The Common Heart of Legalists and Hedonists

There are two major misrepresentations of the gospel visible in our culture—even in our churches—today.

The first of the two is a legalistic, works-based religion that essentially depends on man’s own work (often found in obedience to a certain set of laws or commandments) for salvation. Moral values, to the legalist, are his ultimate god—whether he admits it or not. Legalism is often either accompanied by unhealthy pride (a sense of self-righteousness that comes from behaving well) or unhealthy shame (a sense of failure due to one’s own shortcomings in regard to a certain moral standard). While many professing Christians operate (even if subconsciously) under such a system, such a legalistic faith does not resemble “the faith” proclaimed by the Apostle Paul, which comes from hearing the Gospel. In fact, legalism stands in clear contrast to the Gospel of Christ because it puts eternal salvation solely in the hands of the believer and effectually denies the salvation by faith proclaimed loudly throughout Scripture.

However, the second of these misrepresentations of the Gospel is a hedonistic attitude. In other words, many Westerners (including Christians) fall to the end of the spectrum opposite to that of the legalists, in that they take a very lax stance on sin and morality. Hedonism is more liberal and seeks pleasure and happiness rather than obedience to God; disobedience is not taken seriously as God’s grace is cited as an excuse to sin (Paul seems to sharply rebuke those with this attitude in Romans 6). Hedonists attempt to justify or rationalize their rebellion against God by saying things like, “God forgives” or “Nobody’s perfect,” sometimes even misusing Scripture to support their perspective. “I’m mostly a good person. After all, everyone has their flaws; God is gracious,” a Hedonist might say. However, in feeling like they somehow deserve God’s grace simply because they have generally good intentions, Hedonists fall victim to the same heart found in legalists.

Ultimately, both hedonists and legalists believe in a man-made way to God. While the legalist may strive to “earn” salvation, the hedonist thinks he “deserves” salvation simply because a loving God, he reasons, must accept him because he means well.

Both of these misrepresentations deny the nature of Christian salvation—that man is saved by grace through faith apart from works, yet for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Doctrines that proclaim a legalistic salvation or condone a hedonistic lifestyle are false doctrines, contrary to the Gospel of Christ.

It is my prayer that as a Church (universally) we would proclaim the real Gospel and refute such false gospels with Christ’s remarkable truth. This means spotting both legalism and hedonism in the teachings of others, as well as in the hearts of believers. However, it essential to take the first step of examining ourselves; do we subconsciously believe or follow such a false gospel? Let us seek God’s hand in exposing to us our sinful mistrust in His glorious Gospel and ask Him to work in our hearts, that we may desperately fall upon His cross.