It would be a good idea to define the term. According to The Dictionary of Religious Terms (Donald T. Kauffman, Fleming H. Revell, Westford, NJ, 1967, p. 287), Legalism has three facets: "1. Emphasis on the letter rather than the spirit of the law. 2. Belief in salvation by obedience to the law rather than by the grace of God or by faith. 3. Undue stress on legal details without balancing consideration of justice or mercy."
Seventh-day Adventists have wrestled with all three of these facets of legalism. Examples of the first facet exist in arguments about when to commence or end the celebration of Sabbath, or how to determine Sabbath above the Arctic circle. The second facet came to the forefront during the 1888 Minneapolis Conferences and subsequent years in arguments over Justification by Faith. The issues of Grace versus Law continue to be explored among us to this day. The third facet recurs whenever we discuss what are acceptable or unacceptable activities in Sabbath observance.
The Bible also reveals these three facets in relation to real theological issues, each centering around our relationship with and commitment to Jesus Christ. It is also no mere coincidence that the Bible also focuses upon the Sabbath in regard to these three facets. The antagonists in the Bible debate are Jesus versus the Pharisees.
The first incident where the three facets of legalism shine is the story of Jesus and His disciples plucking grain from the field on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1). The disciples were violating several parts of the rabbinic list known as "The Thirty-nine Forbidden Acts" on the Sabbath Day -- they were harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and preparing. The pharisaic viewpoint was an expansion on the letter of the fourth commandment (Facet 1). In their attempt to protect the law from human violation, they carefully defined what constitutes forbidden work under thirty-nine headings. The fact that the disciples were merely alleviating their hunger was immaterial to the rabbinic view (Facet 3).
Close examination of the life of Jesus as revealed in the four Gospels shows that the manner of Sabbath observance had become an issue in those earliest days of Christian history. At no time does the matter of whether to observe Sabbath arise. The Sabbath is assumed to be a valid observance for Christians; it is the matter of how to observe it that is important throughout the Gospels.
On the one hand, cessation of and separation from the rigors of daily work is affirmed. However, the Sabbath is not wasted in idleness. It is "lawful to do good on the Sabbath day" (Mark 3:4). Jesus' view of true Sabbath observance is active, not passive. Whatever affirms life, liberty, freedom, and healing is "lawful" on the Sabbath. Whatever we would normally do during the week in the pursuit of our own livelihoods is denied -- we are to rest from our works (Hebrews 4:9-11). Jesus' view of Sabbath observance is that it is a positive celebration of life, not merely a negative cessation from work. It is proactive, not prohibitive.
This brings us to the other word in this discussion: "loyalty." "Loyalty" refers to what lies at the heart of our core values. As Christians, we are loyal to a person -- Jesus Christ. He is Himself the standard and example for all aspects of our behavior, including Sabbath observance. in "loyalty", it is not the law which is uppermost, but our relationship with the lawgiver Himself. We view life in terms of the One who lived, died, and rose again for us. We uphold the law, while at the same time reveling in and exemplifying grace.
It is this distinction between legalism and loyalty which lies at the heart of two recent discussions over the internet. The first concerns attending graduation services at a public high school on a Friday evening. Is it "lawful" to participate in a secular service on the sacred Sabbath? As Seventh-day Adventists, we have a cultural identity defined by our relationship to Jesus Christ. The real question is, "Would Jesus Christ Himself participate in such a service?" Given the example of Jesus, who fellowshipped with publicans and sinners, even to the point of either being accused of being one of them, or a winebibber and glutton with them, He most certainly would. He would sanctify the secular service by His presence in His holy people. The service is unique in nature, and involves recognition of important transitions in the lives of our students. The decision which denied participation in these important moments in our lives represents a case where legalism disrupted what should be our normal enjoyment, in community, of our eternal lives as sons and daughters of God.
Of course, it would have been better if our children had been sent to our own schools -- this discussion never arises in our schools, since our Baccalaureate services on Friday evening are sacred celebrations. This is why we have set up our own school system. However, be that as it may, for whatever reasons, not all of our kids are privileged to attend our schools.
The second discussion involved taking our children to play little league baseball on Sabbath morning, or to take swimming lessons on Sabbath morning, or to take surfing lessons on Sabbath. While these activities are good in and of themselves, they are also self-serving in nature, and are not key transitional moments in our lives. They are "every day", "mundane" activities. The end result of long-term participation in them on Sabbath is the denigration of the sacred distinction of Sabbath to being just another day of the week. All sense of the sacred wrapped up in Sabbath gets lost. The end result is overall disloyalty to the One who matters most to us as Seventh-day Adventists -- Jesus Christ, who IS our Sabbath. The Sabbath ceases to be holy, sliding into the shadows of insignificance.
The Sabbath is, first and foremost, the celebration and exploration of our relationship with our Savior within a community of faith which unitedly affirms His sovereignty over our lives. The common ventures of life explored and enjoyed (or endured) during the week are laid aside, and our focus turns to the unfettered enjoyment of the One who matters most. It is not a matter of legalism, but of loving loyalty to the Son of God, our Savior.
