Wow Dave, I never thought of it this way before.  I think you are right - legalism is my attempt to believe I can control my own sinfulness.

I need a sanity check on this idea.  What do you think?

Have you ever noticed that legalistic viewpoints subscribe to a subset of the law, and not the whole thing?  Legalistic people always leave out the laws they can't manage to keep.

First of all, we need to define exactly what we mean by legalism.

If we mean that we are justified before God by how well we keep the rules, then legalism is wrong.

If we mean that we can shrug off the conviction of the Holy Spirit, have a free-for-all with the principles and standards of God's Word, and not worry about habitual, repeated, unrepented sin, then we have a problem.

As Gentile believers we have not received the Law of Moses and it is not our source of justification. On the other hand, anyone who breaks those commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

In Romans 14 Paul describes two brothers who have differing opinons on eating meat that was sacrificed to pagan idols. One brother believes it is a sin; the other brother does not.  Paul says each one is right if they hold their convictions based upon faith and do not judge or look down on each other.  Each should be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who eats, eats to the Lord and he who does not eat abstains to the Lord.

In the New Covenant we are called to live our lives by the direction of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not by the written code.  The written code can reveal the character of God to us and teach us what pleases Him, but our lives as believers are to be led by the Holy Spirit.

In considering this however, we need to ask ourselves "Would the Holy Spirit lead me to think this way, speak this way, or do these things?"  How do we find out the answer to that?  We find it out by investigating God's Word.  For example, the Holy Spirit is not going to tell us that it is "Ok" to commit fornication or adultery.  The Holy Spirit is not going to tell us to divorce our spouse and find our "soulmate".  The Holy Spirit is not going to tell us to think, speak, or do anything that is contrary to the revelation of God's character in His Word.

Paul warns us in 1 Cor. 4 against premature judgment or going beyond what is written in the Word of God as we exercise our freedom.  "3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another."

It is imperative that we guard our hearts against the exercise of our freedom degenerating into licentiousness.  "You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."  There are elements in the church today who call any restraint of their flesh "legalism".  These people are in serious error.  It is not legalism to hold up the standards of the Word of God as truths to strive for.  Paul encourages us to "run as if to win".  "24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

There is a way to run to win the prize; and there is a way to run that just gets by.  The people who shout "Legalism!" every time someone points out something that panders to the flesh are the ones running to just get by.  We aren't called to just get by, we are called to win the prize.

"7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." Gal. 6:7-8

Dave - An excellent book on the Sabbath is Mark Buchanan's "The Rest of God".  It is spot-on, in my opinion.  I highlighted so much in it that my marker ran dry.  He's a great writer and the book is an easy read.  I'd loan you my copy if you lived closer...  :-)