As we all know, readers are leaders and leaders are readers. Let me tell you about a good read.

Here’s an excerpt of a fascinating book by Dr. Dave Anderson, founder and president of Grace School of Theology regarding the book of Galatians and dangers of legalism.

Preface

Some years ago a pastor friend from Mississippi encouraged me to buy an ultra-light airplane. He belonged to a club of fifty guys who flew them and thought I would enjoy the experience. So he took me to a catfish farm near his home in Starkville, Mississippi, to take a ride in a double-seater. After the ride, as we were driving away, he said, “Did you notice the girl standing in the door to the hanger?” I replied, “Well, I remember her standing there, but that’s about it. What about her?” “Did you notice her dress?” “No.” “The owners of the farm are Mennonites who don’t allow their women to wear buttons on their dresses. The dresses are held together by safety pins. They think buttons are worldly right along with wearing lipstick and other forms of make-up. They are very legalistic.”

Spirituality from the outside in. Yes, that was my understanding of legalism—a set of rules to measure our spirituality from the outside. Jesus accused the Pharisees of this approach to spirituality. They had all kinds of rules about what you could and could not do on the Sabbath. Somehow what you did on the outside was going to make you holy on the inside. Jesus said it doesn’t work. He accused the Pharisees of being whitewashed tombs—white on the outside, but rotting on the inside. With his “Sermon on the Mount” he tried to show them that true spirituality is from the inside out. You have heard it said that it is wrong to commit murder (external), but I say unto you, it is wrong to be angry against your brother without a cause (internal). You have heard it said that it is wrong to commit adultery (external), but I say unto you it is wrong to lust after a woman in your heart (internal).

Jesus certainly made it clear that trying to legislate morality from the outside in is a form of legalism. But does it stop there? After decades of serving as a pastor I have come to believe that legalism can also come from the inside out. I am referring to our basic drives and motives. My desire to please people (internal) may cause certain types of behavior (external) in order to reach my goal. That might mean living according to a set of rules established by my particular religious group or church. Even my desire to please God (internal) can lead to a certain type of behavior (external) in order to reach that goal. Of course, the desire to please God is good (2 Cor 5:9), and that desire can lead to a certain type of behavior on the outside that is good as well. But in Galatians Paul shows us that even the desire to please God can be corrupted (Gal 3:3). How? Perhaps legalism actually begins on the inside.

The thought that legalism could begin on the inside led me to believe that each of us wrestles with legalism every day. And you don’t have to be a Christian to be legalistic. Just be human. Legalism is a consequence of the fall. I come into this world feeling so insecure and insignificant (a result of the fall of Adam) that I try to expunge these feelings through my performance. If I perform well, I feel more worthy of being loved and accepted (sources of security) and more worthy of being admired and approved (sources of significance). Thus the default setting of my flesh is on performance.

In this book I try to show that every religion and every branch of any religion leans toward legalism, an innate desire (internal) to please God or the gods through our performance (external). As you read this, you will be tempted to say, “He is throwing every Christian group under the bus.” That would be correct. But remember, I am also throwing myself under the bus. I wrestle with legalism every day. I was trained to be a legalist from the womb, you might say. I cut my teeth on performance. Performing well, be it in the classroom or the athletic field, was my drug of choice to take away the pain of feeling insecure and insignificant. Winning made me feel better about myself.

I do believe some forms of religion and even some branches of Christianity make it easier for the legalist to reach his goal (the desire to feel secure and significant) than others. Nevertheless, all three main branches of Christianity (Catholicism, Arminianism, and Calvinism) leave an open door for the legalist to operate. And if it is true that the compulsion to perform stems from my flesh (my sinful nature passed down through Adam), then I can find plenty of opportunity to feed my flesh no matter what my religious stripe might be. I cannot blame my legalism on the system. It goes to the very root of my being.

What about you? Do you wrestle with legalism? Read on and find out.

I invite you to read this most important book.

Serving Him with you until He comes for us,
Fred Chay, PhD
Managing Editor, Grace Theology Press