319 of 365 - Jesus, not a checklist

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? Galatians 4:9
 
Obedience minus relationship is just legalism. The more we impose Christian regulations on others as a requirement for salvation, the more we preach a false gospel and turn people away from the only One who can create a change in them.

When we preach a message of obedience before relationship, we are turning God-ordained ways of living into human precepts and teachings. This is what Paul is calling out. The false teachers with their religious requirements have the appearance of wisdom, but are of no value when it comes to making us right with God. They may carry an air of authority with smooth talk, charm, persuasive personalities, the appearance of devout spirituality and gifted speech, but when they add something to the work of Jesus for salvation, they preach a lie that mocks the sacrifice.

It is easy to be deceived because they aren’t atheists or followers of the many cultural “gods”. They are believers, but in their insistence on observance of laws for salvation, they miss the relationship. They miss the grace. The Pharisees were religious elites, full of Scriptural knowledge. They walked and talked with Jesus, but they missed Jesus. They missed their Savior.

Why then does legalism have such a strong appeal? Grace is hard for us to accept. It goes against the grain of our culture where we work and strive to achieve personal success. And we like to have some standard by which we can measure success. We like the checklists to know if we are doing okay. But these things take an elevated role and ultimately mock the work of Jesus. And left unchecked, they reek of superiority… creating more sin, rather than washing us clean. It is easy to see the sin and legalism in others, but hard to see it in ourselves. When we focus first on the rules, we lose our focus on Jesus. We need Jesus, not a checklist.
 
Questions: What is grace to you? Is grace a hard thing for you to accept?