Part 2: Bible Studies for the Hungry Christian

A course of study for turning students into teachers

Lesson Four: Biblical Christianity vs. Legalism

The problem of misinterpreted and misapplied scriptures is vast, but we need to start somewhere. This lesson focuses on another foundational error brought about by centuries of wrong interpretation, which when corrected will open up our understanding to many other things. We looked at "churchianity" in general in lesson three, but now we'll take a closer look at one of the most time-honored examples of misapplied scripture, legalism. This is one of those unique things about Christianity as compared to all other religions, that we are not bound by "the schoolmaster of the law" but by "the law of love".

When confronted with the unparalleled freedom we have in Christ, people who have been brought up under legalistic religion start to peel off a layer at a time, eventually reaching The Test: tithing. For some reason we have the notion (carefully and continually crafted by persistent pastoral pressure) that tithing is the test of a Christian's spiritual health. Although it is but a subset of the overall legalistic mindset, it deserves special attention. So let's take a look at first the general problem and then get to the specific.

The Law

Most Christians would agree that the Law cannot save anyone (Gal. 2:16b, "by the works of the law no one will be justified"), yet we use it as a club to beat our fellow believers over the head because they're not doing what we have decided they must. But we need to find out what the Bible says about how the law relates to us, not just assume we know. There are four main views on this:

1. The strictest view: all of the Mosaic law applies to us today
2. The heretical view: no laws of any kind apply to us today; we have a 'license to sin'
3. The majority view: some of the Mosaic law still applies to us today
4. The Pauline view: no Mosaic law applies to us today, but we are under a new Law

If view 1 were true, we would be obligated to not only obey the Ten Commandments but also the restrictions on work and travel on the Sabbath, the ceremonial washings, the animal sacrifices, and everything else in the Levitical system. Yet even those who say they are under all the Law would not go so far as to require animal sacrifices. This is, to say the least, inconsistent, since they are not practicing what they preach. It really amounts to a rejection of the finished work of Jesus on the cross in favor of a system which never could save anyone and proved nothing about a person's spirituality.

If view 2 were true, we would be completely indistinguishable from the world, and in fact would be worse than the people of most other religions. Those holding this view cite Romans 8:1 ("There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus") as if it were written in a vacuum, completely ignoring Paul's earlier discussion in chapter 6 where he says "Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? Absolutely not!" (Romans 6:1b-2a). This is the view widely held by opponents of Christianity, out of a complete misunderstanding of grace.

If view 3 were true, we'd have an approach to scripture that more resembles a buffet than a study. We just pick the things we think are reasonable and leave what is not to our taste. Proponents of this view try to justify it by claiming that only the ceremonial laws were made obsolete by Jesus' sacrifice, so that we are still under the "behavioral" laws and, of course, The Tithe. The basic approach here is to say that a law still applies unless it is expressly abolished in the New Testament (NT). But when pressed for a Biblical basis for this rule they get very quiet.

Obviously I think view 4 is the right one, the conclusion I must come to after considering all of Paul's writings. It's called a NEW testament for a good reason. Jesus gave us the illustration of the wineskins (Mt. 9:17), where he taught that the old and new cannot be mixed. The Law and Grace are continually held in contrast, and like two completely different contracts, both cannot be in effect at the same time. In Hebrews we read that the Law is tied to the priesthood (Heb. 7:12ff), so if there is a change of priesthood there must also be a change of law. We are considered dead to the old ways (Romans 7:1-6) and are therefore released from them. Along with that, there is something conspicuous by its absence in the NT: penalties for broken laws. I'm not talking about a vague loss of blessings but specific consequences, because if you have hard-and-fast laws you must also have hard-and-fast penalties.

One last point before we move on to Tithing: the "ace of spades" of the legalists is Matthew 5:17-18, where Jesus tells us that he didn't come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. There are two problems with this. One: fulfillment of a law has the same end result as destruction, namely that the law is no longer in effect. We who are in Christ have fulfilled all of its obligations in Him. Two: Jesus was not talking only about the laws of Moses in that passage, but also about his intent to fulfill every prophecy made about Him. The Messiah had to accomplish two things: perfect adherence to every point in the law in order to be the qualified sacrifice for sins, and fulfillment of all the Messianic prophecies. This He did; It Is Finished! (Greek, "paid in full").

The Tithe

The Tithe (10%) was for Israel and no one else. That Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils of war to a mysterious OT priest named Melchizadek does not automatically make it a command for Gentiles, and we have no record that this was his lifelong practice. And Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation, not just anyone. God told this same Abraham to begin the practice of circumcision, which was long before Moses and the Law. If we must tithe based on the fact that Abraham did, then we are also bound by circumcision and everything else.

Likewise, the oft-misused book of Malachi is an indictment against the nation of Israel, not the whole world. While it is true that God withholds blessing from his people due to disobedience, the command to tithe does not apply to anyone but Jews. The context is very specific (see chap. 3). Israel was promised either blessing or cursing from God based upon their obedience to the whole law, not just tithing. So if we are to tithe then we also must do all the rest, as mentioned already in view 1 above. Pastors go so far as to make the local church into the "storehouse" without a shred of Biblical justification, and the pastoral staff as the "priests" who depend on this for their support.

Note also that this tithe was on a person's crops and herds, not wages, and that it was mostly about food and goods, not money. If someone really wanted to make it apply to us today, they'd have to say we must tithe on all our possessions. For example, if we make a batch of cookies that yield more than the recipe said it would then a portion would have to go to the church! Don't laugh, it's what they're really teaching if the church is now the storehouse and the preacher is the priesthood. But no, they only want your money. Very interesting. What do you think would happen if church members suddenly started putting possessions into the offering plate instead of checks?

Other Legalistic Favorites

As I keep saying, context is everything. Tithing is only one form of legalism, others generally having to do with arbitrary human lists of do's and don'ts. But this is what we read in Colossians 2:16-23

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such people also go into great detail about what they have seen, and their unspiritual minds puff them up with idle notions. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Ah yes, that second favorite of the legalists, The Sabbath. Although there isn't as much emphasis on this as there used to be, it's still a pretty well-ingrained rule among the churches. But the fact that they call Sunday the Sabbath should be a major red flag to begin with, because the Jewish Sabbath is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. This error stems from the old concept known as Replacement Theology, where Israel is supposed to have been replaced by the church. Since the NT mentions the early Christians calling Sunday "the Lord's day" they imagine that this is the "new Sabbath". It's all made up from the minds of legalism; there's not one bit of support for this in the Bible at all. The church's relationship to Israel is a subject for another day, but suffice it to say for now that the two are not the same and no one has been abandoned or replaced.

Then we have mention of the rule makers, the do and don't crowd, the modern day Pharisees. This passage gets right to the point and shows the futility of such legalism. It is said to have only "an appearance" of wisdom, without real power to harness the flesh. You might call this the "control freak syndrome", the need to dictate external behavior without the commandment of God. We just have this dire need to micro-manage believers, because only the "clergy" should really be allowed to know how free we are. Otherwise, heaven forbid, the average believer might just do something we don't like. That's what it all boils down to; it's all about control. Far greater sins have been committed by those with a critical and controlling spirit than those who violate their petty rules.

For added protection against those Pharisees I highly recommend a slow walk through the book of Galatians to drive the point home about our freedom in Christ. But beware of unconsciously being legalistic toward others, especially if you are a youth leader or parent. It's all too easy to play the authority card when we really just like things done our way. If God has not spoken don't try to put words in His mouth. As a rule of thumb for gray areas, remember this line: If it's about my own behavior, err on the side of abstinence; if it's about someone else's behavior, err on the side of tolerance.