in certain areas. It is a specific and detailed code of conduct. Fourth, legalism is a wrong, self- exalting, attitude toward obeying the laws of the code under which one lives. It is very important to note that a legalist keeps the law; he is not a violator; a libertine is that. Not to obey the laws is law lessness, not liberty. Obeying to the glory of God is right; obeying to exalt self is legalism. But both the legalist and the non-legalist will give outward conformity to the laws under which they are liv ing. Fifth, living in Christian liberty is living a life of restrictions. Slav ery is the Biblical opposite of lib erty, and it is the new position we have as believers in Christ which frees us from the bondage of slavery of sin and the flesh. This position also gives us the possibil ity of being slaves of righteous ness. Christian liberty does NOT give the believer the option of liv ing any way he pleases; it is not license. It is not unrestricted living. The great restriction of Christian liberty is love. Paul put it succinct ly: "For, brethren, ye have been called into liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another" (Galatians 5:13). Love is seeking the best in the object loved, and since the best is the will of Cod, love is seeking the will of God. Serving one another by doing the will of God personally and by seeking to see it done in others is the life of true Christian liberty. And this is true Christlikeness, for He whose freedom was unlimited voluntarily took on Himself the re strictions in the form of a servant. His liberty was limited by His great Page 9
wish to speak is the mirage of un restricted Christian liberty; that is, the mistaken idea that a believer can enjoy a life of liberty without experiencing any restrictions in his living. The catchword is a Franken stein word — legalism. To have any kind of law, we are being told, is to be legalistic. Let us think straight about this for a moment. The word legalist, of course, is not a Scriptural word, so it can pretty well mean what ever the person using it wants it to mean. Usually it is defined to jus tify the practice of the one defin ing it, and to condemn the conduct of all others. Let us clarify a few things so that we will not be de luded by this mirage. First, legalism is not the pres ence of law; if it were then God would have to be charged with promoting legalism since He has given a lot of laws. Furthermore, parents, church leaders and gov ernmental authorities would also be guilty of legalism since they are expected to legislate in their re spective areas. Legalism is not the presence of laws. Second, legalism is not the im position of law on someone else. If it were, then how could you ex plain the Biblical sanction for par ents and church rulers imposing laws upon their families and churches? Third, the Christian believer is responsible to a specific ethical code of conduct revealed in the New Testament. That code includes positive and negative commands which are not subject to situa tional interpretation; it also sets forth principles for conduct like "do all to the glory of God"; and it provides for legislation of laws
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