“I am a faithful Christian. I attend church every Sunday, tithe a tenth of my income every week, and never drink alcohol.” A statement like this one is sometimes heard among Christians and in churches.
Although a person who makes such a statement may think their outward behaviors prove that they are obedient followers of Christ, boasting about their behaviors display a heart of pridefulness and legalism. While this Christian may be regularly carrying out religious duties, their heart position and motive may not be spiritually mature or right.
Obeying God is widely different than practicing legalism. People who legalistically follow rules commonly believe they can earn salvation or favor with God. Even Christians can become legalistic by asserting that believers must do certain activities because of obligation and duty.
However, obeying Christ comes from a heart of love, not out of obligation or “following a set of rules.” Basically, the difference between obedience and legalism is a person’s motive and heart behind their actions.
Differences in Motivation
A person’s focus or motive behind their actions reveals a major difference between obedience and legalism. People who have trusted in Christ for salvation, and not their own works, can become legalistic when they focus on outward behaviors instead of an inward change of heart.
For these believers, spirituality and following Christ becomes a rule list of “dos and don’ts.” These rules for outward behavior may include good things that are encouraged in the Bible, such as attending a local church, giving to others, or praying.
In other instances, the behaviors may be focused on maintaining an outward appearance of godliness by refusing to participate in certain activities, such as not dancing, not going to the movies, or refusing to listen or sing to any music that is not found in a hymnal.
The Bible has much to say about following sets of rules to appear godly. Paul dealt with legalistic issues in his letter to the Colossians. The Christians in Colossae were being pressured to follow legalistic rules as part of faith in Christ, including the Jewish practice of circumcision and keeping the Sabbath (Colossians 2:11-18).
Paul told the church at Colossae: “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” (Colossians 2:20-23, NIV).
Such “human commands and teachings” may create an appearance of godliness and spiritual obedience, but as the apostle stated, such acts do not produce godliness or an inner change. In the New Testament, the Pharisees are a perfect example of legalists.
They created numerous rules to follow to be godly. Jesus compared the Pharisees’ legalistic practices to being a cup and dish, which are washed on the outside but are still filthy on the inside (Matthew 23:25).
In the same passage, Jesus also similarly compared the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, which were beautiful on the outside, but filled with dead people (Matthew 23:27). As was stated by Christ, the legalistic Pharisees “appear to people as righteous but on the inside … are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:28, NIV).
Their insistence on following rules and man-made laws did not produce righteousness or godliness. Neither does legalism in the church today produce spiritual growth or godliness. Instead, obeying Christ out of love and thankfulness for what He has done is the proper motivation for growing in godliness.
What Is Biblical Obedience?
God does expect His followers to obey His Word. This expectation is noted throughout the Bible and is more than mere religious duty (1 Samuel 15:22). Before Jesus ascended, He directed His disciples to go into all the world to make disciples of all people, which included “teaching them to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20, NIV).
The Greek word used for “obey” in Matthew 28:20 can also be translated as “observe” (ESV) or “to follow” (NASB). Obedience to Jesus’ commands and teaching is expected of disciples of Christ. Since all believers are disciples, then living a life of obedience to Christ is something all Christians should strive after.
Obedience is expected, but not in a legalistic way of following a set of rules to achieve godliness or favor with God. Individuals are saved by grace and cannot make God love them more or less than He does already (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Also, obeying God does not mean following Him because of a sense of guilt or obligation, as is common among legalistic Christians and non-Christians. Biblical obedience comes from an inner motivation of love toward God. Having love as the motive for obedience to Christ vastly contrasts with the outward-focused behavior of legalism.
Jesus said that if His disciples loved Him, they would keep His commands (John 14:15). Obeying Christ is essentially tied to one’s love for Him (John 14:21, 23; 15:10; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6).
Love is a better motive when following God since, without love, acts of obedience are useless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Because of their overwhelming love for the Lord and thankfulness for what He has done in providing salvation, believers should want to obey God. Biblical obedience stems from love.
What Is the Difference Between Obedience and Legalism?
Obedience is different than legalism, but there can be misconceptions about the actions of obedience. First, even so, believers should obey Christ out of love, this does not mean obedience is easy.
Many commands in Scripture are difficult to carry out because they force believers out of their comfort zones. For instance, believers are told to make disciples of all nations, but evangelism and discipleship can be difficult because of a person’s fear of rejection or issues with shyness (Matthew 28:19).
For some Christians around the world, obeying Jesus literally means life or death. At such times of persecution, obedience is challenging, but Christ promises blessings for those who are persecuted for His sake (Matthew 5:10).
Secondly, people can also wrongly assume that obeying God includes obedience to the Old Testament Law. Many Christians will push for strict Sabbath observance on Sunday or require Christians to live under the Ten Commandments. However, those who teach a strict adherence to the Mosaic Law fail to understand that believers in Jesus are “are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14, NIV).
Jesus fulfilled the Law and Christians are now under the Law of Christ, which is a law of love (Mark 12:28-31; Romans 10:4; 1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15). Believers are not required to observe the Sabbath or Ten commandments, which is why forcing Christians to observe the Mosaic Law is legalism, not obedience.
Finally, believers need to avoid confusing matters of conscience and freedom for areas of required obedience. Many Christians, because of their conscience, will choose not to drink alcohol to avoid being a stumbling block to others (Romans 14:13-23; 1 Corinthians 8:9).
The Bible does speak against drunkenness but does not specifically discuss whether believers should drink alcohol (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:18). Just because a believer may drink alcohol does not mean they are being disobedient to God.
Likewise, the Christian who chooses to abstain from alcohol is not being legalistic unless they require such action as a mark of true Christianity.
Similarly, a believer may refrain from listening to “secular” music and does so to guard their heart from temptation (Proverbs 4:23). This Christian is not being legalistic, but rather is trying to avoid words and music, which may produce sinful thoughts and feelings in them.
Instead, this Christian would choose to listen to music, which helps them to focus on good and beneficial things (Philippians 4:8). Legalism would occur if this Christian made their choice of abstaining from “secular” music a requirement for other believers.
Obeying God out of Love
Obedience stands in contrast to legalism. Although legalism may produce Christians and non-Christians who appear to be obedient to God and His Word, their motives and “fruit” prove otherwise.
Legalism does not produce righteousness or godliness but rather increases pride. On the other hand, biblical obedience to Christ produces godliness and stems from a heart of love.
Specifically, love for Christ will lead to a life of obedience. While biblical obedience does come from a motive of love, this does not mean obedience is easy or that people will understand acts done from a free conscience.
Unlike legalism, obedience will demonstrate itself in the way believers interact with others and live in the world.
For further reading:
Why Are We Told to 'Obey God Rather Than Human Beings'?
What Is Obedience? How Do We Obey God?
What Is Legalism? Definition and Examples
Why Is Shame Connected to the Church?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Bohdan Bevz
Sophia Bricker is a freelance writer who enjoys researching and writing articles on biblical and theological topics. In addition to contributing articles about biblical questions as a contract writer, she has also written for Unlocked devotional. She holds a BA in Ministry, a MA in Ministry, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing to develop her writing craft. As someone who is passionate about the Bible and faith in Jesus, her mission is to help others learn about Christ and glorify Him in her writing. When she isn’t busy studying or writing, Sophia enjoys spending time with family, reading, drawing, and gardening.
