In the business world people are always looking for ways to measure success. Investors have come up with elaborate measurement systems to evaluate stock values. Corporate executives want to prove their effectiveness as leaders by showing measurable success. Since the goal of most businesses is profit, success is usually measured in this regard. However, if profitability is the only aspect of success, it is likely that important values will be sacrificed in the pursuit of the bottom line.
We live in a time when a large segment of the church has adopted corporate policies and methods from the business world with corresponding ways to measure success. The modern church growth movement is largely responsible, but it is part of human nature to want to gauge how we are doing on our spiritual journey. The Three Bs have been used by measurement minded pastors for years: bodies, bucks, and buildings. Rate of growth, numbers in attendance, and new baptisms are sometimes factored into the body count. Many times pastors try to leave their mark on congregations and their resumes by being the instrument for pulling off a building project, often saddling the congregation with debt and the pressure to maintain a high level of attendance and giving.
Measuring success by these three parameters pressures church leaders to corrupt the gospel.
Jesus set the bar very high for his followers and often “thinned the herd” by reminding them of the high cost of discipleship. Churches that major on attendance often struggle between preaching God’s unadulterated truth and being seeker friendly enough to keep people coming back. The pressure to keep church income high enough to cover the cost of staff, programs, and facilities can put pressure on leaders to overlook the sins and offenses of large donors and to target the most prosperous segments of society in violation of Christ’s clear command not to do this. (Luke 14:13-14) Measuring success by financial gauges can also lead to an unhealthy emphasis on money that drives some people away from the church and the gospel.
What does this have to do with this series topic, “Ferreting Out Legalism?” Legalism is a broad term that can be defined in various ways. In a biblical context, its opposite is salvation by grace through faith alone. Christ perfectly accomplished everything needed for our salvation. We do not need to add anything to it except our allegiance to Christ and trust in his promises.
Legalism, however, always measures a person’s spiritual status by demanding the addition of something to simple faith in Christ’s perfect work on our behalf, whether it is insisting on adherence to some outward standard of behavior or submitting to some form of control.
The early legalists insisted that Gentile believers not only must declare allegiance to Christ but also had to be circumcised, which was the Old Covenant proof of belonging to God. Paul decried this demand as an affront to what Christ had already accomplished through his death and resurrection. The proof that God did not require this addition to the gospel was that the Holy Spirit was given to believing Gentiles who had never been circumcised. If God accepted them without being circumcised, how could the church not?
Paul refused to allow the legalists to define Christianity in terms of adherence to outward standards.
For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Galatians 2:19-21 (NLT)
A simple way to identify legalism is to ask ourselves if some standard is being used to measure our devotion to Christ other than our inner faith and outward verbal confession of allegiance to him. (Romans 10:9-10)
Legalism can be as obvious as a church forbidding its members to smoke cigarettes or as subtle as insisting that they make some sort of public statement in favor of a political hot button topic. It can be as easy to discern as insisting that only a priest can forgive our sins or as hidden as making non-essential doctrines a litmus test for church membership. Anything that attempts to measure our performance, demands that we adhere to some outward standard of behavior, or seeks to control us through spiritual means smells of legalism.
Trusting in God’s grace means we set our focus on Christ himself rather than evaluate our own spiritual development.
Think about it: can we ever really know how we are progressing spiritually? Isn’t trying to do so a trap? Paul wrote about this.
As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NLT)
By now I hope you understand that this article is only for serious disciples. If you are looking for an excuse to give yourself over to some form of sin in the name of freedom from legalism, you are going down the wrong path and in serious danger. But if we are honestly pursuing Christ, we need to be encouraged to disregard every man made report card.
There is no effective way to measure how we are doing spiritually because it has already been accomplished by Christ on our behalf.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
