Sometimes adding to something turns it into its opposite. Consider the salad.
The salad is supposed to help us get the nutrients we need. The salad helps us eat our vegetables. It helps us be healthy. Eating a salad CAN be one of the healthiest decisions you make. However, we’ve learned to add to the salad, and in some cases we have turned it into its opposite.
Consider the barbecue chicken salad from the California Pizza Kitchen.
A standard side salad has somewhere between 40 and 100 calories full of nutrients. But the California Pizza Kitchen Barbecue Chicken Pizza has been added to, with pizza being the significant word in that description. They added barbecue chicken, a pile of cheese, a slathering of ranch, and a bag of nachos to the salad. Here’s another way of saying that… They’ve added a barbecue chicken pizza to the salad.
And do you know how many calories are in a California Pizza Kitchen barbecue chicken pizza? 1140. And do you know how many calories are in a California Pizza kitchen BBQ chicken salad? 1320. The pizza is now closer to a diet food than the salad. What started as health food became a cheat day food. A healthy choice is now an unhealthy choice. Sometimes adding to something turns it into its opposite.
And in Galatians 4 and 5, the apostle Paul leads us to consider the impact of legalism, of adding to the work of Jesus in the Christian life. This impact is much more dangerous than a pizza salad, because legalism is the belief that salvation, to some degree, comes through our works. And the thing about legalism is it only takes a little bit to go all the way. A little bit of legalism is all you need to turn the good news of the gospel… the good news that salvation is by grace alone through faith in the finished work of Jesus… into its opposite. One slice of legalistic pizza on your gospel salad turns the most joyful and beautiful truth in the world into a tragedy.
Look at Galatians 5:1 and see how legalism turns discipline into slavery.
For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
This is perhaps the key verse of the book of Galatians. It is for freedom that Christ has made us free. We WERE slaves, but Jesus has already done the work, in our place, to make us free.
Legalism turns us back into slaves. Legalism makes us dependent on our own discipline in order to be righteous. In contrast, the gospel says that we are dependent on Jesus and His righteousness for our righteousness. What a huge difference. What a life-changing difference. Because our discipline is hit or miss while Jesus has a perfect record. Why would we then trade Jesus’ work for ours?
But we need to understand that there IS discipline involved in our lives either way. Paul says, “Stand firm.” And you see statements like that all over the Bible. Stand firm. Abide. Don’t be moved. Remain.
So, at some level, there IS discipline connected to both freedom and slavery. But we have a beautiful choice. We can either stand firm in ways that try to earn God that lead to slavery and God made in our image. That way leads to heartbreak. Or we can stand firm in dependence on Jesus, the way that leads to joy.
Something happens either way. The way of legalism says, “I will do or not do SO THAT God will know me and love me.” The way of freedom says, “I will do or not do BECAUSE God knows and loves me.” That is the difference between slavery and freedom.
Two Legalistic Diagnostic Questions:
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Who am I doing this for?
Who are you doing it for? Are you doing right, are you standing firm, for people to see that you are godly or to prove to God that you’re godly? Or are you responding to the kindness and provision of God? Are you “doing” for a gospel that depends on your work or for the true God of grace who knows you and loves you and approves you already? When you do something for the gracious God who died for you, it’s not legalism, it’s worship.
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Why am I doing this?
Are you working to be noticed? If so, it doesn’t matter. Are you obeying to be loved? It won’t work. If you are in Jesus, God already sees you. He already loves you. So, why are you doing what you are doing and who is it for?
The discipline that leads to legalism tries to earn God. The discipline of freedom wants to enjoy God. Legalism says, “I can reach God.” Freedom says, “God has reached me.” Legalism says, “I can know God.” Freedom says, “God has known me.” Legalism says, “I can prove myself. Freedom says, “God approves of me.”
Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery. For freedom, Christ has set us free.
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By Brandon Hiltibidal