In The Way | Legalism | Week 10

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Legalism | Week 10 | November 10, 2024Teacher: Dave Brown/> We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.—Galatians 2:15-17/> Since in much Western theology “justification” and “salvation” have regularly been confused, sometimes even conflated, it has been easy to strip out the “Jew and gentile” aspect of these verses and read them simply as saying, “To be saved, it isn’t a matter of keeping moral rules; it’s just a matter of believing.”—N.T. Wright/> Legalism is the distortion of obedience that can never produce truly good works. Its first fault is that is skews motive and purpose, seeing good deeds as essentially ways to earn more of God’s favor than one has at the moment. Its second fault is arrogance. Belief that one’s labor earns God’s favor begets contempt for those who do not labor in the same way. Its third fault is lovelessness in that its self-advancing purpose squeezes humble kindness and creative compassion out of the heart.—J.I. Packer/> Our beliefs about legalism and grace direct affect how we view God and how we view ourselves./> Grace does not do away with holiness, righteousness, and obedience./> The Christian ideal had not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.—G.K. Chesterton