Legalism likes to hide in plain sight; so, in order to recognize it, we need to know where to look. One of the main characteristics of a legalistic mindset is the need to measure how we are doing spiritually. We look for ways to measure our righteousness against some established standard or against another person’s performance.
Those in the business world have developed standard ways to measure success. In some small businesses success might be measured in a variety of ways, including profitability, service to the community, producing a quality product, or customer satisfaction. When a company grows larger, it is often purchased by investors who simply want to obtain an acceptable return on investment, or ROI. When profitability is the only measurement of success, the things that made the company profitable in the first place or often sacrificed in the pursuit of a greater ROI.
We live in a time when a large segment of the church has adopted 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. 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 build 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 using worldly parameters pressures church leaders to present a version of church and the gospel that will draw and keep the largest number of people.
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 prefer 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.
When we grasp the extraordinary nature of the new covenant, it sets us free from any need to measure ourselves against any external standard of judgment.
The true gospel announces that salvation is by grace through faith alone.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8–9 (NASB95)
Since our Lord Jesus perfectly kept the Law and died in our place as a law breaker, he accomplished everything needed for our salvation. There remains nothing to be added to it except our faith and allegiance to Christ and his promises.
The legalistic mindset, however, even though it may begin with grace, always looks for some way to measure a person’s spiritual progress or status by adding adherence to some outward standard of behavior or submitting to some form of control. The early legalists were called Judaizers. They insisted that Gentile believers not only must declare allegiance to Christ but also had to be circumcised and keep other elements of the law of Moses. 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 God gave the Holy Spirit to believing Gentiles who had never been circumcised. If God accepted them without keeping the Law, how could the church not?
Paul refused to allow 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 influencing people toward a political stance. 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 not connected to morality, 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 disciples are doing spiritually because God does not allow it. It is a insult to God to measure what Christ has already accomplished, as if it were not sufficient.
