Legalism vs. Freedom
Benefits of freedom in Christ
We have noted in previous episodes on the Christian life that we have great freedom as Christians:
- We can live our lives in faith to serve God as we believe best within broad confines of His commandments in the epistles. All that we do should be by faith (Romans 14:23).
- We are free to use whatever is available to us in this world filtered through prayer and God’s word (1 Timothy 4:4-5).
- We should not condemn ourselves for what we choose to do in faith (Romans 14:22).
The problem of legalism (Colossians 2:16-23)
Oxford defines legalism in theology as ‘Dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.’ Although extra laws added to scripture such as: do not drink, do not smoke, go to parties etc. that are not in scripture, may sound holy but have several problems. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/legalism
- They are superficial in nature and do not produce true righteousness.
- They teach lies about God regarding the things over which He really is concerned.
- They limit faith because a person is following a set of rules.
- They limit joy as we do not produce the fruit of the Spirit in our life through faith.
- They produce an overconfident self-righteousness, which is false.
- For those outside the body of Christ, they often recognize the hypocritical nature of the legalism because such Christians may not demonstrate true love or purity. Further, instead of enhancing the gospel to those outside it may the extra rules may make Christianity seem unappealing and restrictive.
Interaction between legalism and freedom (Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8, 10)
Despite the destructiveness of legalism, the Apostle Paul recognized that some people would choose to follow legalistic measures and do so out of faith (Romans 14:1-6). They do this typically because they are not yet mature believers and do not yet understand the full measure of freedom available in the scriptures (Romans 14:1-6).
Consequently, the mature believer who flaunts their freedom before the younger believer potentially may cause them to stumble in their faith.
An example might be for a Christian who realizes they can drink without getting drunk should not consume alcohol before believer who thinks that this is wrong so as not to discourage them in their faith. Therefore, despite our freedom, our priority as Christians is to strengthen and to love one another in a giving way and so voluntarily limit our freedom when necessary to help the young believer (Romans 14:13-21).
Interaction between Christian freedom and societal order
The Bible emphasizes the importance of an organized society wherein each of us are responsible to government officials (Romans 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-20), our workplace bosses, our position within the family structure (Colossians 3:1-4:2; Ephesians 6:1-9) and the leaders of our church (Hebrews 13:7).
Order is an important Biblical design for our lives. Historically, the Gospel was brought forth in the Roman Empire. The Romans, while ruthless and despotic, maintained an order which promoted peace (Pax Romana) and community works such as roads and a postal service. These advantages helped with the disseminate Christianity.
Order still is needed in today’s society to allow for good government, prosperity, courtesies, social helps and the spread of the Gospel. Such attributes exist only with difficulty in anarchy, dictatorships or communist states when citizens are trying to simply survive and fend off injustices and violence.
Countries which historically have adhered most closely to biblical Christianity (Northern Europe, the UK and the countries derived from its original colonies) generally have been the most successful economically, enjoy functional non-corrupt government, live in free, organized and efficient societies, promote science and innovation, and fight for justice for those who cannot defend themselves or who are impoverished, both inside and outside their own country.
Further, government benefits from a society based in biblical Christianity because it promotes honest, hardworking, law-abiding individuals who minimize the need for government action to maintain order, as well as provide a population with individuals of strong character to serve in the armed forces and administration.
William C. Stewart, MD
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