Hello....
It seems to me, that a legalist is one who loves God, but is wrong by living our their life by the letter of the law and forcing it upon others rather than living by the spirit of the law in love. I am under Grace, not the law. My sins are forgiven, past, present and future when I believed upon Jesus Christ as the Son of God, that He paid the debt I could not pay. I am washed in the Blood of Jesus Christ, made a new creation, having a new heart. That new heart should show "love of the bretheren"! If we disagree, we should agree to disagree in grace and love. If I love God, He will show me the errors of my ways. We can disagree on the "minors", but not on the "majors". By that I mean, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, not the Cosmic Christ, we are saved by Grace not by works, The Bible is the Living Word of God, not just another religious book. In the Body of Christ we have many demonations, all claiming to be the true way of worship and etc. I believe when one becomes legalistic, at some point thier opinion of what and how they believe, is superior to those around them. The Bible can be misquoted, twisted and taken out of context to prove one's view and when that happens the legalist will not back down, and your only option is to give them to God and pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to them. However, if one keeps hardening their heart to the truth, they will slide into " spiritual darkness" because they do not have a "love for the truth". Jesus says, " I am Truth." The question is: Do I want the "truth" or do I want to be "right" even if I am wrong. Pride is a wicked web we weave when we deceive oneself.
Take Care and God Bless <>< frog