Every few days I receive
letters and tracts from men, trying to persuade me that, though we are free in
Christ, we are yet under the bondage of the law. Some of these are good men,
men who believe and preach the gospel of God's free grace in Christ. But their
error in this point is most serious and grievous. Like Peter, when he sought to
bring men back under the law, they must be withstood to the face. Legalism in
any form is a most dangerous thing, contrary to the gospel of God's grace and
glory. I warn you to avoid it, by pointing out some of its dangers.
1. IF YOU SEEK TO BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW, YOU WILL
SURELY PERISH. It is written, "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh
be justified in his sight."
2. IF YOU SEEK SANCTIFICATION, OR SEEK TO BECOME MORE HOLY,
BY OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW, YOU WILL BECOME SELF-RIGHTEOUS. Self-righteousness
is neither more nor less than your own righteousness. It is a supposed
righteousness performed by you. It is that proud foolishness of heart, which supposes
that you are more holy than others.
3.
IF YOU MAKE THE LAW YOUR RULE OF LIFE, YOU WILL LOSE
THE JOY OF SERVING CHRIST. The joy of christian
service is the fact that it is free, unconstrained, and spontaneous. It is
motivated by love. But when you make the law of God a rule of life, the motive
becomes fear, or desire for reward, and all joy is
destroyed.
4.
IF YOU SEEK ASSURANCE BY OBEYING THE LAW, YOU WILL
BECOME DESPONDENT AND FEARFUL. The old puritans, sound as they were in to
many points, could never gain any comforting assurance, and their congregations
were never allowed to enjoy any, because they sought it on a legal basis. Some
were driven to such despondency by legal fear that they had to be locked away
in asylums to keep then from committing suicide. The law breeds fear. You
cannot obey it. It can never comfort anyone, except a proud, self-righteous man
who does not understand it. Our assurance is altogether a matter of faith. We
trust Christ's obedience, not our own.
5.
IF YOU SEEK ACCEPTANCE BEFORE GOD, IN ANY MEASURE
WHATSOEVER, UPON THE BASIS OF THE LAW, YOU WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED AT ALL.
Christ alone is our acceptance before God. He is all our righteousness, all our
sanctification, all our holiness, all our redemption, and all our peace. To add
anything to his finished work is to make his work vain and useless. Christ will
be all, or he will be nothing.