The “L” word. It’s one of the ugliest of all words: legalism. Defined
as the idea that we can earn right standing with God, it does violence
to the glorious gospel of Christ. It says, “No, sorry, it’s not enough,”
to the substitutionary atoning work of Christ. It confuses the way to
forgiveness, it tarnishes the gospel of grace, it lays up heavy burdens
that no one can carry, it crushes hope, and fuels despair. It declares
that man possesses finesse to propitiate the just wrath of God due our
sin. For that, legalism is deadly and must be opposed at every level.
Paul called it another gospel whose proponents are condemned (Gal 1:8-9).
Consequently, labeling something/one legalistic ought to be done with
caution. To bring the charge is to say that this thing or person is in
danger of propagating an unsavable system and trampling the cross of
Christ. So if we label something legalistic, we better thoroughly
understand the gospel, the definition of legalism, and what exactly is
happening with what we are labeling as legalistic. Otherwise, we are
sinning by erroneously labeling something in opposition to the cross of
Jesus Christ. Continue at Eric Davis
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