Gospel Lifestyle: Are You Licentious or a Legalist?

You’re both. It’s not a personality test.

Brett Rayl
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read

My favorite course in high school was AP US History. It was partially because I enjoyed the subject, but also because our teacher, Mr. Chandler, was an incredible teacher. One of the first ideas he introduced to us was that the errors of communism and fascism move in different philosophical directions (left and right), but their ends result is the same problem, totalitarianism. The two errors belong not on a line but on a circle (and Mr. Chandler could draw a shockingly perfect circle on the blackboard). Therefore a healthy democratic-republic is not so much a midway point between extreme ideals as it is the opposite of one wrong way to practice government (totalitarianism). That model of a circle over and against a line has always stayed with me.

Tim Keller has popularized a quote attributed to Tertullian about two errors in contrast to the gospel: “Just as Jesus was crucified between two thieves, so the gospel is ever crucified between these two errors” (Center Church, 31). For Keller, the two errors are legalism on the one side and antinomianism on the other (also religion and irreligion, moralism and relativism). This quotation reminds us that there are two directions we can sin against God and miss the gospel. In The Gospel-Centered Life, Thune and Walker describe the problem like this: “Legalists continue to live under the law, believing God’s approval is somehow dependent on their right conduct. Licentious people dismiss the law, believing that they are ‘under grace,’ God’s rules don’t matter much” (46). This contrast is incredibly important for understanding the Christian life. These are two wrong directions of living.

“The Gospel-centered Line”

However, I’ve seen a number of well-meaning individuals, ministries, and even churches struggle with the application of a gospel-center between licentiousness and legalism. Sharply dichotomizing these two directions of sinning is problematic for a number of reasons. First, we may over-simplify our sin problem by identifying ourselves as a person who either struggles with legalism or antinomianism. In reality, we struggle with both errors simultaneously, and they lead us to the same sinful end. Second, this dichotomy can also make it seem as though moving in the opposite sinful direction could be a way to balance out the Christian life. But when I’m legalistic, I don’t need to sin more. When I’m licentious, I shouldn’t try and be more legalistic. Regardless of the inclination of my sin, I need the same gospel. I need to repent and believe the good news. So here it is helpful to remember Mr. Chandler’s circle vs. line. The truth is while we may have proclivities toward legalism or antinomianism, they ultimately merge into the same error, prideful self-centeredness.

“The Gospel-centered Circle”

Paul explains this early in his Epistle to the Romans. He addresses the error of licentiousness in Romans 1:29–32, condemning all sorts of unrighteousness. “They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” He summarizes the problem of licentiousness: “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Paul then addresses the error of legalism in Romans 2:1–5. The legalist is at root a hypocrite, because while a sinner, she seeks to justify herself by judging according to her own standards. Paul explains there is no excuse, “O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the same things.” Legalism reveals a “hard and impenitent heart” that is storing up wrath for the day of judgment. However, it is important to see that Paul does not distinguish audiences who commit these errors. He does not offer a sinner personality test. These problems reflect one ultimate problem that is lived out in a tango of antinomianism and legalism.

In Romans 2:7–8, Paul describes the place where these errors converge. Ultimately there are two kinds of people in the day of judgment: “those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality” and “those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness.” Those who live a God-centered life and those who live a self-centered life.

While we may struggle more with licentiousness in some areas of life and legalism in others, our ultimate problem is the worship of self over and against the worship of God. We seek to live a gospel-centered life because it is a God-centered life. Our lifestyle of repentance and faith is meant to bring us to a close and intimate relationship with God. We repent of our self-centered way of living and we seek after God’s glory, honor, and immortality through Christ.

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Brett Rayl

Written by

Executive Director and Team Leader for CBI Japan. cbijapan.org This is my personal account.

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