Just as Paul was brought before earthly tribunals to be examined, we need to be sure by faith we avoid God’s tribunal and prepare to stand to give an account before Christ’s tribunal.
This word is often thrown around in Christian circles. But do we really know what it means? Pastor Mike takes a biblical look at Legalism.
Unfortunately, there are many these days who have come to believe that as it relates to our sanctification, God’s grace and personal effort are mutually exclusive. They unwittingly, and in some cases intentionally, conflate their understanding of justification with their practice in sanctification
God is rich in mercy to all, but shows the magnificence of his grace in bestowing favor to the penitent who deserve nothing but his unmitigated justice.
We must learn to appreciate the great exchange of our redemption wherein Christ’s perfection is granted to sinners like us while the entire penalty for our sin was borne by him in his suffering and death.
To get right with God we must humbly admit we fall sinfully short of his absolutely perfect standards, knowing that our only hope is to fully trust his power to save and his right to lead our daily lives.
We must never try to measure our worthiness before God by comparing our morality with others, instead we must honestly admit our utter sinfulness and embrace his amazing gift of unearned acceptance.
Pastor Mike discusses a popular Christian phrase: You are a Legalist, with Pastor Elliott and Pastor Lucas.
God grants his profound encouragement and strength as we turn our attention to the truth regarding his greatness and our life-changing redemption detailed in his word.
We can only think and proceed rightly in our sanctification when we are absolutely clear about the finished work of Christ that secured our justification.
We must purpose to understand and choose to confidently celebrate the radical change in our status before God that the justifying work of Christ secures for us.
God’s perfect justice was settled on behalf of sinners who trust in Christ by the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross resulting in a complete atonement.
An acute awareness of sin should drive us to embrace (then celebrate) the imputed righteousness of Christ that is freely granted through faith to all variety of sinners.
What we need to be right before God is perfection, we don’t have and can’t earn it, but we can trust God to grant us the only applicable righteousness there is-his son’s perfection.
Spiritual maturity assumes we have mastered the truth about what it means to have been once and for all justified before God, and the truth about growing in increasing sanctification so that we will be useful in ministry for Christ.
Our only hope of justification (as sinners before a holy God) is to cling to the mediatorial work of Christ who perfectly and sympathetically intercedes for us.
We must understand the importance of biblical priesthood – and stand in awe that we are now priests before God through the high priestly work of Christ!
