The Scissors with Two Blades

We must never completely dismiss anything that has even a bit of truth to it. The answer to legalism is not anti-legalism, in the same way that the answer the intellectualism is not anti-intellectualism. We must dismiss the corruptions of legalism and intellectualism, but keep the truth found in them. Many evangelicals seem to toss out legalism completely, leaving only a hollow shell of a faith and refusing to learn and retain the truth it was founded on. Works and order and tradition are pivotal and necessary for the Christian. These elements do not save us, but neither does anything, or anyone I should say, besides for Christ. So is no creed but Christ the answer? May it never be! Without works and order and tradition, Christianity is free to become a religion of the times, and will sway like the tree in a fierce wind, giving way here and there, only to be uprooted in the end.

So, what is the answer to legalism? Why, it must be to place works as subject to God. Everything must be subject to God. If we do not choose this for ourselves, God will choose it for us in the end. But isn't faith more important than works? To quote C.S. Lewis, "Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important." Without works, faith is rendered impotent, and without faith, works are rendered impotent. So are works necessary? Are you telling me that I must do good works in order to be saved? These are the wrong sorts of questions. Asking these questions is like asking to be given ways on how to become a saint. To ask for a method of becoming a saint is asking for something that is less than sainthood as a means of attaining sanctity. There are no shortcuts. But back to the issue: works and order and tradition and history are crucial, and Christianity will soon hold no water without them. Naturally if they become idols, we are to cast them out and purify them with fire. But once they are purified, we must bring them back, we must cling to them once more, and we must continue to do so or our religion is doomed to collapse. Christ pours truth from Himself. To accept Christ is to accept His faith and His works, as well as His laws, His history, His traditions, His mind, His will, those whom He blesses, and those whom he curses. Christ ceases to be Christ when we prune Him of these things. So the answer to legalism is not anti-legalism; the answer is to carry your cross and follow your Lord.

I end with a quote from Martin Luther:

"O it is a living, busy active mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done this, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many good words, about faith and good works."