Was Jesus a Legalist?

Like the Communist label during the 1920s “Red Scare,” and during the Joe McCarthy era thirty years later, the word “legalist” has become a popular though undefined epithet in a great deal of theological dialogue within Western Adventism. Like similar labels, whether in the secular political world or the world of theology, the “legalist” moniker often has the effect of closing minds and shutting down conversation before substantive evidence is considered.

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Abraham, Legalism and Grace

Abraham is often called the “father of the faithful.” As he is introduced to the Bible story, Abraham’s faith is demonstrated by his obedience to God’s call to leave the thriving metropolis that was Ur of the Chaldees and travel toward an unknown destination. We read of this demonstrative faith on Abraham’s part in both the Old and the New Testaments:

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From Gilboa to Louisiana

Much of First World Adventism, in modern and postmodern times, has been obsessed with the fear of legalism. Admonitions and tirades against “legalists” and “Pharisees” in the church have long been the daily meat and drink of the denomination’s fashionable circles of thought and devotion. Contemporary trends and their impact on the church might offer glaring evidence of a...

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