Holiness and Legalism

   Holiness and legalism are two terms that are often thrown around, at least in the Christian circles that I find myself. So, sometime back I asked my Facebook friends about their insights pertaining to legalism, and liberty, and the Mosaic Law. My purpose was to gain some feedback in comparing the two. Several thoughts came shining through, one of which being that there is no consensus among bible-believering Christians on how God addresses these. One thing I learned, along with some biblical insight, is that there is a fine line that separates legalism and holiness. That line is a  crucial one. 

 

   Paul is clear that justification, the state of "being right" before God, is a result of the work of Christ and NOT human effort. He wrote, "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." (Gal 2:16, NASB) So, justification is a work of Christ. However, there is another term, sanctification, that comes into play here. Sanctification, simply put, is the process of being "set apart" both unto God and apart from the world. Although there is no small disagreement about how it works, many (including myself) believe that sanctification is both an instantaneous event and an ongoing process. We are immediately set apart unto God when we are born again. Yet, at the same time, we are continually being set apart from sin, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we live life today. Both justification and sanctification are the result of the work of Jesus Christ. 

   With all this on the table, defining holiness is difficult, and there are as many definitions of holiness as there are opinions. For our purposes, holiness (when speaking of man) is the basic idea of a life totally obedient and dedicated to God, done so out of love and gratitude for what God has done. Legalism is similar, but altogether different. Legalism is the basic idea that following the laws, commands, and rules given in Scripture, along perhaps with some others, makes a person right before God. In both cases their are "rules" that must be followed. The difference is that legalism says the rules must be followed in order to be accepted by God, while holiness says that our obedience is out of love. Our obedience to rules does not make us acceptable to God nor does is make us righteous, it is the blood of Christ, applied to the believer's life through faith that makes us both righteous and acceptable. Our obedience should be the result of God's grace and mercy applied to our lives through faith in Christ, where we willingly submit ourselves to Him as our LORD and savior. If you are following the commands of the Word of God in attempt to become acceptable to God, then you are in trouble.  That's legalism. You cannot ever be "good enough" to be acceptable to God. Again, Paul said, "...since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." (Gal 2:16, NASB) However, if you strive to follow the command of the Bible in attempt to live a life of obedience, consecration, and servitude to God because you love Him and are thankful for all He has done for you, that's holiness. Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments." (Jn. 14:15) 

   Here's the big reason I have written this article. There are too many within Christianity today that are jumping headlong into activities long recognized as sinful (many are sinful by the world's standards also) and yet declare their Christian liberties. Alcohol, pornography, and now illicit drugs are being supported by "Bible-believing Christians." I'm sorry friend, but if you have been saved and are either partaking in this nonsense or supporting it, then you are either ignorant, backslidden, or not really born again. The Bible instructs us, "You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the LORD your God," (Lev. 20:7) and again, "because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." (1 Pet. 1:16) That's not my standard but God's. It's time to quit using our Christian freedom as an excuse to return to a life of bondage to sin. (see Gal. 5) When I say adultery is sinful because the Bible says it, that does not mean that I am either judging (which is another article altogether) or promoting legalism. It's called holiness. Quite frankly, if we focused more on holiness, we might just find true understanding to our liberty in Christ.