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I Skyped this morning with a Chinese believer whom we helped disciple when we lived in China. She was a dear sister to us. She translated for us. She was much loved, much trusted. Then, unexpectedly, because of a man from the United States, she left our little group and became an adherent of a legalistic offshoot of Christianity. The legalism to which she now attached herself broke apart the small group of believers there.
She told me this morning that, a few years ago, she left this erroneous offshoot.
Brought to tears, I asked her why.
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Legalism is a word that is usually applied to adherents of Christianity. It refers to a code of religious laws or rules that are followed but with a negative effect—the Christian begins to judge others’ righteousness based upon external adherence to those laws. In severe instances, the salvation of the “offenders” may be doubted. When the topic comes up, I’ve been told more than once by pastors that a person who smokes cigarettes cannot be a Christian. Christians debate such topics as, “Which movies should Christians watch?” “What exclamations are permitted when one is angry?” “May a Christian drink wine? Beer?” Some of the laws that Christians adhere to are indeed biblical. Some have no biblical basis, or a spurious one.
