A Tale of Two Extremes: Hyper Legalism
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6 - 7)
The modern church is a church that is divided between many different theologies and beliefs. Some follow proper doctrine while others follow false ones; the proper one is Yeshua, as He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). True believers will know the way as they will know the sound of their Shepherd and follow Him (John 10:27). During His lifetime, Yeshua talked extensively of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and how they were wrong: in part, he was denouncing their hypocrisy as well as the false doctrine of hyper legalism.
In the previous article, the topic of hyper-grace and its place in the church of today was discussed. Its antithesis is hyper legalism. This could be defined as taking the law to its utmost extreme. There are many branches of hyper legalism, but a brief summary can conclude them as being:
Believing that the Law is the way to the Lord
Detaching the spirit and love from the Law
Adding human laws to what the Lord has defined as Law
Every one of those concepts of hyper legalism is dangerous and has been denounced in the Word. To begin, the only way that has been given to us to reach the Father is Yeshua (John 14:6). The laws and commandments that were prescribed to us are a reflection of the divinity of Yahweh (1 Peter 1:6, Romans 13:10). While the Bible clearly states that His Laws and commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3), humanity has difficulty to abide by them due to our carnal nature always wanting to oppose God’s will. It’s why we need the Holy Spirit, which is given to us by God’s grace and love for those who love Him. In all, we can only abide by the law through the Holy Spirit and grace.
In that same vein, hyper legalism comes into play when one detaches the spirit from the Law. Yeshua speaks about this blatantly when He healed during the Sabbath, in Matthew 12:9 - 14. The Doctors of the Law were so attached to the specificity of the word, that they had removed the spiritual aspect of helping your brother and neighbor - the love needed to accomplish the law. The modern believer needs to have love and respect for the Lord and their neighbor in order to live the law and its blessings in their entirety (Matthew 22:36 - 40). That lack of spirit and love is the reason why the third concept - that of adding to the Law - even happened. It’s the works of the Law that Paul talks about in Galatians 2:16, that have been added needlessly, something that Yeshua talks about in Matthew 15:3, when He says:
He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
- Matthew 15:3
While there seems to be less people who subscribe to the idea of hyper legalism than there are who follow hyper grace, the consequences are still damnation. The reality of the situation is that the Law and Grace come together. It’s why the word grace can be found in both testaments, as well the Law. One does not usurp the other. When Paul says that we are no longer under the law (Galatians 5:18), it means that we are no longer under the condemnation of the law but living within the confines through the grace of the Lord.