Guarding GCT From Legalism

Church Family:
Allow me to make a claim; there is no sin more tolerated or widespread among Christians than legalism. Our struggle at GCT most likely will be legalism not wokeism or liberalism. Most of the time we look at legalism as just someone being overzealous rather than them perpetuating anti-gospel sin. We tend to look at adultery and theft as more heinous than legalism. But look at Jesus’ ministry on earth, He clashed most with legalists, the Pharisees who crucified Him. Then Paul battled them all his ministry as well as they perverted the amazing grace of God. Jesus deliberately provoked the legalists: healing on the Sabbath, openly violating their rules, ignoring hand-washing rituals at dinners, and blasting their hypocrisy when confronted. When lawyers objected, He didn't apologize but warned, "Woe to you lawyers as well!" Jesus confronted legalism head-on as sin.

Paul charged Timothy, and us in 1 Timothy 1:8-20, to continually recognize, guard against and confront the recurrent sinful doctrine of legalism. Then again he says, “Guard the good deposit (Gospel) entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:14), and pass it faithfully to others (2 Timothy 2:2).

Do you know what legalism looks like? Legalism is when we treat as divine law things that God has neither required nor forbidden in Scripture to gain favor with Him and then with firmness we look with judgment on others for their failure or refusal to conform to our extrabiblical laws.

Living as a legalist is trusting in our own good deeds to earn God’s approval. The legalist measures righteousness by outward performance, seeking to appear holy before others while ignoring the heart that God truly sees. Pride grows when the legalist spots faults in others, yet he cannot see his own. In doing so, he denies his sin and replaces grace with self-effort, standing in subtle opposition to the Gospel of Christ’s mercy. The legalist then gets all the glory for his fleshly deeds instead of God getting the Glory for His amazing free gift of grace through faith (Romans 9:30-33).

The Gospel tells a gloriously better story, that God’s grace cannot be earned or improved upon. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are accepted not because of our striving, but because of His perfect obedience and atoning love. The Gospel frees us from the exhausting pursuit of approval and draws us into joyful relationship with the God who looks on the heart. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Here lies our hope! The Gospel of Jesus Christ delivers us from our legalistic tendencies. In Christ, God declares us perfectly righteous, not because of our obedience, but because of His (Romans 8:1-4; Galatians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Through Jesus, we are freed from the curse and condemnation of the law and are empowered by the Spirit to live joyfully free under God’s grace.

God has done this so that we might rejoice in Him who set us free. The Gospel transforms our striving into resting in Him, our self-reliance into Spirit-dependence, and our fleeting pride into everlasting joy in Christ’s finished work. Because of the Gospel, we no longer bear fruit through dead legalistic works, but through the living Spirit of God within us (Romans 6:14; 7:4-6). This is true freedom in Christ. This is our hope. This is the glory of the Gospel of God. Together, let us guard the Gospel, our church and ourselves from our own legalistic tendencies.

See you Sunday, freed from legalism: Steve