I’m glad for Dewey, Clark Whitten, and others that they saw legalism as a false way. But now what is the response once you realize that you are a legalist?
Some choose to:
1) Go all the way into legalism
Remaining a legalist can eventually lead one into Roman Catholicism. If legalism is the truth of the Bible to you, they cornered the market on that theology. Plus, they have all the beautiful, ceremonial pageantry. If it’s loftiness, grand ceremonies, and feelings that you are seeking, the Roman Catholic Church is the place for you. They do legalism right.
2) Embrace Pietism
Pietism is where being an average christian is not quite enough, one must be extra-ordinary. God is happier with you if you do more than your neighbor. Pietism allows one to maintain a shiny, happy form of legalism under the guise of pursuing holiness. It can get you extra credit with God.
In its beginnings, Pietism stressed Christian devotion and diligence as paths to the good life. The church of that time was still a state church. Therefore, many members led unbelieving and carnal lives. Instead of separating the church and state, the goal of pietists was to lead people to a more pristine Christianity. But former pietistic movements have not done so in the past, nor do they do so today. They lead to elitism.
In reaction to Rationalism where simply knowing the right doctrine was important, pietism put importance on the heart. This is not a bad thing in itself. But pietism taught a subjective, mystical, and extreme devoutness. It surfaced in France within Roman Catholicism in the form of Jansenism and Quietism. In England it was evident in certain forms of Puritanism and in Quakerism. Earliest forms included monasticism.
Separation tendencies of pietism
Pietists often bewailed the shortcomings of the church and rightly so. But their solution promoted quietistic, legalistic, and semi-separatist practices. The common pietistic practice was to promote study of the Bible in private meetings. They encouraged the idea of the ecclesiolae in ecclesia (“little churches within the church”).
In other words, they met to study with certain people, while leaving other people out of their bible studies. The RPs were guilty of this when they were still in the PRC. They further proved their own belief that they were ‘THE church within the church’. They did so by the style and manner in which they left the PRC.
Because of this idea of a ‘little church within the church‘, modern pietism still promotes movement away from the institutionalized church. It promotes leaving established churches and denominations that aren’t ‘true enough’. It promotes movement toward an intensified individual faith.
Experiential Tendencies of Pietism (all bold mine)
“Pietism was principally opposed to dogmatic Protestant orthodoxy … The experiences of belief were to be based less in the acceptance of fixed conditions of belief [doctrine] and more in a mystical, personal submersion in feelings. … From this came the Pietists’ inclination to turn away from the world with its temptations (e.g., the theatre, dancing, games, and other enjoyments). The uneasiness that they felt toward church institutionalization led to their splitting into numerous separatist groups; their subjective certainty about their belief led to a certain arrogance; and finally their seclusion led often to a joyless and moralizing way of life.” ~ Britannica
“Radical Pietists distinguish between true and false Christianity and hold that the latter is represented by established churches. They stressed a personal experience of salvation and a continuous openness to new spiritual illumination.” ~ Wikipedia. (Like Anne Hutchinson).
“The Pietist took seriously the significance of human emotion and their psyche. Emotionalism was, in fact, fostered to some degree by the introspective, psychologizing tendencies found in Pietism: Who am I? Am I truly a child of God? Do I live now in a state of sin or of grace? Am I backsliding? Why am I doing this? What are my feelings telling me? Everything depends on how I feel. My faith depends on how I feel.” ~ Subtle Danger of Pietism.
Bob DeWaay after wasting ten years in Pietism
“I spoke after one of our meetings with a pastor who told me that when he was a Lutheran, reciting creeds and doctrines caused him to be spiritually dead. I responded, “So believing that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate, who lived a sinless life, who died for sins and was raised on the third day and bodily ascended into heaven killed you spiritually?” He said, “I didn’t really believe those things.” He had assumed that the cause of his unbelief was not sin, but a church that recited creeds. I believe that it is much better to preach those doctrines from the pulpit and call for people to repent and turn to Christ than to make recitation part of a liturgy. But nevertheless the creeds were not the problem, unbelief was.” ~ Bob DeWaay. His entire article is worth reading here. (Emphasis mine)
Similarly, Dewey, Whitten, RPs and other self-proclaimed former legalists misdiagnose the problem. They blame what is taught in the church rather than their own weakness of faith, or their weak understanding and grasp of the truths taught. Understanding the call of John the Baptist in Matt. 3:8&10 as teaching legalism and blaming the church for it, simply means you aren’t rightly applying the gospel.
In Summary of Pietism
Pietistic legalists like a theology based on human ability rather than grace alone. They blur natural human ability with human responsibility in the covenant life of believers.
Like the Pietists, the Reformed Protestants misdiagnose the problem and create a false solution. They say the church’s teachings are the problem; so they attack the creeds. They say the preaching of the law only kills; so they separate the law from the loving and gracious character of God and pit it against grace.
Likewise, they say the church that teaches human responsibility within the covenant life of the believer teaches a 2-track theology; so they invert the error of the Remonstrants and teach that man has no ability and does nothing at all.
Like the Pietists, the RPs and RRs claim all churches are bogged in error. So, the pietist’s solution is to draw away from the established church, and toward an intensified faith within their separated holy huddle. The RPs and RRs have done this too. They join with the pietists who focus on experiences of justification, and automatic fruit.
Thus, like the Pietists, the RPs feel spiritually superior while they promote world-flight and ecclesiastical-flight. And those who left them remain unable to find a church home pure enough for their faith. Thereby these go on to justify home-churching.
So …
Pietism is an attack on the scriptural truth that Christ has already done all. The teachings of ‘extra-ordinary’ life, and ‘special experience(s)’ of pietism denies that this finishedness of Christ’s work is true for all Christians.
The Rejections of Errors #5 under the Fifth Head of the Canons rebukes those who teach the idea of extra-ordinary Christians. Special revelation would include the above-mentioned special experiences too.
Scripture teaches that God is sanctifying all Christians by the same means. Not a few by a special means; nor to some special experience. There are no extra-ordinary Christians, we are all one in the same faith, the same life, and the same hope. We are one in Christ.
However
Do not confuse biblical piety with Pietism. Piety is the righteousness of God that becomes ours through the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit. Piety is not lofty emotions, or a holy attitude, or even a feeling of trust. It is the righteousness of faith.
Pietism is a diseased version of piety. It teaches that spiritual experience is the basis of all certainty. Pietism brings the Christian’s focus inward toward a subjective experience of inner transformation. Pietism teaches that law-keeping brings the assurance of salvation.
Instead, the Reformers taught that the Christian’s focus is outside of ourselves and toward Christ. And that law-keeping is evidence that one’s faith is present and genuine.
