Legalism, legalistic. If you’ve never heard those terms, they can sound like something virtuous. Like you’re trying your best to adhere to the law. If you have heard them, you know that they aren’t something you want said in reference to you.

A simple explanation of legalism is trying to be saved by obeying laws. Not saved from jail or fines, but from Hell. In other words, you try to get saved because of your works, not by grace through faith in Christ.

The Law will point out and serve to convict you of your sins, it cannot save. That’s evident in the fact we can’t go through life, or even one day, without breaking (bending as some may call it) one of the 10 Commandments.

The fact is, we cannot follow the Law well enough to fulfill it. That is why Jesus came. He obeyed the Law perfectly, and remained sinless.

Now, here is where I fit in to all of this thinking. People who know me well know that I am a stickler for rules. The official/fancy term is being punctilious. I know that others have more colorful words to describe people like me. The fact is, I tend to obey rules fairly strictly. I’ve done so since elementary school. Do I follow every single rule? Nope, but that doesn’t stop my pursuit.

That sounds like a good thing; I obey speed limits, do what the law says (notice the lower case L). That is what we are to do. God tells us to obey earthly authorities because He is sovereign over them. But, my strict adherence can easily become legalism. It is just a short hop from wanting to obey laws to thinking that God will give me special consideration because I follow the rules.

Obviously, I can’t start being disobedient, but I must make sure that my faith is in Christ, not rules.