drinking. He explained that after football games, a bunch of kids would go to another kids house, where an older brother would pass out beers. He never got drunk, but he would often have one to "fit in" and he felt badly. I explained to him first of all that underage drinking is illegal and that alone makes it sin (romans 13, obeying govt.) I then suggested that he not go to that kids house after games anymore. He looked at me cross-eyed like I had just quoted Ezekiel 23:20 at him. "What's wrong with going to my friends house!!!" he yelled in disbelief. Nothing, and I would never make an announcement at youth group corporately "none of you should go to your friends houses ever again, there is too much temptation in the world!!" But In light of your experiences there, I told him, it's not a WISE thing for YOU to do, even though inherently it may not be "wrong".

Roman 13:14 " but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify it's desires"--in other words, avoid situations where you provide yourself opportunities to sin.

For this young man, going to a particular friends house was "making provision for the flesh" and he needed to stop to have victory.
I think too often Christians are so worried about a particular thing they do not being WRONG, they forget to ask if it is wise for them.

If you struggle with alcohol or addiction, even if it's not "illegal" or "wrong", you have no business drinking or going to a bar.
If you struggle with Porn, you need to have your computer monitored and in the open. Maybe you don't even go on it.
If you struggle with gossip, maybe you can't have coffee with a specific person or need to stay off facebook
If you struggle with anger, maybe watching MMA fights isn't the best pass time for you.
In the basement with your girlfriend sharing a sleeping bag with your parents gone watching the notebook, is not a good time to try to draw "how far should we go physically" boundaries if you know what I mean.


But that doesn't mean these things are necessarily "wrong" for everyone else, (except that part about the notebook, if your not married, that idea is always wrong) that's why I call it "personal legalism" What is God saying to YOU??!! When he speaks, listen and obey, even if the issue your dealing with isn't in and of itself "wrong", is it wise?

Ephesians 5:15--Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

We'll talk more about not being a stumbling block to others with our freedom in a later post. I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and views on this so leave a comment and we'll dialogue!