About Legalism

"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly." 1Timothy 1:8

Paul is so wise. He really understands what he believes and why. This statement written to young Timothy is wonderful counsel. I think in general we find it hard to compute in our heads and hearts that either we are under the law and obligated to it or not. When Paul uses the term 'law' here, he is not referring to the laws of the land or civil law. He is talking about The Law, such as in the Ten Commandments and all of the laws that are derived from them.

The people of God began with just ten laws and then 60+ and then 600+ and eventually 6,000+. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, and He did, meaning that He did everything that He needed to do to usher in a new covenant of grace. We now live under grace but as Paul says, the law is good, if one uses it properly. There is the catch. The law is not a club or a laser; it is a revealer of our need for Jesus. Without Jesus, we would still have to fulfill the law ourselves. This is something we are incapable of doing. In order to totally follow the law, one would have to be perfect, Jesus was, but we aren't.

One of the ways that the Law is used improperly is when it turns into legalism. Having served in churches for over 40 years on staff I have definitely seen my fair share of legalism. Back in the day when churches were governed by small groups of unaccountable empowered leaders, or one historical family, or a Pastor who was autocratic, I have seen very dysfunctional churches do many unbiblical things in the name of following the Constitution or By-Laws of the Church. An example of this kind of legalism would be the requirement of paperwork in triplicate to a series of committees or boards with never ending need for revision that would kill the idea before it could ever get approved.

The other extreme of such churches is the situation where because of a lack of proper respect for the law and a tendency towards 'cheap grace', there is no standard or guidelines, leading to licentiousness or 'lawlessness'. These kinds of churches are 'wishy-washy' and don't require anything, permitting all kinds of unbiblical things to go on in the church completely unchecked. We are blessed that at Grace Harbor Church, the Pastor, the Council and the governing documents do not endorse legalism or allow lawlessness either. We have a high integrity system that uses the Word of God as final authority and that bathes all matters in prayer.

In our own country we see how both extremes can practically shut down the government. We see so much unnecessary legislation and no enforcement of other law simultaneously. We have antiquated law still in effect and The Constitution being ignored or wrongly interpreted or rampant revisionism that twists the meaning of words until they are almost meaningless. We as Christians need to always make sure that we are following the Word of God and following Jesus at all times. Whatever we do should never conflict with Scripture's teaching or with what Jesus would do.

When Paul wrote these words to Timothy he was warning him of both extremes. Do not turn the law or teaching of the Word of God into something that discourages believers, not should we water down the law or teaching of the Word of God so that it is not clear. As Grace Harbor moves forward and grows and expands the scope of its ministries we must remember to not allow ourselves to lose sight of these essential teachings.

Beware of legalism and lawlessness equally. Which one do you gravitate towards? Just a little question as I close to help us all make the application more personal.

With His Grace and Guidance,
Pastor Fred

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