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The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying grace. The title of the study is "What's So Amazing about Grace"
There could have been no grace whatsoever for us but for the fact that God the Son volunteered to take our place and redeem us: Grace... came through Jesus Christ.
Grace will bring the freedom to want the highest good for and expect the highest good from one another. It will make us want to obey and prompt us to love each other.
The greatest thing about grace is that it is free to you, but it is certainly not cheap. Jesus paid for it with His life.
One of the most serious problems facing the orthodox Christian church today is the problem of legalism. One of the most serious problems facing the church in Paul’s day was the problem of legalism.
Legalism is a killer. It kills congregations when a pastor is a legalist. It kills pastors when congregations are legalistic. Legalistic people with their rigid dos and don’ts kill the spirit of joy and spontaneity of those who wish to enjoy their liberty. Strict legalistic people in leadership drain the very life out of a church, even though they may claim they are doing God a service.
We are using the books, "The Grace Awakening: Believing In Grace Is One Thing. Living it is Another", and "The Grace Awakening Workbook" by Charles E. Swindoll. You can study along with us by clicking the above links or the images after the notes.
These are the notes to Session 7
Eph. 2:8–9 NIV) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast”
Squaring Off Against Legalism
Galatians 3:1 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
“One of the most serious problems facing the orthodox Christian church today is the problem of legalism. One of the most serious problems facing the church in Paul’s day was the problem of legalism.
Colossians 2:16-23 NLT So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Legalism is a killer. It kills congregations when a pastor is a legalist. It kills pastors when congregations are legalistic. Legalistic people with their rigid dos and don’ts kill the spirit of joy and spontaneity of those who wish to enjoy their liberty. Strict legalistic people in leadership drain the very life out of a church,
even though they may claim they are doing God a service.
Alternatives to Grace
What are the alternatives to grace?
1. I can emphasize works over grace.
2. I can give you a list of dos and don’ts.
3. I can leave no room for any gray areas.
4. I can cultivate a judgmental attitude toward those who may not agree or cooperate with my plan.
Grace killers are notorious for a judgmental attitude. It is perhaps the single most un-Christlike characteristic in evangelical circles today.
Ephesians 4:17-32 NIV So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Does following Jesus mean following a list of dos and don’ts? The apostle Paul, writing to the Christians in Ephesus, urged them “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph. 4:11). He then gives some clear instructions for Christian living. As Paul explained, it was much more than just checking off items on a spiritual “to-do list.”
Today’s passage contrasts the Ephesian believers’ life before they knew Christ with how they now lived. “What is immediately worthy of note is the apostle’s emphasis on the intellectual factor in everybody’s way of life,” John Stott observes. “While describing pagans, he draws attention to the futility of their thinking, adds that they are darkened in their understanding and attributes their alienation from God to the ignorance that is in them.”
As Christ followers, the Ephesians had to learn to think differently. The Christian way of life that Paul outlines in verses 22–24 flows out of three critical resolutions. First, a believer determines to put off the old self (v. 22). When we follow Christ, we resolve to change. Second, we learn to think differently (v. 23). We learn how Christ expects His followers to live, but it isn’t just up to us to do the work. This renewal is done in us by God’s Spirit. Third, a believer must take steps to put this new learning into practice. Verse 24 characterizes this as putting on “the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” We learn more about what this new self looks like in verses 25–32. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but it is a good starting point.
>> Paul is not simply swapping out the old law for a new one. The believer becomes a “new self, created to be like God” (v. 24). The Christian life is not just a matter of dos and don’ts. When we are in Christ, we learn to think differently.
Pray with Us
Oh Lord, what joy when we experience the transformation that You promise in Christ. When we look back on ourselves a year ago—or a decade—we are amazed by the ways You have changed our thinking and doing. Thank You
The tools of Legalism
Doctrinal Heresy
Ecclesiastical Harassment
Personal Hypocrisy
Doctrinal Heresy
Galatians 1:6-10 NIV I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Legalists come along and say, “Faith is fine, but it’s not enough. You also need_____________. In Paul’s day, the Judaizers filled in the blank with “circumcision.” Good works and baptism are important, but they don’t earn us salvation or merit with God. Rather, they are the results of a Spirit-filled life, not the cause of it
Ephesians 2:10 NIV For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
What “additions” to the simple gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone have you encountered in the past?
Why do you think people have such a hard time believing that salvation is truly free?
Ecclesiastical Harassment
This grace-killing tactic is used by those who spy out and enslave unwitting believers.
Galatians 2:1-6 NIV Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message.
Today, legalists infiltrate churches, wrestle to snatch the helms of ministries, and try to steer Christians down the path of spiritual corruption.
1 Timothy 4:1-3 NIV The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
What makes them legalists?
3 John 1:9-10 NIV I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
What makes this guy a legalist - He want to be first he wants control over the other believers.
Personal Hypocrisy
The third weapon of the grace killer is hypocrisy. Hypocrites lie and deceive, waffle over important issues, and appear chameleon-like in their manners. Paul even called Peter a hypocrite.
Galatians 2:11-16 NIV When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “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.
Ralph Keiper’s contemporary paraphrase of Paul’s strong rebuke:
“Peter, I smell ham on your breath. You forgot your Certs. There was a time when you wouldn't eat ham as part of your hope of salvation. Then after you trusted Christ, it didn’t matter if you ate ham. But now when the no-ham eaters have come from Jerusalem you have gone back to your kosher ways. But the smell of ham still lingers on your breath. You are most inconsistent. You are compelling Gentile believers to observe Jewish law which can never justify anyone.”
Peter, by returning to the law, you undercut strength for godly living.”
Paul saw through the duplicity and exposed the hypocrisy in Peter. In effect, he scolds, “The very idea, Peter, that you would fake it in front of Jews and then turn around and fake it in front of Gentiles. You’re talking freedom, Peter, but you’re not living it. Then out of the other side of your mouth, you’re talking law, but you don’t live that either. Get off the fence, Peter.”
The problem intensified as others saw their leader and modeled his hypocritical lifestyle: And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, beinga Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel theGentiles to live like Jews?”
Most Christians agree that justification (initial salvation) occurs by grace through faith in Christ alone. However, on the subject of sanctification (growing in Christ), some have abandoned the true gospel for the heresy that you have to follow an additional set of rules to stay saved.
Salvation is a gift so is our sanctification and growth in becoming conformed to the image of Christ
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Philippians 1:3-6 NIV I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
How can our hypocrisy have a damaging effect on the faith and spiritual lives of those who look to us for leadership?
How do the examples of Peter’s and Barnabas’s brief lapses into hypocrisy and legalism warn us about our own susceptibility to fall into the same trap? In your answer, consider the circumstances that led these men to this point.
Read Paul’s rebuke of Peter’s hypocrisy in Galatians 2:14–21. What does Paul say is the source of godly, Christlike living once a person is saved by grace?
Galatians 2:14-21 NIV When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “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. “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
These powerful strategies will aid you in winning the inevitable conflict you’ll encounter with legalism.
1. Keep standing firm in your freedom.
Galatians 5:13-14, 22-25 NIV You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
1 Peter 2:15-17 NIV For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
2. Stop seeking the favor of everyone.
Galatians 1:10 NIV Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Don’t become people pleasers who trade liberty for peace. He also condemned legalistic bullies, who force others to abide by their own standards.
3. Refuse to submit to bondage.
Galatians 2:4-5 NIV This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
5. Continue being straightforward about the truth.
Galatians 2:14 NIV When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
If you act differently in your own home than in the company of your Christian friends, what can you do to avoid this hypocrisy?
Anyone who is prone to use grace as a license for irresponsible, sinful behavior, surely does not appreciate the infinite price God paid to give us His grace. But anyone who tends to use legalism as a hedge against license just as surely forget that grace cannot be earned by our behavior.
Bible Study Audio
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