The Christian life is a growth journey. We are growing in the full knowledge of God, and growing in the knowledge of His grace. This journey involves unlearning as much as it inolves learning – we unlearn everything the natural man has grown to think about God’s nature and Character, and we also have to unlearn all of the teachings of religion that have taken the blessings and gifts of the gospel and turned them into demands and requirements! As this unloading process occurs, we also grow in the knowledge of the grace in which we now stand!
“The flesh is untrainable. It’s like a wild ass. According to Galatians 4, the flesh is like Ishmael, a bondservant that’s always trying to work for a wage and persecute the children of promise, and it’s eventually cast out. And remember, Ishmael was a wild ass of a man, and his hand was against all …
The word ‘sanctification’ has become another one of those words that makes people uncomfortable, like ‘repent’, where it needs to be defined otherwise legalistic definitions automatically spring to mind and weigh you down. I read an article on sanctification yesterday and it was full of requirements, burdens, unrealistic expectations and false doctrine. I think what …
What does it look like when I’m responding to God’s grace in Christ vs. when I’m caught up in legalism/works?
To be a person of grace, we really need to understand what grace is. Unfortunately we’ve heard the word grace and its definitions so many times that we’re almost immune to it.
The Bible doesn’t really use the term “legalism.” The Bible uses the word “works,” but it basically means the same thing. It’s really critical that we understand God’s system of grace and faith and how it differs from a meritorious / works approach to God. Grace “works” by faith, and Merit systems “work” by effort, work, and personal merit.
Do we realize that we’re struggling with a legalistic view? Here’s a test: If you believe that you will or won’t be blessed by God, or close to God because of something you’re doing or not doing, you’ve stumbled into legalism.
ChristiansNeedTheGospel
davidbenjaminsearching@gmail.com
David Benjamin
1200 Lake Saint Louis Blvd
Unit #172
Lake Saint Louis, MO 63367
