Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Root causes of legalism

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LegalismLegalism is too often an ugly aspect of evangelical or fundamental churches. At its extreme, legalistic churches reduce the gospel to praying the sinner’s prayer and conforming to a list of do’s and don’ts. In a legalistic system, someone determines what is acceptable based on an often arbitrary interpretation of Scripture.

In thinking about legalism, I came up with three root causes for it.

  1. Pride
  2. Fear
  3. Lack of faith

Pride

My observation of legalistic systems is that they lower the bar to a standard that can be met through self-will and determination. The motivation behind the bar lowering is often pride. There is a drive in all of us to appear better than we really are. There is great danger in arranging a system that promotes rather than inhibits pride. It is ironic that the most legalistic people I have ever met seemed to be some of the most proud people I have met.

Fear

Legalism can result from fear that people will make bad choices and need help to make good ones. In a misguided attempt to provide guidance, the legalist attempts to provide a rule for every situation.

Lack of faith

Ultimately, legalism results from a lack of faith in God. If I feel pressured to provide rules for others, it is because I do not trust that God is big enough and strong enough to bring those others through whatever they face.

The lack of faith is grounded in a failure to understand that God does indeed love us as we are. If I feel pressured to earn God’s favor, it is because I really don’t grasp the extent of God’s love for me. I do not have enough faith to believe Jesus’ statements that the weary and heavy laden are welcome in his embrace.

The Result

The result of legalism is that those who are in the system cannot become what God intends them to be. Rather than a deepening understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, legalists are satisfied with rule keeping.

Rule keeping undermines the ability of the legalist to allow himself and others to be open about his shortcomings and failures. Church meetings become like a masquerade ball where the real identity of the people in the room is hidden. The legalist cannot be himself, because he knows that he does not live up to his own standard and he doesn’t want anyone to discover this.

Just Quit

Usually, the only thing you can do if you find yourself in a legalistic system is flea since it is unlikely that you will change the system. Perhaps God will use you to affect change, but this is usually not the case. Find a group that accepts you for who you are and will encourage you to become what God wants you to be.

How can you identify whether a group is legalistic or gospel-centric? The easiest way to tell is by whether people are leaving as a result of being hurt. Legalism destroys true spirituality and those that are really seeking Jesus will always be hurt by the legalists because the legalists are not seeking him.

The good news is, those who really are seeking Jesus will be more than happy to share him with you. They will come along side as fellow seekers and pick you up when you fall and allow you to do the same for them. They provide an environment where pretense is diminished and honesty is rewarded.

It is to a community like this that you should flee. I did and am the better for it.

Can you think of other root causes of legalism? If so, please take a few moments and share your thoughts in the comment form below.

Intentional about Grace

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IntentionalRecently I had a dialog with a pastor friend about the tendency for churches to have correct teaching about grace and have their practice of it break down. My friend made the observation that “works-righteousness is the default mode of the human heart.” After observing myself and others, I am forced to agree with him.

The Church of Jesus Christ should be the most gracious place on the planet but often it is not. If we are not consistently preaching the Gospel, if we are not reinforcing our need for a savior, if we are not intentional about living under grace, then we will become what the world thinks we are.

A definition of the Gospel, which I got from Tim Keller, is this (this may not be a word for word quote, but it is how I remember it):

We are more deeply flawed than we ever dared imagine,
But we are more deeply loved than we ever dared believe

If visitors to your church do not come away with the impression that you believe this, then you have missed an opportunity to present the true Gospel to people who desperately need to hear it. All of us need to hear this message reinforced on a regular basis.

Failure to believe the first part of Keller’s definition leads to spiritual pride and a false sense of superiority. Failure to believe the second part leads to despair and the feeling that I will never measure up.

The point is that we don’t need to measure up. 2 Cor. 5:21 tells us that Jesus did the “measuring up” for us. So why do we try so hard to do so? Jesus loved us, the entire God-head loved us, before we were even born and despite the mess we’ve made.

I need to acknowledge that my heart rebels against the first part of Mr. Keller’s statement. I don’t want to admit that I am flawed beyond self-repair. My pride wants to think that I am better than I am and I am less in need of grace than I really am. I want to appear to others better than I really am.

This is why we need to be intentional about preaching the core of the gospel and we need to be intentional about demonstrating grace. If we are not intentional about it, works-righteousness will cause us to veer off course and before we know it we will have a Pharisaic congregation who despises the tax collectors and sinners. Rather than a loving one which embraces those who are willing to admit their need for a savior.

The question is, “How is it that we can sing about grace and look down on our brother?”

We need to be honest in answering this question. Because if we are not honest, the world will continue to think we are judgmental and pompous, only because we are.

Whence the lack of peace?

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Peace sign“And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”” (Luke 7:50, ESV)

Peace is the one thing that is lacking in many churches today. Perhaps it is because it is one thing that is lacking in many believers today. Maybe I am projecting this on others because of a lack of peace in my own life, but I think not. Very few of us, including Christians, exude a sense of peace and calm.

Notice that Jesus does not say, “your service has saved you, go in peace.” Nor does he say, “your confident statements about the quality and quantity of your faith have saved you.” It is the woman’s faith that is demonstrated by her actions that have saved her.

The result of that faith should be peace.

Why, then, is peace missing from the Christian experience?

One reason I have observed is that I place unrealistic expectations on myself and others as to how a Christian should behave. Any time you begin a sentence with “Good Christians don’t . . .” or “Good Christians do . . .” stop and reevaluate what you are about to say. Those unrealistic expectations lead to frustration that will destroy peace.

Another reason for a lack of peace is a distorted view of the Gospel. When I understand the enormity of the debt I owed but could not pay, and further understand that Jesus has satisfied that debt, it should bring a great relief that leads to peace. Yet, perhaps because I think myself better than I am, I attempt to earn enough to satisfy my own debt. This is a little like a child breaking his piggy bank to pay the trillions of dollars of debt that irresponsible politicians have accrued.

Tim Keller has given a short summary of the Gospel that I have found helpful. I may not have it word-for-word because I cannot remember where I found it, but it goes something like this:

I am more deeply flawed than I ever dared believe, but I am more deeply loved than I ever thought possible.

Faith brings us under the umbrella of that love, a love that cannot be put off by our flaws.

That understanding should allow us to go in peace.

Paul Tripp on the purpose of the Word of God

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Dangerous CallingWhen the Word of God, faithfully taught by the people of God and empowered by the Spirit of God, falls down, people become different. Lusting people become pure, fearful people become courageous, thieves become givers, demanding people become servants, angry people become peacemakers, complainers become thankful, and idolaters come to joyfully worship the one true God. The ultimate purpose of the Word of God is not theological information but heart and life transformation. Biblical literacy and theological expertise are not, therefore, the end of the Word but a God-ordained means to and end, and the end is a radically transformed life because the worship at the center of that life has been reclaimed. This means it is dangerous to teach, discuss, and exegete the Word without this goal in view. It should be the goal of every seminary professor. It should be his prayer for every one of his students. It should cause him or her to make regular pastoral pleas to the students. It means recognizing that this student’s future ministry will never be shaped by his knowledge and skill alone but also, inevitably, by the condition of his heart.

Paul David Tripp in Dangerous Calling

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