I’ve heard it said that we are all legalists at heart. Some people believe that we must earn our salvation by our good works. Others may realize we can only be saved by grace but add to the gospel by thinking there are things we must do to stay in God’s good graces. But there is another form of legalism that we may not have recognized as such. It’s the popular “faith and prosperity doctrine.” Don’t believe me? Keep reading.

Today’s Readings:

Isaiah 37 & 38
Psalm 109.14-20
Proverbs 26.1
Galatians 1.1-24

Legalism & the Prosperity Doctrine

Galatians 1.1-24:

What Is Legalism?

According to Nicholas Batzig on the Ligonier website:

Legalism is, by definition, an attempt to add anything to the finished work of Christ. It is to trust in anything other than Christ and His finished work for one’s standing before God.

Unfortunately, the term legalism can also be misused.

Have you ever spoken to someone about a pattern of sin in their lives, only to have them say, “You’re being legalistic!”? Perhaps you’ve even said those words yourself. But is a call to obey God’s clear commands legalism?

Millard Erickson says:

Scripture does not give us any basis for disregarding God’s revealed commands. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn. 14.15), and “You are my friends if you do what I command” (Jn. 15.14). We are not at liberty to reject such commands; to do so would be an abuse of Christian freedom. Therefore, we must seek to guide our lives by these precepts. Such behavior is not legalism. Legalism is a slavish following of the law in the belief that one thereby earns merit; it also entails a refusal to go beyond the formal or literal requirements of the law. It is ineffectual because it ignores the facts that we never outgrow the need for divine grace and that the essence of the law is love.

Pharisees & Tax Collectors

The words legalist and legalism don’t appear in the Bible, but Jesus painted us a portrait of one in Luke 18:

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Legalists are opposed to grace. Like this Pharisee, legalists often have a strict set of rules and regulations that must be kept. They often add to the Bible’s commands or apply them in harsh, judgmental ways. They fail to understand that the law was our schoolmaster to show us our need for Christ (Gal. 3.24-25) and that none of us can keep it perfectly (Rom. 3.10-12).

Legalism & the Heart

As we read about the Pharisees, it’s easy to see that legalism doesn’t change the heart. Paul said:

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (Col. 2.20-23).

In today’s reading, the Galatians, who had received the Gospel of salvation by grace, had been infiltrated by Judaizers, men who wanted to impose their own legalistic requirements on them. It’s as if someone came into your church or mine and began to hold his own Bible study telling people they are not really saved unless they’ve been baptized, become vegetarians, get circumcised, take communion every week, worship on a certain day, or some other list of requirements. It may sound foolish, but if you don’t know the truth and have it firmly fixed in your mind, you will fall for anything!

A Subtle Trap

Legalism can show up in other, more subtle ways, too. Many people who sit in church every week, when asked if they’re sure they’ll get to heaven will say “yes,” but when asked why, will say “because I’m a pretty good person.”

What is that? It’s salvation by works. It’s one form of legalism! They may have received the gospel on an intellectual level, but in their hearts believe they must add something to it, and certainly must do something to keep themselves saved.

Another subtle sign of legalism is the expectation that if I keep my set of rules, I can expect God to keep what I see as His end of the bargain. If I do “A,” God somehow owes me “B.”

With this kind of legalism we find ourselves thinking:

“I can’t believe God is allowing this to happen to me, I go to church every Sunday.” Or …

“I homeschool my kids, take them to church, raise them right so how could my son say he doesn’t believe?” Or …

“We tithe and give to other good causes, how could God have allowed my husband to lose his job.” Or …

“I live a healthy lifestyle, how could I have cancer.” Or …

“I’ve prayed and prayed, I don’t understand why my wife is still unsubmissive or my husband is still harsh, or my children are still rebellious or _____________.” You fill in the blank.

Doing the Right Things for the Right Reasons

The truth is we could do nothing to save ourselves and we can do nothing to keep ourselves saved. And the corresponding truth is that if all God ever did was save us from an eternity separated from Him, it should be enough. He doesn’t owe us anything!

Please don’t misunderstand me. We should be doing those things: going to church, raising our children in the discipline and the admonition of the Lord, praying for the people in our lives, and giving generously and joyfully. We should be doing other things to help ourselves grow like daily Bible reading, going to Bible studies, memorizing, and meditating on the Word.

And there are laws of sowing and reaping. God blesses His people and their faithful obedience. But we should do those things out of love and gratitude for all He has done in our lives. We should do them because we desire to please Him and not with an entitlement attitude or think those things make us righteous before God (Is. 64.6).

Popular Legalism

But there is another form of legalism that may not, at first, seem obvious. One of the most popular doctrines out there is packed with legalism. That’s the faith and prosperity gospel.

This may come as a surprise to some. After all, legalism sounds like bondage to a set of rules and standards. How could the prosperity doctrine be legalistic with its claims of freedom of worship, freedom from sickness, and freedom to have all that God wants us to have?

But all this promised health and prosperity comes with strict requirements.

“The Rules”

So, what are “the rules” for the name-it-and-claim-it, your-best-life-now crowd?

First, you need to remember, you’re not sick. You’re healed by the stripes of Jesus. And you better be careful to say so because there’s a miracle in your mouth. And conversely, if you say you’re sick, you’re going to speak that into existence.

When it comes to your circumstances, you must take authority over them and over any demons that might get in your way. There is no resting in the sovereignty of God. None of that “not my will but Yours” stuff. You must claim what you want.

Of course, you have to follow the right teachers and give “good seed” into the right ministries. Then your faith must be strong enough to believe that you will receive a harvest.

Anything you want is yours if you believe it. And if it doesn’t work, there’s a convenient out for those who teach such things. It’s your fault. You must not have had enough faith. Or it was the devil because God isn’t really sovereign over him and sometimes he just out-maneuvers God.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Mark Spansel had this to say about the prosperity gospel and the more common forms of legalism:

And it’s shockingly scary how similar these two version of “Christianity” really are. They both are about our performing … Do this and God will act, don’t do this and God is pleased. They both focus on you doing (or not doing) something. So, what then is the answer? Christ Crucified.

Yeah, yeah, I know … both of these say that they believe this, and I’m sure to some extent they do. The problem is they just don’t rest in it. It is not about what man does or doesn’t do, it is always about what God has done, continues to do, and will do. God the Father is not manipulated to act according to our holy living, nor is He swayed by our bold declarations … He has acted on our behalf through Christ, and He freely blesses His children with exactly what they need to be sanctified and delighted in, whether that be riches or suffering.

He does not withhold when His children “blow it”, and He does not pour forth grace only when we “claim it”. He is infinitely pleased with His Son and the redeeming work He accomplished for those who believe. Nothing we do, good or bad, sinful or righteous, religious or secular, can get us more of Him or prevent His work over us. When we are ‘In Christ’ God is pleased with us … Period! And He is free to act completely apart from us for us! And that is the glory of the Gospel …  Which is why Paul says, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Rest in that … and that alone!

Searching Our Own Hearts

So, let’s search our own hearts for those vestiges of legalism, learn to rest in the gospel, and pray that God would help us be more like Christ who was perfectly balanced in grace and truth (Jn. 1.14).

Today’s Other Readings:

Isaiah 37 & 38:

That All the Kingdoms of the Earth May Know

In yesterday’s reading, an emissary from the King of Assyria had set up camp outside the city trying to intimidate the Israelites into surrendering without a battle. When threatened, Hezekiah turned to God, not on the basis of what he deserved, but on the basis of who God is:

O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see … (vv. 37.16-17).

Then he asked that God would move on their behalf but for His own glory:

Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone (v. 37.20).

This needs to be, not just the prayer of our lips, but the underlying desire of our hearts, as well, that God would receive glory through His work in our lives.

And sometimes that means walking through a trial instead of escaping from it. While it’s fine to pray and ask God to deliver us from tests and trials and difficulties, we must hold those requests in an open hand, just as Jesus did when He prayed, “… nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done, O Lord.”

No Matter How God Works

In the case of Hezekiah, God worked in an incredible, supernatural way, destroying the invaders without a battle. But God doesn’t always work the same way. Gideon had to step out in faith with a very small army. Joshua and the people had to march around Jericho. Abraham had to be willing to sacrifice his son. And David had to stay faithful through years of fleeing from Saul.

So, no matter how God works, our job is to trust and obey. As we do, we’ll grow in faith, dependence on Him, and Christ-likeness and God will receive the glory.

Psalm 109.14-20:

David’s Prayer

In Psalm 109.14-20, David prayed for God to deal with his enemies. In the next verse, he cried out for God’s mercy in his own life:

But You, O GOD the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me (v. 21).

Like Hezekiah, David prayed on the basis of God’s character, not his own.

Proverbs 26.1:

Not Fit for a Fool

As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

When a fool is elevated to a place of honor it can be just as destructive as rain at the wrong time in the growing cycle.

What Do You Think?

Have you ever fallen into the God-owes-me-something trap? Have you ever lived under a set of rules to which you felt you had to adhere to stay right with God? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we’ll talk more about biblical prosperity and the prosperity doctrine, and about freedom, bondage, and co-dependency.

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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.