What Is A Legalist?

Legalism is a common word in Adventist discourse. Whether certain evangelicals are calling Adventists legalists for talking about Sabbath or Adventists are calling each other legalists for various reasons, the word is a very common one in any discussion of Adventism. For that reason, we should address, what does it even mean?

What is interesting is that much of the time the word means different things to different people. Now please don't read me wrong. I am not saying that there is no such thing as legalism. I am saying that we have to define it before we can discuss it.