QUESTION: I think we need to stay out of legalism and live in freedom. Agree?

ANSWER: How does one live in freedom? Clearly, through the gospel of Jesus Christ. By “knowing” it (John 8:32) and by “doing” it (Matthew 7:24-27). You talk about staying out of legalism and living in “freedom,” as those the two were mutually exclusive. They are not! Many have ascribed a misunderstanding of “legalism” to those who are recognized as being conservative and also charge that these are being “pharisaical.” The sense in which these two terms (legalist and Pharisee) are being applied today as synonyms is totally wrong. Nowhere in Scripture did Christ ever condemn a Pharisee (or anyone else for the matter) for being legal or keeping the Law. They were expected, as we, to honor and obey God’s Word! The reason Christ condemned the Pharisees was because they were binding traditions and their own commandments as though they were a part of God’s Law (Matthew 15:1-9; Matthew 23)! Consider the following passages: Matthew 7:21; John 12:48; John 14:15; John 15:10; Romans 1:5; Romans 6:16- 18; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Galatians 6:2; James 2:24. Certainly from these and a multitude of other passages we can see the necessity of adhering to the Law/Commandments of Jesus Christ; of being law-keepers; thus being legal or legalist, without being Pharisaical. Biblically, then, the terms “legalist” and “Pharisee” are mutually exclusive, because the Pharisee went far beyond just being legal. It is the case then that one cannot be “free” until he or she becomes “legal,” i.e., one cannot be made free unless they are first willing to humbly and obediently submit to the Gospel of the Lord!