During
the last several weeks I have been leading a small group study of Max Lucado’s
book, “He
Still Moves Stones”. Each week we are encountered with the grace
of God. Recently we were
contrasting legalism with grace and I was looking for someway to illustrate
their difference. I
used the following illustrations I received from Grace Ministries in Atlanta
several years ago. I
need to remind myself of these truths often, to help keep me from sliding
back to the legalist, performance
based acceptance way of living. Old habit patterns die hard! (A good book
that helped
me understand performance based acceptance is “Lifetime Guarantee” by Bill
Gillham. My
ideas for a reading list is included below.)
LAW
AND GRACE
Law
says do
~ Grace says done Law
emphasizes what man does
~ Grace emphasizes what God does Law
lives out of the flesh life (self Life)
~ Grace lives out of the Spirit (Christ Life) Law
draws on man's resources
~ Grace draws on God's resources Law
deals with externals: rules; standards; regulations
~ Grace deals with inner - heart attitude Law's
primary focus is: Ought to's; should've; have to; must ~ Grace's
primary focus is on want to's Law
creates bondage, duty, obligation
~ Grace creates freedom Law
lives from the outside in
~ Grace lives from the inside out Law
declares do in order to be
~ Grace declares you are, therefore do Law
produces guilt, condemnation
~ Grace produces acceptance, security Law
leads to defeat
~ Grace leads to Victory!
Alex’s
Book List: 1.
Lifetime Guarantee, by Bill Gillham 2.
Classic Christianity, by Bob George 3.
The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning 4.
The Divine Romance, by Gene Edwards 5.
Grace Works, by Dudley Hall 6.
Birthright – Christian, Do You Know Who You Are? By
David C. Needham (Also, Close to His Majesty) 7.
Anything by Max Lucado
Music Anything
by Dennis Jerigan.
Two
of my favorites: Break
My Heart, O God I
Will Trust You