I wrote this paper about Legalism after reading Mahanney's "Living the Cross Centered Life". I wanted to post it because I have experienced legalism and the dangers of it. It is truly, as Galatians claims, a false gospel and I don't want myself or anyone else to live in the power of it. So I figured I'd give what little insight I have to the dangers of legalism....

-Legalism: A Joyless Trap of False Righteousness-
After reading Living the Cross Centered Life there is no way that I could write on any other topic than legalism. "Legalism is essentially self-atonement for the purpose of self-glorification and ultimately for self-worship. It is the pinnacle of pride for me to assume that by my good works I could ever morally obligate God to forgive me, justify me, or accept me," says Mahaney (page 113). I confess that I am a legalist. Not only am I legalist, but I have been extremely blind to this sin for most of my Christian walk. I would say that salvation is by grace alone in a heart beat, but my constant "spinning plates" would reveal something else. I am thankful that this book and many conversations with my brothers in Christ have revealed this awful sin so that I may now be guarded from it. John Piper says this, "Human beings are wired to be legalists. That is, we are wired to trust what we do as the grounds of assurance." I must confess again that I am in the same boat as the people Piper is speaking about here. It seems that I prefer rules, I want to earn grace with obedience, I long to be better than every one of my brothers, and bottom line I seek my own glory. However, this path I attempt to walk is joyless and seems to be graceless. I hate this false gospel that I am attempting to live. I hope in this paper to expose what legalism does in the believer's walk with Christ. It is something that I will struggle with for the rest of my earthly life but I pray that by revealing its roots and effects I will be able to better guard my heart from this vain pursuit.
The first issue with legalism that I would like to speak of is the fact that Legalism says that we do not need a savior. In Legalism the law is our savior and we need no other merit outside of ourselves fulfilling the law in order to come before God as justified. C. J. Mahaney says it well when he says "The implications are staggering, because legalism claims in essence that the death of Jesus on the cross was either unnecessary or insufficient. It says to God, in effect, 'Your plan didn't work. The cross wasn't enough and I need to add my good works to it to be saved"(Page 113). In my unrighteous Legalistic tendencies I have the mindset that my obedience and the law earn me not only favor, but justification before the Father. While my lips may say "Salvation is certainly by grace alone" my attitude says that I must continually be fulfilling all of the commandments of God in His Word in order to keep the favor that was ultimately given to me by God. Let us take a look at what the book of Acts has to say concerning this issue. After a long debate between the Jewish Council dealing with circumcision and salvation Peter stands up and says these freeing words "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." (Acts 15:7-11) It is extremely easy for me after reading this scripture to say to myself "Of course you can be saved without being circumcised. Why would the Jewish Council ever for a moment think that Salvation had anything to do with circumcision?" What a hypocritical thought. I say the same thing when I question someone's salvation because they watch MTV or they haven't shared the gospel recently. I also say the same thing that these Jews said when I foolishly come to God with a false sense of merit because I have not watched any television and I have shared the gospel at least five times that week. Peter is clear in what my thought process is opposing here, "But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (verse 11). This is such a crushing truth. Of course I would say I believe those words to be true but my outlook is obviously opposing this statement. I must repent of believing that I can continue to earn grace by my obedience to God's Word. The Son of God dying upon a cross is what saves me and is fully sufficient to accomplish what God has purposed for it to do. The cross is where I find my merit because there is none within me. This means that I must set aside my foolish preference of wanting to earn my own merit and simply accept the grace that God has freely given to me.
The second issue that I would like to address concerning Legalism is the dangerous effect that it has between believers. Legalism is undoubtedly going to separate a church body for several reasons. First of all, it is nothing less than a contest for grace. I find, in my own mind, that when I'm deep in my roots of Legalism I will always win this contest. My thought process will dwindle around every conversation I have had that day and I will always turn out to be more holy, more righteous, more obedient, and more worthy of grace than the person I was speaking with (Brett clued me into this mindset). When everyone has this attitude, the church becomes a place where pride becomes abundant between brothers and sisters so much so that salvation will seem as if it means nothing. We will start to say to ourselves "Oh, them, they are only saved. I am saved and then sanctified. Just, look at how much better I am than them. Surely God must look at me with more favor than them." This manifestation of pride will smother brothers and sisters in the faith. Instead of looking at a brother sin as an opportunity to speak graceful words meant to cause restoration, I will look upon a brother with a condemning judgment that is meant to build me up. If the Bride is constantly seeking to outdo one another in seeking God's favor through obedience then she will certainly forget what her Bridegroom has done for her at Calvary.
The last thing I want to address is that Legalism sucks the joy out of our walk with Christ. I love when Mahaney talks about spinning plates. He says, "One by one he (the plate spinner) would carefully position each plate on a rod and give it a furious spin, until the stage was transformed into a small forest of plates, wiggling and swaying on their sticks... The plates we spin are various spiritual activities-such as Bible reading, prayer, or sharing the gospel... We change what God intends as a means of experiencing grace into a means of earning grace. Instead of being a further expression of our confidence in God's saving work in our life, these spiritual activities become simply more spinning plates to maintain" (Pages 114-115). I can understand what Mahaney is talking about here. I have at times found myself striving to spin many plates at once by my own will and power. They all eventually fall and shatter. This is the point when I feel that I can not come to the Father in prayer, worship, or in His Word while in my sin. I feel I must once again strive to be completely obedient and then come to Him for forgiveness. But, I have no reason for this mindset. These familiar words from 2 Corinthians 5:21 destroy all reason to base my justification in Legalism, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." This truth assures me that my righteousness is not found within me or my obedience. It is once again found in the work of Christ on a cross. This truth stirs my soul to joy once again. When all my sin and failures pile up, I can still come before the Father in a robe of righteousness that Christ has bought for me seeking forgiveness. He looks at me as if He was looking at His Son. Those words seem too good to be true. It almost seems dangerous to say them, but this is the truth that will settle my soul and help me to run from the unsatisfying roots of Legalism. My merit is given to be by grace alone. Oh how I hope I put away my "justification to-do list" and simply take my joy in the fact that before God I am currently justified "for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose" (Galatians 3:21). I pray that we would all be restored to the joy of the salvation that Christ has bought for us and given to us without price.
I feel that one passage of scripture will be best to mention to end with. Isaiah 55:1-2 gives this wonderful invitation that we must all accept "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price, Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." God has called us all to come. He does not ask us to bring our filthy rags with us. He "knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14). I hope I can simply accept this invitation to come to His feast covered in His own Son's blood. This is the root of joy. This is where we realize that Legalism holds no value for our souls and that grace is the greater and only source of salvation.