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Larry Hughes · #14 (**permalink**) 06-11-2007, 09:14 PM

1. If you've ever referred to somebody as a legalist, what criteria did you use?

See answer below. The term “criteria” betrays a reality that it cannot discern legalism at all. Legalism cannot be discerned by criteria for that begets another legalism. You must know the principle that can come in under ANY guise, any category, the essential nature and principle behind legalism and NOT a criteria. Criteria will always blind you to legalism by its very nature. It’s much harder and deeper than a simple criteria, PRINCPLE, is what you need to go for. It’s the principle, yeast, of legalism you must what out for. We all must beware of that.

2. How can you tell if somebody is a legalist or not? Can you?

Sometimes, depends, it takes great care (and I cannot claim to be good at it either!). Also, see below. It can be complicated and takes time, it’s not as simple as rank Mormonism.

3. How do you discern if you yourself are a legalist?

You cannot when you are in the midst of it, it is sufficient to say that ALL of us have a legalism or legalist within us to be aware of. Why so? Because we are sinners and legalism is the heart beat of the sinner. Ultimately legalism and antinomianism are two sides of the same coin. It’s the very essence of the fall, that inward curving to self. Are you fallen and by nature a sinner? Then you are a legalist point blank. The very nature of “self righteousness”, which is just another way of saying unrighteous is legalism. When I’m in it myself, I don’t see it. It’s usually much later, after the fact.

To the whole issue:

We can make ANYTHING a legalism, even that which is suppose to be grace or Gospel. We can make prayer a legalism, bible study a legalism, Christian things a legalism, etc… Puritan Thomas Hooker sets forth a very stunning test of the heart for the religious person, and he speaks to Christians not those outside the pale. He very astutely warns beware of the deep deep deception of the human heart. Like Luther he understood well that the human heart only seeks out good works religiously and at that only the best ones before us. It’s not the work itself that is the problem but the wicked trust toward that one puts into that work. Hooker says (paraphrasing from memory) take you BEST work, the BEST, prayer, going to services, biblical study, church duties, great sacrifice, evangelism, missions, the BEST for only the best will test the hearts deception, you’ll NEVER see it with some trivial work (again its not the work itself but the deceived heart) – and the next time you feel you must do it, don’t. It takes quite a push to test this, no trifle will do. And you must do this such that, long enough, sustained enough, that you will actually feel your hearts itching and longing towards it. Note this well within. Then when you finally ‘cave in’ and do it, note the relief it gives. Then you will know that your heart is deceived not by substandard works, but the very best, for herein it truly reveals its secret yet deadly trust, hope and assurance and it’s not Christ crucified alone. EVEN if you confess justification by faith alone. For what we are testing here is not a confession that any parrot can repeat or person publicly can affirm before the ears of men, but the nature of a thing. Analogy: We are not testing a fish confessing “fishism alone” or a fish saying “I must do fish stuff to be a fish. We are testing the nature of a thing, if it is FIRST by nature a fish not another nature doing the duties attributed to a fish. Thus, this is not yet “another doctrine” to be affirmed, yea or nea, but the explanation of the nature of a thing.

That’s crucial to understand for “legalism”, works of all hidden kind, by its nature breaks a thing down into a numerated duty to do. The believer, naked truster in Christ alone, does not, he/she just does.

Take ‘good works’ in general for example. Jesus said not even a cold cup of water will fail to be recognized. What was the Lord’s point? Cold cups of water are works of merit and things that alone are pleasing to God? No. Rather that faith alone in Christ alone, our sin to Him and His righteousness to us, nakedly and passively saves man and nothing else. And the true living saving faith that so rests, even if it does nothing more than give a cold cup of water, sweeps a floor, washes dishes, etc… all general callings to serve neighbor will be recognized. Why? Because faith disregards the kind or type of work, does not ‘enumerate’ it and just does what is before it to do to serve neighbor (the ENTIRE point of the second part of all the Law), high or low, great or small, secular or sacred. Saving faith manifests itself in that it does not distinguish between a “high” and “good” looking churchy work and a “low” mundane looking ordinary work. It does not regard one greater and one lesser, all things to faith are good for faith says, God does not need my works, nor do I since Christ alone is my righteousness, ergo, I give all my good works to my neighbor, they are nothing to me, great or small…it, saving faith, simply rests, as faith implies, in another, Christ alone, and does what is set before it simply for another, the neighbor. This is how saving faith is resting in Christ alone and simultaneously very busy and never resting for it cannot help but to do all things great or small as it is before it and it is satisfied with all it does. False faith is always searching for and enumerating the “best” work and work list to do, and actually eventually simultaneously manifests itself in hatred for another in some form or another (e.g. a church group begins weighing others not so good works against their great and wonderful works, so they imagine). Here, false faith has become legalism, even doing otherwise “good things”. But saving faith rests in Christ alone and by its very living natural nature, like the fish, works unburdened as work. Opposing this is false faith that never rests, though it may claim justification by faith alone, but is rather busy doing for itself, for God, for holiness or for sanctification, assurance, etc… and paradoxically all that it does is doing nothing whatsoever.

Thus, saving faith does not just show up during the “high times” and during the “great looking works” and during the great disasters of need. True saving faith does not darken the doorway of people’s lives ONLY in great time of need or at the time of great church yard works such as bible study, evangelism and missions (again its not the works but the hearts deception toward them, big difference, do the test!). If one shows up mostly there one can be sure it’s unbelief and not faith at all. Saving faith condescends to any need and shows up in the mundane everyday-less than extraordinary times of life. The often dull and tediousness of everyday living is where true saving faith most often daily shows up, as well as the others as it has resources to do so. Saving faith shows up with a cup of sugar for the neighbor, false faith shows up mostly at the latest bible study then condescendingly cuts at those who cannot (an otherwise good thing TURNED legal). Saving faith shows up when the dishes are dirty, at the stove when the meal is needed prepared, with the mower when the grass needs cut, at the dirty diaper, wiping the dirty nose, at work in one’s formal calling of God to serve the neighbor in the mundane to teach, to serve food at McDonald’s, to run a cash register at Walmart, to drive a truck, to be a policeman, etc…. False faith (legalism) shows up always and mostly on the church grounds when a big conference is in town, in evangelism campaigns and mission trips and would fall apart if it didn’t. The later are not wrong but indeed right and called to do, but we must be keenly aware of how our wicked fallen hearts will be deceived by the finest of works, not the “lesser” as the fallen heart weighs works (legalism not only enumerates things, it weighs them, that is another signature nature of legalism). What is being presented here is the problem of the fallen human heart, not the work itself. In the mundane, as well as the “greater”, so to speak, offices is where saving faith glorifies God, in the nothingness of life – just as the Cross of Christ appeared to be shame, nothing and the foresakenness of God, yet paradoxically there was God on the Cross for us. Saving faith glories in NO work, great or small.

Here saving faith gives the answer to, “What is the hope (certain expectation) that you have” to the world. To wit: “How can you expect to go to heaven having done so little and rather ordinary works?” Answer: Christ alone is my certain expectation (hope). That is to be able to “give an answer when asked”. We see that the question, “what is the hope that you have”, will hardly be asked of someone who has done perceived great works. Rather fallen man says of the outwardly appearing great saint, such as an outwardly perceived great evangelist or doctor to the poor, “Surely these great works mean you will and show evidence you’ve been saved/regenerated and be in heaven”. This is delusion and false faith. Saving faith eschews the weighing, for example, of evangelism Vs. sweeping the floor. Faith EASILY does either one without regard to either one. How is this so? For only TRUE saving faith is SO locked into the righteousness of Christ FOR it, it is not disturbed by the work it is doing or not doing, great or small, much or little, secular or sacred, church or earthly. Saving faith cares not one wit whether it does “good works” or not but is satisfied in that it suffers by naked trust, its passion like Christ on the Cross, so that in the suffering it can be brought lower so as to cling more to the Cross of Christ and Christ satisfaction is exalted. This saving faith, then, naturally produces ‘good works’ though it never tries to do so – for humility, the heart of saving faith works even the smallest work to the glory of God so resting in Christ alone. It is, again, like a fish by nature that swims, it need not be commanded to swim or else. ONLY true saving faith can actually DO THIS without worry, that is begin to truly altruistically love the neighbor. Why? The answer of faith is a resounding “Christ alone!” As Luther said, “If you are doing a work FOR God, or FOR holiness, or FOR yourself (even if it is outwardly done to/for another), you can be most certain of one thing, it is not a good work at all.” No matter WHAT it is. This is why Jesus said, “many will come to me on that day (of judgment) and say, ‘Lord did we not do this and that in your name’, and I will say to them, ‘depart from me you doers of iniquity’” Conversely, “many will come to me on that day and say, ‘when did do anything for you’, and I will say to them, ‘in as much as you did for the least of these, you did it for me.”

In Christ,

Ldh