Root causes of legalism
The result of legalism is that those who are in the system cannot become what God intends them to be. Rather than a deepening understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, legalists are satisfied with rule keeping.
Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture
The result of legalism is that those who are in the system cannot become what God intends them to be. Rather than a deepening understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, legalists are satisfied with rule keeping.
The Church of Jesus Christ should be the most gracious place on the planet but often it is not. If we are not consistently preaching the Gospel, if we are not reinforcing our need for a savior, if we are not intentional about living under grace, then we will become what the world thinks we are.
Peace is the one thing that is lacking in many churches today. Perhaps it is because it is one thing that is lacking in many believers today. Or, perhaps, I am projecting this on others because of a lack of peace in my own life.
The ultimate purpose of the Word of God is not theological information but heart and life transformation. Biblical literacy and theological expertise are not, therefore, the end of the Word but a God-ordained means to and end, and the end is a radically transformed life because the worship at the center of that life has been reclaimed.
What is needed to-day is not a new gospel, but live men and women who can re-state the Gospel of the Son of God in terms that will reach the very heart of our problems.
It is quite easy to assume that if we understand the gospel accurately and preach it faithfully, our ministry will necessarily be shaped by it. – but this is not true. Many churches subscribe to gospel doctrines but do not have a ministry that is shaped by, centered on, and empowered through the gospel. Its … Read more
The struggle I have is that the church can be just as unthinking and un-engaged as the people the author describes in the article. In the church, we have real answers to real questions, but too often the church is the last place where people feel comfortable asking those questions.
. . . it is the character of This Age to choke the working of the Word of God. The spirit of the Age is hostile to the Gospel.