LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Research Paper:
Legalism—Its Appeal and its Problems.
Submitted to Dr. Jonathan Waita
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO 650 D03
Public Theology
by
Gaspar Cortez
May 5, 2024
Contents
Contents..........................................................................................................................................i
Introduction...................................................................................................................................1
How Should Legalism be Defined?................................................................................................1
Scriptural View on Legalism...........................................................................................................5
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................10
1
Introduction
Legalism is, at its core a wrong theology of the law.1 Yet, what precisely constitutes this
misunderstanding? How does one define legalism? Has the definition been distorted over the
past millennium? And if it has, how is the believer to understand what legalism is? Do they
simply take what the contemporary church says it is and continue to roll with it or should they
do the research to make sure it is so?2
This paper will answer the above questions and explain how legalism should have an
appeal to all those who follow Yeshua in pointing out how believers are to follow Him to get
them closer to Hashem.
How Should Legalism be Defined?
In modern day thought, the contemporary church employs the term “legalism” quite
often in a variety of ways, usually with a lack of attention or detail to definition. And too often, it
is assumed that the reader will understand what is meant by the term—and whatever that is, it
is, without a doubt bad.3 According to Albert Baumgarten, legalism is the worst of all possible
1 Brad Beevers, “Rightly Applying God’s Law Makes Legalism Impossible,” Unio Cum Christo 9, no. 1
(2023): 133–50, accessed April 17, 2024, https://search.ebscohost.com /login.aspx?direct=true&db= lsdar&
AN=ATLAiFZK230626000215&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
2 When speaking of the contemporary church in this paper, what is meant, is the majority of the church
and its followers in today’s world who hold to the theory that the Torah has been done away with. Not all of the
church believes this as they will hold to distinctions within that divide the law into moral, ceremonial, and civil,
even letter and spirit. Yet, this is only eisegesis and not exegesis. For letter and spirit, see, McQuilkin and Copans
argument concerning legalism and obedience, in Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan, An Introduction to Biblical
Ethics: Walking in the Ways of Wisdom (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2014), 89.
3 Kent Yinger, “Defining Legalism.” Andrews University Seminary Studies 46, no. 1 (2008): 91, accessed
April 21, 2024, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct= true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001671483&site
=ehost-live&scope=site.
2
religious defects.4 C. H. MacIntosh states, “there is no evil or error more abominable in the sight
of the L-rd than legalism.5
The term has grown an understanding of being the worst sin a Christian can commit and
according to contemporary Christians there may be no greater threat to Christianity. It almost
makes one think that the “love of keeping Hashem’s Torah” (Jn. 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; 1 Jn 5:3; 2
Jn 1:6) is a root of all kinds of evils in the contemporary church.6 However, if sin is defined as
transgression of the law (1 Jn. 3:4), and Scripture emphasizes the importance of Torah
obedience (Ro. 3:31), what then constitutes legalism? Is there something in the contemporary
church that is being overlooked?
The overlooked issue with the term legalism is that most people within the
contemporary church have come to equate legalism with antinomianism without even knowing
it, nor the true definitions. The true definitions can be difficult to accept because the church has
for so long been told they do not have to follow Torah. Yet knowing these definitions can be
salvific to the believer.
Before defining legalism, the equated word above as well as “righteousness” should be
defined so one can see why legalism in the contemporary church is so distorted. Antinomianism
holds that, since Messiah’s obedience and sufferings have satisfied the demands of the Torah,
the believer is free from obligation to observe it.7 Believers with this thought think that because
4 Albert I. Baumgarten, “Marcel Simon’s Verus Israel as a Contribution to Jewish History,” The Harvard
Theological Review 92, no. 4 (Oct. 1999): 465-478, accessed April 21, 2024, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1509868.
5 C.H. Mackintosh, “Old Testament Study: The Law and Grace by C. H. Mackintosh (1820-1896),” in
Scripture Studies Vol XV, No. 4 (Ebook: Scott Sperling, 2016), 10.
6 All Scripture is from the Complete Jewish Bible unless otherwise noted. Also, Jonathan Perz,
“Legalism…Again…and Again…and Again…,” La Vista Church of Christ, Dec. 28. 2023, accessed April 30, 2024,
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/legalism-again-and-again-and-again/.
7 Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology (Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society,
1907), 875.
3
they have the righteousness of Messiah, they can get away with living however they want.
Sure, they believe that sin is bad and should be avoided, but there is always that safety net.8 And
the reason this is bad, is most in the contemporary church do not realize the real understanding
of righteousness.
A majority of time, this view will be argued using misinterpreted views of what Shaul
states in Romans 6:14, “you are not under law [but] under grace” (English Standard Version) and
Galatians 3:23, “Now [before] faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until
the coming faith would be revealed” (ESV).
Yet in both these verses Shaul is in no way saying believers do not have to follow the
Torah from some past time period, but on the contrary that believers were trapped by their sin
(the curse, Dt. 11:26-28) because they disobeyed the Torah. Hashem must first use the
Scriptures
(Torah) to reveal the sinfulness of humanity (Isa. 24:5). When this has been adequately
accomplished, then His promise to provide a Redeemer to permanently take care of the sin
problem, as people are imprisoned by their disobedience of His commandments, can be
enacted.9 Being under the law simply meant to be subject to the curse of the law that comes
because of the inevitable failure to accomplish the law.10
And righteousness in the modern world has unfortunately received a definition from
Martin Luther, who took an extreme view on justification. He believed that people were made
8 Brian Vickers, Justification by Grace Through Faith: Finding Freedom from Legalism, Lawlessness, Pride,
and Despair (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2013), 160.
9 J.K. McKee, Galatians for the Practical Messianic (McKinney, TX: Messianic Apologetics, 2012), 17475.
10 Douglas J. Moo, New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Epistle to the Romans
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 388-89.
4
righteous in the sight of Hashem—as a direct result of faith, not works.11 The church has since
then run with this meaning, albeit wrong. He unfortunately did not understand faith from the
Hebrew perspective. In short, faith has always been in the form of a verb.
To the Hebrew mindset, faith, meant obeying and doing, similar to the word Shema. This
is the exact reason Abraham was considered righteous, he believed (Gen. 15:6; Ro. 4:3) and did
all that was commanded (Gen. 26:5). In the Hebraic mindset which all the first century Assembly
had, the thought was the same with righteousness. Faith, Shema, and righteousness all has the
same connection, to obey His word, the Torah, to perform good works (Eph. 2:10).
Deuteronomy 6:25, “And it shall be our righteousness, [if] we observe to do all these
commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.”
In truth, legalism encompasses two divergent perspectives: one negative, characterized
by rigid adherence to the law for its own sake, and the other positive, rooted in a genuine love
for Hashem and a desire to emulate Yeshua's obedience. The first is the negative which the
contemporary church understands to be the attitude that the law is to be obeyed for its own
sake.12 However, also added to the definition is if the Torah is followed in anyway, it is also
legalism. Which, as mentioned prior makes it seem as if any desire to be holy as He is holy,
seems to be countered with an accusation of legalism. And this is due to misinterpretations of
the
Scripture.
This type of legalism, obeying the law for its own sake, is a why the Jewish people
throughout the Scriptures were reprimanded over and over. It promotes self-authority and
selfrighteousness. This idea can best be summed up by the attitude of the Pharisee in the
11 Jessica Parks, ed., “Justification by Faith Alone,” in Martin Luther: A Guide to His Life and Writings
(Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2017), sec.
12 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 733.
5
parable spoken by Yeshua in Luke chapter 18. The Pharisee goes to pray to Hashem, but his
prayer isn’t that of a humble man. He believes that by His own standard of righteousness, he is
doing great in the eyes of Hashem. He was filled with self-righteousness and pride, doing
everything according to the Torah, checking every box, but his heart was far from Hashem. This
is the type of legalism that the contemporary church teaches today with no exceptions.
The second view of legalism is not only positive, its Scriptural. Believers with this view
follow all the commands of Hashem because they love Him (Ps. 119:97). However, they also
know they cannot be perfect in doing so (Pr. 26:12; Isa. 5:21). They know they don’t deserve a
second chance due to their intrinsic sin nature, yet they are getting one. This view of legalism
sees Yeshua walking perfectly in all the commands of Hashem (Isa. 42:21; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet.
2:22). They want to imitate Him and walk as He did (1 Jn. 2:6) and they try their hardest to do so
(2 Tim. 2:15). This is the attitude of many of the prophets. This, is the attitude of the disciples,
Shaul, and Yeshua. This is the attitude of Hashem.
Scriptural View on Legalism
Yeshua’s own brother speaks on this form of legalism in his book Ya’acov (James) 1:22
and 2:24, “don’t deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it…you see that
a person is declared righteous because of his actions and not because of his faith alone.” James
believed that it was actions or works that had to be added to faith to make one righteous. It’s no
wonder Luther wanted to take this book out of the canon; this destroyed his narrative.
Yochanan (John) tells the believer that if the believer truly knew Yeshua, they would
keep His commandments and if they didn’t, that person is a liar and has no truth in them (1 Jn.
6
2:3-5). This aligns with what Isaiah states in 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak
not according to this word (Torah), it is because there is no light (truth) in them.”13
Shaul tells the believer in Romans 2:13, “For it is not merely the hearers of Torah whom
God considers righteous; rather, it is the doers of what Torah says who will be made righteous in
God’s sight.” This would seem to contradict many other mistranslations that believers eisegete
from his letters. Shaul is telling the Jewish people in Rome, that it is important for them to
realize that it is insufficient to simply hear Hashem’s Torah proclaimed and give lip service to its
direction; hearing must be followed by actually performing its instruction.14 Shaul asserts here
that is not knowledge of the law(for all know it, at least in part, either by revelation or by
conscience), but obedience which matters.15
And what about Yeshua? Did He tell the believer that faith was not simply to just
believe? It would be justified to note that much of everything Yeshua told not only His followers
directly but also what was meant for the believer in time to come was based directly out of the
Torah, since He was the Torah made flesh (Jn. 1:14).
The traditional Christian understanding of the New Testament and especially Yeshua has
been that he broke away from Jewish religious traditions to teach something entirely new, but if
His teachings are brought back to their true origins in their Hebrew context, the true meaning
starts to unfold.16
To begin, some context of how Yeshua thought is necessary. In the sermon on the mount
13 Psalm 119:42 states the Torah is truth. And Proverbs 6:23 states that the Torah is a light. Therefore,
light and truth can be interchangeable.
14 J.K. McKee, Romans for the Practical Messianic (McKinney, TX: Messianic Apologetics, 2014), 99.
15 James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans (Peabody, MA, Hendrickson, 1992),
70.
16 David Bivin, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context (Holland, MI: En-
Gedi Resource Center, 2007), xxi.
7
He tells His followers that He has not come to abolish the Torah but to fulfill it (Mt. 5:17).
Somehow fulfill here has been translated as abolish also in the contemporary church. However,
the true meaning of the word fulfill here was mistranslated by persons, who did not understand
Jewish idioms. The probable Hebrew equivalent of the Greek πληρῶσαι (plerosai) is ^םֵּי יַקa ְלc
(lekayem) and used in the sense of “preserve” or “sustain” by properly interpreting. When a
rabbi felt a colleague had not interpreted the scripture correctly and had misinterpreted it, he
would claim that rabbi was uprooting or abolishing the Torah. Whereas if the rabbi was
correctly interpreting the words, he was fulfilling it.17
Yeshua goes on to say that when the day of judgement comes people will come to him
and say, “Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we expel demons in your name?
Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?” (Mt. 7:22). But he will tell them, “Get away
from me, you workers of lawlessness!” (7:23). Why would he say this if all they had to do was
have faith? It’s because they were not legalists in the positive manner.
John goes on to document Yeshua stating that if the believer were to love Him, they
would keep His commandments (Jn. 14:15). But what commandments? Yeshua states that all
the commandments from the Torah hang on the top two in loving Hashem and loving the
neighbor (Mt. 22:36-40; Dt. 6:5; Lev 19:18). Yeshua goes on to say if believers kept His
commandments just as He kept His Fathers, they would remain in His love (Jn. 15:10). This is
interesting here, because the word for keep here means to properly maintain, to preserve, or to
keep intact.18
17 Bivins, 94.
18 Bible Hub, “5083. Téreó,” Biblehub.com, accessed May 2, 2024, https://biblehub.com/greek/5083.htm.
8
And finally, what about Hashem? Knowing He does not change, it would be hard to find
anything coming from Him, that believers are not to be legalists in the positive manner. He has
always wanted His children to obey his commands from the heart . This is why the greatest
command comes directly from the Torah, “you are to love Adonai your G-d with all your heart,
all your being and all your resources” (Dt. 6:5, Mt. 22:37). When a believer loves someone from
the heart, they would follow them to the ends of the earth. They would fuse their identity with
His identity and do what He tells the believer to do.
All Hashem ever wanted was for His children was to love Him with their hearts. He didn’t
care for our sacrifices when they were just going through the motions (Hos, 6:6; Isa. 1:1131).
This is why in the end Satan comes for those who are following His Torah and Yeshua’s
testimony (Rev. 12:17, 14:12). They are the ones who are obedient to His Word, they are
legalists.
Conclusion
Is it safe to say legalism has an appeal? Absolutely. In conclusion, the term "legalism" has been
widely misunderstood and misapplied within the contemporary church. While often associated with a
negative association of rigid adherence to the law for its own sake, this interpretation overlooks a crucial
distinction between two fundamentally different approaches to legalism. On one hand, there exists a
legalism characterized by self-righteousness and a superficial adherence to religious laws, similar to the
attitude of the Pharisee in Yeshua's parable. This form of legalism promotes a false sense of spiritual
superiority and fails to recognize the deeper essence of righteousness and faith.
On the other hand, there is a positive form of legalism rooted in a genuine love for Hashem and
a sincere desire to obey His commandments. This perspective acknowledges human failure and
sinfulness while striving to copy the perfect obedience exemplified by Yeshua. It recognizes that true
9
righteousness is not achieved through mere faith alone but through active obedience to Hashem's word,
as emphasized in the Scriptures.
Furthermore, understanding legalism in its proper context requires a return to the Hebrew roots
of faith, where obedience to Torah is seen as an expression of love and devotion to Hashem rather than
a burdensome obligation. Yeshua himself upheld the importance of Torah observance, emphasizing its
fulfillment rather than its abolition, as misunderstood by many in the contemporary church.
In the end, legalism should not be dismissed outright but reexamined in light of its true meaning
and significance within the broader framework of faith. By embracing a positive form of legalism
grounded in love, humility, and obedience, believers can strive to align their lives more closely with
Hashem's will and experience the true freedom and fulfillment that comes from walking in His ways.
10
Bibliography
Baumgarten, Albert I. “Marcel Simon’s Verus Israel as a Contribution to Jewish History.” The
Harvard Theological Review 92, no. 4 (Oct. 1999): 465-478. Accessed April 21, 2024.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1509868.
Beevers, Brad. “Rightly Applying God’s Law Makes Legalism Impossible.” Unio Cum Christo 9,
no. 1 (2023): 133–50. Accessed April 17, 2024. https://search.ebscohost.com
/login.aspx?direct=true&db= lsdar&
AN=ATLAiFZK230626000215&site=ehostlive&scope=site.
Bible Hub. “5083. Téreó.” Biblehub.com. Accessed May 2, 2024.
https://biblehub.com/greek/5083.htm.
Bivin, David. New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context. Holland,
MI: En-Gedi Resource Center, 2007.
Edwards, James R. New International Biblical Commentary: Romans. Peabody, MA, Hendrickson,
1992.
Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.
Mackintosh, C.H. “Old Testament Study: The Law and Grace by C. H. Mackintosh (18201896).” In
Scripture Studies Vol XV, No. 4. Ebook: Scott Sperling, 2016.
McKee, J.K. Galatians for the Practical Messianic. McKinney, TX: Messianic Apologetics, 2012.
McKee, J.K. Romans for the Practical Messianic. McKinney, TX: Messianic Apologetics, 2014.
McQuilkin, Robertson and Paul Copan. An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Ways of
Wisdom. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2014.
Moo, Douglas J. New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Epistle to the
Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.
Parks, Jessica ed. “Justification by Faith Alone.” In Martin Luther: A Guide to His Life and
Writings. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2017.
Perz, Jonathan. “Legalism…Again…and Again…and Again…” La Vista Church of Christ. Dec. 28.
2023. Accessed April 30, 2024.
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/legalismagain-and-again-and-again/.
Strong, Augustus Hopkins. Systematic Theology. Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication
Society, 1907.
11
Vickers, Brian. Justification by Grace Through Faith: Finding Freedom from Legalism,
Lawlessness, Pride, and Despair. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2013.
Yinger, Kent L. “Defining Legalism.” Andrews University Seminary Studies 46, no. 1 (2008): 91–
108. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=
true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA00016 71483&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
