Grace vs Legalism

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—" Galatians 1:6

"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:21

There are many, many verses which I could have chosen to demonstrate the idea that we are to live under grace and not the law. However, Galatians 2:21 is undeniably potent and states the message of the Gospel is clear terms. In effect, it is telling us that if we set aside the grace of God, we are demeaning Christ's death on the cross.

Some people ask, "Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?" Although there will always be a mystery surrounding the events of the crucifixion, and our mortal human minds will never quite be able to grasp the full extent of its meaning, we do know that we are told in the Scriptures:

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

And our original verse: "...if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing." Galatians 2:21.

These three verses state that Christ died (1) For the ungodly, while we were still powerless to help ourselves, (2) Because He loved and loves us very much and (3) BECAUSE OUR RIGHT-STANDING IN GOD'S EYES CANNOT BE ACHIEVED THROUGH WORKS OF THE LAW.

Grace- A License to Sin?

While the bible makes it very clear that we are to live under grace and not the law, avoiding "foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless" (Titus 3:9), it warns us that we are not to turn God's grace into a license to sin. In his letter to the Romans, Paul admonishes those under his care, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2)

This makes the answer very clear; grace is not a license to sin. In fact, the very nature of God's grace should cause us to wish to turn away from our sins in obedience to the One Who is the Giver of grace.

Again, Paul admoishes those in Rome: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!" (Romans 6:15)

So we are brought to the conclusion that grace is certainly not a license to sin. It seems that today, however, many professing Christians have overlooked these verses, and instead they seek to justify their own sinfulness with such verses as, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36) Indeed we are free, and I believe that many people, including myself, have not even touched the edges of the freedom that we are meant to enjoy, but we are never told that we are free to sin. Surely sin, by its very nature, constricts and inhibits our freedom. It is like a delicate web which weaves itself around our Spirits, until we are caught and held fast in its deceptive coils. The question is, if we are indulging in sin, are we free not to sin? True freedom is the ablity to say "no" to ourselves and the devil, and "yes" to Jesus, who is the Author of freedom.



Works of the Law vs Grace

To me it seems as though we fall into either one of two categories, namely, those who are truly living and operating under grace, or those who are living under the law.

As someone who falls very much into the 'legalist' category, i.e. someone who seeks to be justified through 'doing' or 'not doing' to please God, I know from experience that trying to break free from legalist ways of being, and especially legalistic thought patterns, is one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with.

Perhaps it is our fear. Perhaps we are afraid that if we try too hard to live under grace and to rid ourselves of all our legalistic attitudes, the pendulum will swing too far to the other side, and sin shall get a hold of us. But we are told in the Word that, "[sin] shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14) This suggests to me that it is because we are under grace that sin shall not get a hold of us. Trying to live a legalistic, works-of-the-law kind of Christian life will actually drain us of the spiritual vitality, joy, peace and power that is needed to live for Jesus in our world today. An excessive scrutiny of our own spiritual state, allowing our minds to mull over the same empty controversies again and again, and maintaining the attitude that "I must be perfect or God can and never will love me, and if I make the slightest mistake I will lose my salvation" are ther very things that will drive us away from Christ.

As someone seeking to break free these kind of attitudes, I know very well what they will do to a person, inside and outwardly. A constant scrutiny of our spiritual condition is known as 'introspection' and is highly damaging. It causes our eyes to be looking inward, inside of upward to the only One who can save us from ourselves. It causes us to be dispondent, to only see that which is wrong, and it prevents us from seeing the good things which the Spirit of God within us is producing. It therefore keeps us from being thankful and from having a healthy, balanced attitude towards ourselves. We want to beat ourselves up all the time for the slightest mistake, forgetting that Jesus is always there to love us and help us and forgive us, and He is in fact our Mediator and Advocate, and our Friend. We can never enjoy the benefits of His friendship if we are living in an introspective state.

Similarly, allowing ourselves to ponder and worry about vain aspects of the law will also deaden our spiritual lives. Worrying, in fact, is a sin, and brings with it the same kind of consequences. Worry is 'to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret'. When we are constantly worrying about making a mistake, or worrying that we are falling short of the mark, or even worrying about whether a course of action we are about to take is in fact the right one or not, we are tormenting ourselves and bringing about the consequences of worry. Here are some of the consequences of worry that I have noticed in my own life and in the lives of others.

(1) Since worry is the repitition of a certain or certain thoughts, which are usually futile reasonings, it drains a person of mental energy which could be targeted elsewhere. Hence we are less able to focus on matters which are more impending or necessary. An overactive mind causes fatigue in body as well as in soul, and can often lead to minor or even major illnesses, including stress.

(2) Worry leads to anxiety which often manifests itself physically, for example in the tensing of shoulder muscles (which can often lead to back and neck-pain),or in the way a person carries themselves.

(3) It can cause depression, or at least hinder a person's joy.

(4) It keeps a person from being relaxed in any situation.

(5) In essence, it robs a person of the 'abundant life' that Jesus wishes us to enjoy.

The bible tells us that the antidote for worry is a deep, personal trust in Jesus. We are told not to fret, as this only causes harm (Psalm 37:8). Worry and anxiety comes more naturally to some than it does to others, but we are all required to put our faith in the Faithful One. Even the most fearful and the most timorous can put their trembling hand into the hand of the Mighty Saviour and find rest and peace for their souls.

Worrying and anxiety are related to fear, and we are told in God's Word that fear is not from God, because, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) So since we know that worry and fear are not God-given, we can be assured that we need not worry about trying to slavishly please God with our good works. When Jesus was asked what good works God requires us to do, he replied, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:29) We also know that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). So since these things are true, we know that all the work that is left for us to do is to believe in God. We must become like little children and have simple trust and faith in His goodness, kindness and love. We must accept the gift of God's grace which was given to us at the cross and refuse to stand on our own righteousness any longer, since, in God's eyes, all our righteousness is like 'filthy rags'. (Isaiah 64:6)

In short, we have a decision to make. Our decision is this: will we continue to demean Christ's work on the cross by living in our man-made list of legalistic rituals, or will we live in the freedom of God's grace and enjoy Him forever? I know what my answer is, and I'm sure you feel the same way as I do!