For a legalist, rules and regulations are seen as directives to be meticulously followed, rather than guidelines or principles to be applied with wisdom and insight. In its worst form, legalism assumes that salvation itself can be earned by the work of following God's laws, a mockery of the New Testament teaching on the helplessness of humans to do works pleasing to God apart from the mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ. Like libertarianism, existentialism rejects what it regards as abstract moral truths given by God or gods in favor of the concrete existence of humans and whatever values or ethics they have chosen. Existentialism emphasizes that in each present moment, we as individuals are totally free and must by the force of will create our own meaning. And to make authentic choices, we cannot rely on our reason, which leads us only to disagreements and paradoxes, but instead to our inner irrational consciousness.
Existentialists rely on their gut feelings rather than absolute truth.
They rely on themselves rather than God. The situation ethicist enters every decision-making situation with the assumption that the situation heavily influences ethical decisions and can even overturn existing morality. If a person embraces this philosophy, biblical holiness is impossible because true holiness begins with the absolute Word of God. Pragmatism says that whatever brings satisfaction and whatever works is right and good. Pragmatism expresses one of the main inspirations of our culture.