Biblical Freedom from Legalism in Christian Living
Christian freedom from legalism is a central theme in the New Testament, particularly articulated by the Apostle Paul, emphasizing liberation from the Mosaic Law as a means of justification and sanctification [1, 4, 6]. This freedom is not an absence of moral constraint but a new relationship with God based on grace through Christ, rather than adherence to legal codes [10].
John Calvin identifies Christian liberty as having three main components. First, believers' consciences must rise above the law in seeking justification before God, recognizing that justification is not obtained through legal observance [6]. The law, in fact, convicts humanity and exposes it to God's wrath, from which salvation comes only by escaping its power and entering freedom through Christ [7]. Second, this liberty means that believers are not bound by the law in matters indifferent to God, allowing for freedom in external practices as long as charity is maintained [6]. Third, believers are freed from the compulsion of the law, serving God willingly and spontaneously through the Holy Spirit rather than out of fear of punishment [6].
The Apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians is a foundational text for understanding this concept. He urges believers to "stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage" [1]. Calvin notes that the entire Epistle to the Galatians hinges on this point, arguing against interpretations that limit Paul's contention to mere freedom from ceremonial laws [9]. Instead, Paul emphasizes that Christ has redeemed believers "from the curse of the law" [9]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary on Galatians 5:13 highlights that gospel liberty encompasses freedom from the Mosaic yoke, from sin, and from slavish fear [5].
This freedom is conferred by God, through Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, and is proclaimed through the Gospel [2]. It signifies liberation from the law's requirements, the curse of the law, the fear of death, the bondage of sin and corruption, and Jewish ordinances [2]. The service of Christ is itself described as liberty [2]. The Tyndale House commentary on Romans 6:14 explains that with the Messiah's coming, the era governed by the Law of Moses ended, and Christians now live under the freedom of God's grace [10].
However, this liberty is not a license for sin or a "cloak for malice" [3, 5]. Paul warns against using freedom as "an occasion for the flesh" [5]. Christian liberty is meant to lead to a life of love and service to one another, rather than self-indulgence [5]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary on 1 Timothy 1:11 connects Christian freedom from the law as a sanctifier and justifier to the "glorious gospel" [4]. This exemption of the righteous from the law, and its assignment to the lawless, aligns with the Gospel of God's glory, which accounts believers righteous through Christ's righteousness apart from the law [4].
The contrast between legal bondage and Christian freedom is evident in Paul's own experience, as he was "transported from legal bondage into Christian freedom at once" [8]. This freedom means that one's righteousness is "from God (resting) upon faith," rather than being "of the law" [8]. The Catholic scholastic tradition, as seen in Aquinas, also recognizes a form of natural liberty, stating that positive law (like slavery) cannot infringe upon natural law, which includes the preservation of the species through procreation, implying a fundamental freedom in such matters [11].
Sources
- Galatians “Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. -- Galatians 5:1”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Liberty, Christian — Foretold -- Isa 42:7; 61:1. Conferred By God. -- Col 1:13. By Christ. -- Ga 4:3-5; 5:1. By the Holy Spirit. -- Ro 8:15; 2Co 3:17. Through the gospel. -- Joh 8:32. Confirmed by Christ -- Joh 8:36. Proclaimed by Christ -- Isa 61:1; Lu 4:18. The service of Christ is -- 1Co 7:22. Is freedom from The law. -- Ro 7:6; 8:2. The curse of the law. -- Ga 3:13. The fear of death. -- Heb 2:15. Sin. -- Ro 6:7,18. Corruption. -- Ro 8:21. Bondage of man. -- 1Co 9:19. Jewish ordinances. -- Ga 4:3; Col 2:20. Called the glorious liberty of the children of God -- Ro”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Malice — Springs from an evil heart -- Mt 15:19,20; Ga 5:19. Forbidden -- 1Co 14:20; Col 3:8; Eph 4:26,27. A hindrance to growth in grace -- 1Pe 2:1,2. Incompatible with the worship of God -- 1Co 5:7,8. Christian liberty not to be a cloak for -- 1Pe 2:16. Saints avoid -- Job 31:29,30; Ps 35:12-14. The wicked Speak with. -- 3Jo 1:10. Live in. -- Tit 3:3. Conceive. -- Ps 7:14. Filled with. -- Ro 1:29. Visit saints with. -- Ps 83:3; Mt 22:6. Pray for those who injure you through -- Mt 5:44. Brings its own punishment -- Ps 7:15,16. God requites -- Ps 10:14; Eze 36:5. Pun”
- 1 Timothy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Timothy 1:11: According to the glorious gospel--The Christian's freedom from the law as a sanctifier, as well as a justifier, implied in the previous, Ti1 1:9-10, is what this Ti1 1:11 is connected with. This exemption of the righteous from the law, and assignment of it to the lawless as its true object, is "according to the Gospel of the glory (so the Greek, compare Note, see on Co2 4:4) of the blessed God." The Gospel manifests God's glory (Eph 1:17; Eph 3:16) in accounting "righteous" the believer, through the righteousness of Christ, without "the law" (Ti1 1:”
- Galatians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Galatians 5:13: The "ye" is emphatical, from its position in the Greek, "Ye brethren"; as opposed to those legalists "who trouble you." unto liberty--The Greek expresses, "on a footing of liberty." The state or condition in which ye have been called to salvation, is one of liberty. Gospel liberty consists in three things, freedom from the Mosaic yoke, from sin, and from slavish fear. only, &c.--Translate, "Only turn not your liberty into an occasion for the flesh." Do not give the flesh the handle or pretext (Rom 7:8, "occasion") for its indulgence which it eag”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 74: be not understood, neither Christ, nor the truth of the Gospel, nor the inward peace of the soul, is properly known. Our endeavor must rather be, while not suppressing this very necessary part of doctrine, to obviate the absurd objections to which it usually gives rise. 2. Christian liberty seems to me to consist of three parts. First, the consciences of believers, while seeking the assurance of their justification before God, must rise above the law, and think no more of obtaining justification by it. For while the law, as has alr”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 72: sec. 8; Book 3 chap 19. sec 2. that if 2105 we cleave to the law we are devoid of every blessing, and have nothing but the curse denounced on all transgressors. The Lord does not promise any thing except to the perfect observers of the law; and none such are any where to be found. The results therefore is that the whole human race is convicted by the law, and exposed to the wrath and curse of God: to be saved from this they must escape from the power of the law, and be as it were brought out of bondage into freedom,—not that carnal”
- Philippians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Philippians 3:9: be found in him--"be found" at His coming again, living spiritually "in Him" as the element of my life. Once lost, I have been "found," and I hope to be perfectly "found" by Him (Luk 15:8). own righteousness . . . of the law-- (Phi 3:6; Rom 10:3, Rom 10:5). "Of," that is, from. righteousness . . . of God by faith--Greek, "which is from God (resting) upon faith." Paul was transported from legal bondage into Christian freedom at once, and without any gradual transition. Hence, the bands of Pharisaism were loosed instantaneously; and opposition to”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 74: but Christ, who surpasses all the perfection of the law, is alone to be held forth for righteousness. 3. On this almost the whole subject of the Epistle to the Galatians hinges; for it can be proved from express passages that those are absurd interpreters who teach that Paul there contends only for freedom from ceremonies. Of such passages are the following: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” “Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled ag”
- Romans (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Romans 6:14: 6:14 you no longer live under the requirements of the law: With the Messiah’s coming, the era governed by the law of Moses came to an end (see Gal 3:19-25). • you live under the freedom of God’s grace: God’s dealings with his people have always been characterized by grace, but grace dominates the new era in which Christians live in Christ. Cp. John 1:17.”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement (Supplementum), Of the Impediment of the Condition of Slavery, Art. 2: Article: Whether a slave can marry without his master's consent? I answer that, As stated above (Article [1], ad 3), the positive law arises out of the natural law, and consequently slavery, which is of positive law, cannot be prejudicious to those things that are of natural law. Now just as nature seeks the preservation of the individual, so does it seek the preservation of the species by means of procreation; wherefore even as a slave is not so subject to his master as not to be at li”