Legalism defined

Scot McKnight has a great definition and discussion of legalism, judgmentalism, and our freedom in Christ. Here's snippet to whet your appetite, but do read the whole thing:

Legalism is any practice or belief that is added to the gospel that compromises the sufficiency of Christ as Savior and jeopardizes the adequacy of the Spirit in moral guidance. Secondarily, then, legalism demands that one adopt a group’s special markers in order to be fully acceptable to God.

Legalism then is the charge against you or me, often sensed at the deepest level, that we are not accepted by God in Christ and indwellt by the Holy Spirit.