Legalism vs. Grace

Our study tonight is from Philip Yancey’s ‘What’s So Amazing About Grace’ session 8. Yancey writes,

At first glance legalism seems hard, but actually freedom in Christ is the harder way. It is relatively easy not to murder, hard to reach out in love; easy to avoid a neighbor’s bed, hard to keep a marriage alive; easy to pay taxes, hard to serve the poor. When living in freedom, I must remain open to the Spirit for guidance. I am more aware of what I have neglected than what I have achieved. I cannot hide behind a mask of behavior, like the hypocrites, nor can I hide behind comparisons with other Christians.

Question: What do you find most difficult about freedom in Christ?

(Yancey asks) Which of the following comes closest to describing you?

- A legalistic emphasis on externals: I sometimes fall into the desire to impress others with my actions. I want people to feel I’m a deeply spiritual person.

- A legalistic extremism: Better safe than sorry is how I sometimes feel. Like they say, “If you give an inch, they’ll take a mile.” I tend to want more rules so I and others don’t stray from God.

- A legalistic emphasis on trivialities: I care about the weighty matters, like justice and faithfulness, but feel overwhelmed by them. It’s easier to control the smaller things, like dress and music. Sometimes I feel this is a manageable way of doing my part.

- An urge to rebel due to legalism: I feel certain religious practices are important, but struggle with a spirit of rebellion against these practices.

- A legalistic sense of failure: I struggle with feeling that I’m constantly failing God or have failed him in a big way in the past.

- Alienation from God due to legalism: I struggle with relating to God due to the legalism in my past.

In another section of his book Philip writes:

Jesus proclaimed unmistakably that God’s law is so perfect and absolute that no one can achieve righteousness. Yet God’s grace is so great that we do not have to. By striving to prove how much they deserve God’s love, legalists miss the whole point of the gospel, that it’s a gift from God to people who don’t deserve it. The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behavior. It is to know God.

I liked this session. I think I probably struggle with A LEGALISTIC SENSE OF FAILURE more than any of the others – though I have issues with several of them. I have trouble with boundaries, and with being accepted. Like... if I don’t know what the boundaries are, how will I know if I am doing okay? And it’s hard for me to believe that God accepts me for who I am. THAT is what I am perhaps most thankful for on this ‘Thanksgiving Eve.’

What about you... what are you thankful for? I'd like to know. :)

Peace.