Blinded by the Light 2 Legalism - The Truth

Legalism - The Truth

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast. (Eph. 2:8)

We need to realise that there is absolutely nothing we can do to save ourselves. If God had not freely given us salvation, we would have been forever lost. We grasp hold of salvation simply by believing that it is possible, and by accepting the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

God puts no conditions on this. He does not require a certain form of behaviour or level of good works before he justifies us. We come as we are, good or bad. The important thing is that we come, and believe.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. (Col. 2:13-15)

Having been saved, we can take no credit. God did it without reference and without response from us. We were not even consulted when the plan was formulated, and Jesus came to die for us. God's love overflowed to us when we were far away and he did what was necessary to bring us back.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Col. 1:21-22)

God, the Almighty Eternal God, declares all those who have believed to be completely and absolutely righteous in his sight. God is willing to say, over each one of us, however hard we've tried, that we are righteous in his sight now and for ever, whatever the future holds.

Previous posts in this series:
Introduction
Further posts to come in this series:
Legalism: The Trap, The Solution
Magic Formulas: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Answers to Everything: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Scripture Twisting: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Superstition: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Elitism: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
The Need to See: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Conclusion