Legalism has been poorly defined and dramatically overused in today’s modern Evangelical circles.  Accusations pertaining to legalism have been damaging to the progress of genuine believers who desire to progress even further in their sanctification, and has also created communities of professing believers who have no desire to mature in their faith.  In this latest contribution to The Cripplegate, pastor Eric labors to define Legalism and it’s implications, giving practical examples of what legalism is and is not.

He writes:

To bring the charge is to say that this thing or person is in danger of propagating an unsavable system and trampling the cross of Christ. So if we label something legalistic, we better thoroughly understand the gospel, the definition of legalism, and what exactly is happening with what we are labeling as legalistic. Otherwise, we are sinning by erroneously labeling something in opposition to the cross of Jesus Christ.

Even so, the legalism card often gets overplayed. More and more I’ve interacted with Christians humbly and faithfully working out their salvation with fear and trembling, only to have the legalism card slapped on them. As such, they’re being fallaciously warned about legalism bogeymen. There are many I’ve heard of lurking in Christendom.

Click here to read the full article.