Reply To: Grace Discussion Board 1

[Wechie]

Let’s begin by considering the meaning of the key words “Subtlety and Legalism”.

-Subtlety: The quality of being Subtle ; not immediately obvious or comprehensible ; not loud, bright, noticeable, or obvious in any way.

– Legalism is any man made attempt, effort or work which seems to earn ,deserve,merit and receive God’s acceptance, goodness and Mercy on the basis of the believer’s merit; what they do and don’t do and not solely on what God has done in Christ.

Galatians 5:1-4
Galatians 5:1-4 NKJV
[1] Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. [2] Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. [3] And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. [4] You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

The yoke of bondage spoken of in the scripture quoted above is legalism.
Legalism is an opposition to grace, it excludes one from the liberty Christ came to give us.
Legalism in summary is “A work based Christianity.
Our salvation is by Grace through and through, our works has nothing to do with our being saved; however we struggle with this after being saved, we tend to think that in other to attract God’s favor we need to work for it.
Man generally believe he needs to do something in other to get something ,hence he approaches God in same transactional manner.
We attempt to interact with God the way we interact with men. This is one way we slip into legalism .
In other not to fall into the trap of Legalism We must settle in our heart that God is not Man. His ways are not the ways of Man.

Galatians 3:1, 3 TPT
[1] What has happened to you foolish Galatians? Who has put you under an evil spell? Did God not open your eyes to see the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion? Was he not revealed to you as the crucified one?
[3] Your new life began when the Holy Spirit gave you a new birth. Why then would you so foolishly turn from living in the Spirit by trying to finish by your own works?
Scripture tells us ; not only is our new life a grace Gift but our day to day walk in this new life is also by Grace. Spiritual growth i.e discipleship is by Grace.
We start by Grace in the Spirit of God and we ought to depend on Grace to finish.
This tendency to want to earn God’s Favor by or engage in the Christian walk by our own effort began with the Galatian church.
In other for us to not fall into this trap of work based Christianity we need to have a revelation of the Grace of God.
The Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of Grace.The essence of the Gospel is Grace.
The Gospel is the Good news concerning God’s Grace.
The power in the Gospel as in Romans 1:16 is the Grace of God.
It is the Grace of God that makes the Gospel Goodness.
We must fully recognise this truth about the Gospel to avoid falling into legalism.

Lastly a wrong perspective or a misunderstanding of the “Works” spoken about in Scripture with regards to believers,will bring about a legalistic approach to the Christian faith.
In other not to fall into the trap of Legalism we need to have the right perspective/understanding.
God is not against work , there are works that have a place after salvation ;
– We have been saved unto Good works . Ephesians 2:10
– God desires that we are also established in every good work. 2Thessolonians 2:17
– Our work is our service and labour in the body of Christ which we will be rewarded for .1 Corinthians 3:10-15
– The Work of the ministry which is the calling of every believer is work. Ephesians 4:11-12 ;
In summary, we are saved to serve.
However these service/work ;
– Must be done in faith; which is our response to God’s Grace
– Must be carried out by depending on God’s Grace , in the spirit and not in the flesh
1 Corinthians 15:10
– Must not bring about an entitlement mentality. We must never become proud and expect God’s blessings in our lives based on our service alone.
Our inheritance was purchased by Christ not by our labour.
We cheapen the Gospel when we seek to earn what only the blood of Jesus could provide.