Grace, Legalism, and Salvation

We’ve seen that obedience, which is another way of saying doing things God’s way, is a more fundamental way to live. But it is not the way of salvation. The way of salvation is the way of grace. Although on the face of it this should be an easy road, in fact it is difficult to understand and even more difficult, it seems, to accept. We’ve asked ourselves the question, if grace is so easy, why is it so hard?

In the context of grace, what should we understand about legalism? What is it? What does it have to do with grace? And why does it have such a negative connotation? The dictionary says it is dependence on a moral law rather than on personal religious faith. In other words, if you stress obedience apart from faith, you produce legalism.

Trying to live by the law is not legalism. Trying to be saved by the law is legalism. Jesus spent a considerable portion of his mission trying to get the Pharisees to see the difference between living by the law (or doing things God’s way, or obedience) and legalism. The key, Jesus teaches, is how the law is used. Living by the law is to seek obedience, to honor God, to do things God’s way. Legalism uses the law for judgment. Legalism, it seems, requires the passing of judgment on others and even on yourself. Jesus talks about the law and legalism, in rather bizarre terms, here:

 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.

[And then this rather bizarre passage:]

 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him if a heavy millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life without a foot, than, having your two feet, to be thrown into hell. And if your eye is causing you to sin, throw it away; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, … “ (Mark 9:38-47).

For Jesus, we see that the condition of stumbling is to make someone believe that they can keep the law and in so doing save themselves. Sinning, you see, is not just breaking the law. It is trying to live the law without grace. With this rather bizarre language Jesus is making a significant point about legalism. Keeping the law perfectly, is simply not possible. You cannot be yourself your normal native self and keep the law. In our natural condition we are a stumbling block to ourselves and others. Our hands will make us do the wrong thing. Our feet will take us to the wrong places. Our eyes will mislead our senses. This is our natural state. We are fallen imperfect. We are sinners.

If we are to be saved by the law, Jesus says, we would need to become incapacitated and unnatural ourselves. We would have to amputate our hands so they wouldn’t do law breaking things. We would have to amputate our feet so they would not lead us astray. We would have to put out our eyes so we don not focus on wayward things. With all of our faculties intact, we are lawless creatures. To abide by the law we cannot be ourselves—we must be completely reduced.

Of course, Jesus is speaking here metaphorically of our native anatomic and sensory conditions but throughout history, pious souls have taken his words literally. Origen, the second century theologian and church father, was widely thought to have castrated himself in order to prevent himself from lusting. So for good measure Jesus piles it on: “Be perfect,” he says, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This is a passage from the Sermon on the Mount parallel to the passage about stumbling and cutting off anatomic parts. In the same place where Jesus redefines murder, he redefines adultery, oath-taking, and divorce, all with the implicit assertion that keeping the law for God’s sake is impossible.

Luke tells the story of Jesus eating at the home of Simon the Pharisee and delivering a parable. It is an example of Jesus’s teaching on legalism and grace:

 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!”

 And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other, fifty. When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)

Simon the Pharisee and the woman with the perfume present two contrasting pictures of legalism and grace. Simon, who not only lives by the law but is a legalist according to our definition of legalism by passing judgment on the woman, a sinner. We see Simon the judger, we see Jesus the grace giver. Legalism and graciousness are the central theme of the story. Simon sees himself as a law-abiding Pharisee but he can’t even follow the simple customs of his time—washing the feet of the guests, greeting them with a kiss, and placing a symbolic dressing of oil on their heads. If Simon can’t even do that ,Jesus implies, how could he keep God’s law? And how could he pass judgment on the woman? Jesus contrasts Simon’s wish to be saved by the law—legalism—with a woman who is saved by her faith, which is grace. Legalism is the law when it is used for judgment. Grace is the law which is broken and then forgiven.

But there’s more here about grace. Notice the disparity of the debtors in the parable. One owes 50 denarii. If a day’s labor is worth about one denarii 50 denarii represent about two months’ worth of work and 500 denarii is nearly two years worth of work. But the debtors are forgiven equally, simultaneously, and instantly. Grace is not measured by equality. Grace is measured by equity. Equality has everyone getting the same grace, regardless of the need. Equity has everyone getting only the amount they need for complete restitution.

Here is a picture Jason drew illustrating the difference.

On the left is the grace that we want, which is equality. Salvation—what we’re looking forward to, what we’re trying to see—is on the horizon. On the right is the grace we get: The one with little sin gets little grace, one with much sin gets much grace. Equal grace does not confer equal height, but equity gives enough grace to everyone to see their own salvation. On the right are men who owes 50 denarii and 500 denarii receiving different amounts of grace. Grace is not fair. Grace is not equal.

Grace is not just getting what you don’t deserve: It is also not getting what you do deserve. Like manna, everyone gets the right amount for them. Paul says:

The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, (Romans 5:20)

This is the experience of equity. Legalism is the law without grace and with judgment. Grace is the law with forgiveness. The law is not abolished, but how it is used and the consequences of the law are fundamentally different between legalism and grace. Paul talks about this in somewhat shocking words. This is from The Message bible translation—It’s quite remarkable:

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.

Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.

What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

“As I live and breathe,” God says,    “every knee will bow before me;Every tongue will tell the honest truth    that I and only I am God.”

So mind your own business. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.
Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. I’m convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.

If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat or don’t eat, you’re no longer a companion with them in love, are you? These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died. Would you risk sending them to hell over an item in their diet? Don’t you dare let a piece of God-blessed food become an occasion of soul-poisoning!

God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

So let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault. You’re certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God’s work among you, are you? I said it before and I’ll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don’t eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.

Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong. (Romans 14) (The Message translation)

The heart of the passage—the key—is in verse 13: Since God is our judge, let us no longer pass judgment on one another, but rather be determined not to put a stumbling block or an obstacle in our brother’s way. In other words, don’t be a legalist. Living by the law, being obedient, doing things God’s way is useful, desirable, and valuable. But judging others by the law is legalism, and putting your own mark on that judgment is legalism as well. Trying to be justified by the law, as Paul says in Galatians 5:4 is the definition of falling from grace.

So what are your thoughts about trying to keep the law in your sinful, fallen state? What do you think of the definition of legalism? Using the law for judgment rather than using the law as a guide? What are your thoughts about equality and equity and grace? And what does the extreme language of Jesus with all those amputations and putting eyes out teach us about grace?

David: I must say I am very, very impressed with The Message Bible interpretation, which makes more sense than the New American Standard Bible version. How controversial is this interpretation of what Paul was saying? Our discussion are Scripture-based so if interpretations of the Scripture differ, they carry different messages. And this message clearly is so crucial to understand.

Don: I think many of us wish Romans 14 had never been written. It opens the door to things that make us quite uncomfortable, and the language is shocking. I read it from The Message because it’s even more shocking there, but I don’t think it’s an overstep. I think it’s exactly what Paul was intending to say, only in a more readable and understandable modern English way.

Kiran: The picture Jason drew explains really well the problem we all have with grace, because even though we know we don’t deserve it, while accepting it we still want fairness. We realize now that the grace God gives is sufficient, that at the end of the day we are all equal.

As for the definition of legalism. using law to judge others and yourself: I do that a lot. And I think that’s the problem. I have been very harsh with some people. That’s because I’m only looking at half the picture of the whole salvation—that is the law; but the full picture can only be got by looking through the eyes of the grace giver.

Donald: Why do we feel the need to judge others? What is it about human beings that makes it necessary for us not to just act upon our own? With those in our close circle, we might have some influence. But judging others is the crux of the matter. Not all sin is equal. There is greater sin and lesser sin. In Jason’s picture, one with greater sin can’t see over the fence. Another guy’s not that bad. so he can see the horizon. But back to my question: Why do we judge others? You will be judged on the little sins and the big sins and you’re gonna be wrong in either case. You’re just going down!

C-J: We do that because our brain is binary. It’s either/or. iI I’m judging you, it means I’ve had to look at my own sin and go, “Well, at least I didn’t do that.” But I too really appreciate Jason’s picture. I think the more we are filled with an understanding and relationship with God, the divine, Jesus, the Word becomes real in our life, it becomes active and not just something we might pause and ponder about.

When the self, the I, the me, becomes less and I see something that annoys me, I don’t look at the issue of what is annoying me. Rather, I look at it in terms of having to demonstrate grace, I stick to my point, “This is wrong. This is why it’s wrong. This is the harm that it’s causing” but I do it with grace and don’t belabor the point. Everybody knows what the issue is.

The point for me is to demonstrate that it can be done better. We have to learn how to make better choices and what makes one choice better than another. And we have to practice it until it becomes second nature, yet being mindful that we have a binary brain and we’re always in competition with others—except for Jesus, with whom we can never be in competition by virtue of his grace.

Jay: I too believe that as falling human beings we’re obsessed with fairness, especially in the context of forgiveness, Why should someone get more forgiveness than me?. Is that even forgivable? How many times should you be forgiven for a sin? Why should you deserve more forgiveness than I deserve? Are you going to get more forgiveness than I’m going to get? We might not admit it but fairness may be the deep motivation behind our desire to judge other people. We’re just wired that way. Whether as a result of our fallen nature or of how we are raised, we are obsessed with things being fair and people getting what they deserve. Hard work should pay off. I think that’s a motivating factor behind our desire for judgment and why we really struggle with the idea of grace.

Reinhard: Jesus rebuked the legalists of his day because they did not do what they preached. They enforce the law but failed to keep it themselves. Paul said:

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

So even in Paul’s time they were legalistic. They thought they served God the right way. But sometimes they lost sight of the importance of the law and grace. They tried to enforce only the law itself, without realizing the importance of love, the great commandment to love Man and love God. We know the law and grace came from God with the creation. We talk about God being law and order. To me, that’s the law given to us. God already knew that we cannot meet the requirements of the law, but law must be imposed upon Man. Law is immutable. decreed by God as our guide, our protection, so we don’t go down the wrong path and don’t get hurt

When David violated Bethsheba, the wife of one of his people, he violated at least five of the Ten Commandments. Grace, on the other hand, is redemption, restoration, forgiveness. So whenever we come up short under the law, grace is always there. Law and grace go hand in hand, like the double helix in the chromosome. God gave both to us for our good. Law is for our good as long as we walk in the right way—nothing’s going to happen to us. But once we skew out of our direction the law is finally going to punish us.

Accepting the law is required, but accepting grace is optional—we can refuse it. Law is required for us to live the right way, to live God’s way. Both law and grace come from God, whose intention is good for us. The problem with the law is that we cannot meet its requirements, we cannot fulfill 100% of what the law requires. That’s why grace is there. Legalists interpret the law the way they want, which may interfere with and offend other people, When God’s people violate the law God also receives the repercussions. When David did the wrong thing, God had to punish him although he remained all right in the eyes of God.

For every law we violate there is a punishment, small or big; but there is always also a remedy, a way out for his people. In the end, when grace is given to us on this earth we can feel its goodness and its blessing. But although some people will not make it or some people are punished while they live on the earth it doesn’t mean they are going to be punished forever. God’s still going to save them.

C-J: I think Jesus spoke of piety as a sin as well. Paul said because the Jews were so sure they were right, they weren’t able to receive. He went to other people who served many gods but who, when they received revelation, embrace it and received grace. What they fought over were little things more about teaching and guiding, not huge sins. It’s like raising a child. “It’s not what you did, it’s understanding that your thinking is a little skewed. Let me explain it to you.” The differences is that when you’re so sure you’re right, it makes it hard to learn.

It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to soften our heart, to bring enlightenment, to give us good teachers, to give us community. I know I couldn’t do it without those things. it isn’t just the residence of the Holy Spirit: It is a commitment that is a daily walk. We have good days where it seems to be floating, like “God is good.” And other days where it seems like a choice, where “I’m going to dig in, I’m going to do the right thing to the best of my ability.” But it’s always grace.

Kiran: Adventists stress that have your part and God does his part. If you don’t do your part, God doesn’t do his. An article in Ministry magazine called “Damnation or deliverance” said:

“Whenever we are tempted to look to our own works for salvation, to depend on the merits of our own health reform program, to take pride in maintaining the standard, trusting partly in our selves and partly in Christ’s work on life, we must be aware of the Babylonian principle. At such times we need trust. No works that a sinner can do will be efficacious in saving your soul.“

Our discussion has led me to realize my confusion since I became an Adventist and a christian 21 years ago over law and grace, Nowhere in the Bible does it say grace nullifies the law. It says, in fact, it fulfills the law, that’s the purpose of Christ. If you don’t have law, you don’t need grace, because you’re never wrong.

There is a belief that when you receive grace you’re somehow free from the law, which Paul says. What it means is that you’re free from your own works. No matter how hard we try we can stop ourselves for a certain time from doing certain things, God looks into the innermost thoughts of our mind. You cannot take those thoughts out of our mind—that’s the work of Christ. If those thoughts were not there, then I wouldn’t be acting upon them. So when we are talking about needing God’s grace, we want purity, even in our thoughts. That’s the ideal .

We’re not talking about tying ourselves up to a stake so we can’t do don’t do this or that. No matter how many of those acts of will we prevent, we cannot wipe our brains clean of the thoughts. If I want perfection, even in my brain, it has to be through Christ. And when that is done, there is zero part of me, 0% of my effort, so all the glory goes to Christ, there is nothing that I did that matters and nothing anyone else can do to fix me. Otherwise, the ministry of Christ would not be needed if there is a one percent chance that someone could be saved. So whenever we talk about grace, there is the fear of temptation.

What we’re talking about today is using law in the right ways. The natural default way of me using the law is to judge myself and to judge others. But when we accept grace, we use law as a guiding principle. Because we receive grace it doesn’t mean we can just go and do whatever we want to do. I know, for example, if I walk down the street where a guy always yells at me, I’m going to lose it, I’m going to punch him. But when I accept grace, I recognize that I have a short temper, then I recognize that I cannot fix myself, so I seek help from God and trust that God is going to fix me and protect me in this situation every moment of my life. This is what accepting grace means. Accepting grace does not mean I can go punch this guy without consequences. That’s not what grace is.

Anonymous: God is giving me real experiences through daily life to teach me about grace. I still have questions. I’m still growing. I think no amount of explanation can do what God can do in real life, in real lessons. For a long time, I understood everything as theory. But to bring it to real life and real conduct in dealing with other people or even with myself, which is most important, I’m still falling short.

Thank God, he is showing me little by little. This week, I believe he bombarded me with sermons and lessons that just came providentially. I did not seek them. But they all talked about the same subject. It was really mind boggling. Thank God for that. Thank God, that’s all I can say! Thank god a million times. I’m still learning.

Donald: This is a fascinating conversation, but the application of it is very difficult. Maybe it’s because of our nature. But I still think we rank things and make judgments. I don’t know if it’s to justify our own actions. At the non-denominational Bible study I attend, one rule is you cannot talk about your doctrine. We’re there to study the Bible. It is very difficult, I think, to apply what we’re talking about. We ended last week a little bit dazed. It really stripped out doctrine. It was really pure in terms of a relationship with Christ and not trying to look at the differences but look at the similarities—at what we have in common as opposed to what our differences are.

Reinhard: In Jesus’s time, the Pharisees accused the disciples of not washing their hands before eating. Paul wrote a lot about ceremonial laws such as being circumcised or not (Galatians talks about “neither circumcision nor uncircimcision” being different in the eyes of God.) But the law that will never be changed is the moral law. That’s what we’re talking here about. We cannot compromise on that. But again, when we fall short, that’s why grace is available.

Don: After my discussion with Anonymous after church last week and then reading this parable of the two debtors and the story of Simon, it occurred to me for the first time that it’s not law versus grace, but it’s what we do with the law, as Kiren just reiterated. The idea that the law is something to guide us, the way of doing things God’s way, the role of obedience, and all the things we talked about. But when we use the law as a judge, both of ourselves and of others, we stray onto the grounds of legalism. It seemed to me to be a clear message of Jesus’s teaching, that I hadn’t honestly thought about up until this week.

David: But grace obviates the need for law and it obviates the need for judgment. If everybody can see over that fence to salvation, there is no judgment. Who’s being judged on what? Everybody gets grace. So it’s either all judgment in the sense that we’re all sinners so we’re all judged to be sinners even before we’re born. But so what? If everything’s judgment, nothing is judgment. It’s very Zen, and Daoist too. A Daoist would say that any law that you can follow is not God’s law and any judgment you can make is not God’s judgment.

So this really does throw a spanner into the works because grace makes the law and judgment completely and utterly irrelevant—with the one exception, of course, of the unpardonable sin. But apart from that, we are all pardoned from the get-go. We’re all sinners, but we’re all saved. In Christian terms we are saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus and however you look at it, there’s nothing you can do to be not saved, except (maybe) commit the one unpardonable sin.